AGENDA

8:00 8:50

Registration/Continental Breakfast (sponsored by McKim & Creed)

8:50 10:30 Welcome IntroductionsReview Agenda - GIC President Buddy Murrow The State of Water Policy in North Carolina Representative Ruth Samuelson, Chair Republican Environmental Policy Committee Water Supply Challenges for the Future Tom Reeder, Director, Division of Water Resources for NC DENR Connecting the Dots Between Ag Water Use & the Urban Consumer Mitch Peele, Sr. Director of Public Policy, North Carolina Farm Bureau 10:30 10:45 Break (sponsored by Smith Turf & Irrigation) 10:45 12:15 North Carolina Consumer Water Survey Results and Observations Dr. Barbara Fair, Assistant Professor, NCSU Department of Horticultural Science Dr. Charles Safley, NCSU Dept of Ag and Resource Economics Understanding the Environmental Benefits of Turf Dr. Travis Gannon, Research Associate, Dept of Crop Science, NCSU The Perceived Value of Plants and the Managed Landscape Bob Dolibois, Executive Vice President of American Nursery and Landscape Association 12:15 1:00 Lunch Special Guest Speaker - Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton 1:00 - 2:30 Liquid Assets Program and Water Rates Methodology Maeneen Klein, Water Conservation Manager, Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities Successful Rebate Programs From Across the Nation Brent Mecham, Director of Industry Development, Irrigation Association Precision Irrigation Technology and In-The-Field Applications Mike Baron, National Specifications Manager for Water Management Products Brad Vice, Consultant & Field Practitioner, Carolina Land Consultants 2:30 2:45 Break (sponsored by North Carolina State University) 2:45 - 4:00 Reclaimed Water Opportunities Now and for the Future Don Safrit, PE, Sr. Technical Specialist/Water Reuse & Regulatory Affairs, McKim & Creed KEYNOTE Opportunities: A Comprehensive Overview for the Future SPEAKER Dr. David Moreau, Professor Emeritus NC Environmental Management Commission 4:00 4:15 Closing Remarks Buddy Murrow, President NCGIC; Mike Baron, Toro Water Management
Presented by The Toro Company, North Carolina Green Industry Council, North Carolina State University, and Smith Turf & Irrigation, in support of The Irrigation Associations Smart Irrigation Month

Our Speakers
Tom Reeder joined the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1998. After working in the Division of Air Quality and the Division of Water Quality, he was named the Director of the NC Division of Water Resources in 2008. Prior to his employment with the State of North Carolina, he served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps for 20 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He has received degrees from the Virginia Military Institute and from the US Air Force Institute of Technology. Mitch Peele is Sr. Director of Public Policy with the NC Farm Bureau Federation. He has responsibilities for NCFB commodity and regulatory programs. Prior to joining Farm Bureau, Mitch was Special Programs Manager at the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services where he administered the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund and received national recognition for having the fastest growing pesticide container recycling program in the nation and for its work in the area of environmental stewardship. He is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his Bachelors of Arts Degree majoring in Biology. Dr. Barbara Fair serves as the Landscape Extension Specialist for the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University. She provides North Carolina green industry professionals with expertise in landscape management, focusing extensively on issues of sustainability such as water use, planting and maintenance techniques. She is a certified arborist with an urban forestry background. Barbara earned her Bachelors and Masters from Penn State and obtained her PhD from Ohio State University. Charles D. Safley, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics develops business models for North Carolina farmers growing a variety of horticultural commodities including tree and small fruits and nursery products. Safley has also produced online, interactive worksheets and written numerous publications producers can use to estimate the cost of production. His guidelines help producers develop realistic cost estimates and make financially based pricing decisions.

Robert J. Dolibois, CAE, is executive vice president of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA). Bob's association management career has spanned 36 years with organizations including Association Management Group (AMG) and the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU). Dolibois received the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1979. Following college, he served as a naval officer for five years. He and his wife, Susan, reside in Arlington, VA.

Maeneen Klein, Performance Manager, Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities, is responsible for performance measurement, water conservation, drought response and training. She previously served as the water conservation manager for the town of Athens, GA, and is a graduate of West Chester University in West Chester, PA.

Brent Mecham is the industry development director for the Irrigation Association. His current duties include promoting efficient irrigation technologies, products and services. He is actively involved in the SWAT (Smart Water Application Technologies) initiative. He believes in certification as a way to demonstrate his ability as an irrigation professional and is IA certified as a designer, contractor, auditor, water manager and agricultural irrigation specialist.

Our Speakers
Don Safrit, P.E., is a Senior Technical Specialist specializing in water reuse and regulatory affairs for McKim & Creed. Don has 25 years plus experience with water/wastewater/reclaimed water issues. He is also an Associate Faculty for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Don was recently granted a Technical Achievement Award by the Professional Engineers of North Carolina for his contributions and efforts to advance water reuse .

Brad Vice, founded Carolina Land Consultants in the Charlotte area in 2002, and in April 2007, Brad decided to pursue the consulting business full time with the goal of assisting Owners, Developers and Property Managers. Prior to forming Carolina Land Consultants, he owned a successful landscape company, Commercial Landscape Systems. Being recognized as a leader in the green industry, Brad is widely known regionally as a professional speaker on a variety of critical business and green industry topics. Mike Baron, National Specifications Manager for Water Management Products , champions precision irrigation technologies for The Toro Company, In addition, Mike conducts training seminars, does field evaluations and presents important aspects of how Californias Water Legislation impacts members of the irrigation community. He also volunteers for the Irrigation Associations Education Foundation (IAEF) and the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA). Representative Ruth Samuelson has served in the NC House of Representatives for 3 terms representing district 104. She is a member of the Environmental Review Commission, the Environment Committee, the Water Resources Committee and the NER Appropriations Committee. Ruth is currently the Majority Whip in the House, the House Campaign Caucus Chair, and Chair of the Rep Environmental Policy Committee. She previously served as a Commissioner for Mecklenburg County for 4 years. Ruth received a BA from the University of NC at Chapel Hill in Speech Communications and has received numerous honors and awards for her public service. Dr. Travis Gannon, is a Research Associate in the Department of Crop Science at North Carolina State University. He completed his PhD dissertation entitled Downward Mobility and Efficacy of Select Herbicides in Turfgrass Systems. Further, he has extensive experience with herbicides and plant growth regulators in all facets of turf including intensively managed turf and roadsides.

Dr. David Moreau, Professor, Environment Quality Assessment and Water Resources, UNC-Chapel Hill, describes water scarcity issues on a global level and how the changing climate is a concern in Water Management. He also looks at how many areas of the United States may be affected by these growing conditions; every year you play a game against naturenatures dealing you a random quantity of water every year. Dr. Moreau teaches Environmental Quality Assessment and Water Resources at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has research interests in the analysis, planning, financing, and evaluation of water and related environmental programs. He has chaired the board of a local water and sewer authority, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, chaired several state-level environmental committees and commissions, and served on national advisory committees. He is currently serving as Chairman of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission. Dr. Moreau has also served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Water Resources Research Institute.