Speakers
Speakers
Jonathan Atkinson - The Environment Agency
Having spent most of his youth in places like Africa, Chile and Fiji, Jonathan undertook a degree in Environmental Sciences at Plymouth and postgrad Dilpoma in Soil and Water Engineering at Silsoe. After his studies he continued his travels by doing VSO in the Philippines and two short stints on soil projects in Papau New Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Jonathan finally got his first proper job at 30 with the KCC Geotechnical Group. After two years he moved to pollution control in the KCC WasteDisposal Dept, which evolved into Waste Regulation. He joined the Environment Agency when it was formed in 1996 as the WRA was moved from the county to the Agency. He has worked on risk assessment of developed closed landfill sites, landfill engineering and environmental control enforcement on licenced sites, and a variety of contaminated land projects.
Professor Andrew Hursthouse - UWS
Andrew Hursthouse is a Professor in the School of Science, University of the West of Scotland (formerly the University of Paisley). He is an environmental geochemist, with research interests developing from an “earth-systems” approach to applied and industrial issues, supporting sustainable development. Currently active research covers the behaviour of pollutants in the environment (air quality, land degradation and remediation and aquatic biogeochemistry), the role and evolution of environmental management tools and in the development of innovative R&D support mechanisms for SMEs across industrial sectors. He was a member of the EC’s working group developing the background for the Soil Thematic Strategy and proposal for the Soil Framework Directive.
Richard Whittaker - The Environment Agency
Richard is a Planning Advisor with the Environment Agency’s Planning and Environmental
Assessment team where he supports the River Basin Planning Team to deliver first River
Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and to develop the second RBMPs. Recently he co-ordinated
the Environment Agency’s work on National Policy Statements for Ports and Energy infrastructure
many of which anticipated development being on brownfield sites. Richard has over 30 years
experience of development and planning with the Environment Agency, the Hong Kong Government, NGOs and New Town Development Corporations.
David Egan - Irwin Mitchell LLP
David is a partner specialising in health and safety and environmental business compliance and crisis management issues for corporate clients, particularly in the manufacturing and construction industries. He regularly advises and defends clients facing prosecution for breaches of environmental and health and safety legislation. David’s work with the manufacturing and construction industries means that he regularly provides advice concerning areas as diverse as environmental issues through to health and safety and product recall issues. He provides training in all of these areas.
Valerie Fogleman - Stevens & Bolton LLP
Valerie is a Consultant at Stevens & Bolton LLP, which she joined after practising in the US and the City, and a Professor of Law at Cardiff University. She is listed in Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Legal Experts, Guide to the World's Leading Environment Lawyers and the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the City of London Law Society Planning and Environment Committee. Memberships include the Texas State Bar, the American Bar Association and UKELA, of which she is a former Council member. Valerie has published several books and numerous articles on environmental law and environmental insurance law, including the two-volume Environmental Liabilities and Insurance in England and the United States (Witherbys 2005).
Kathy Mylrea - CMS Cameron McKenna LLPKathy Mylrea is a solicitor in the Environment team at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP. Kathy was originally educated in the US and trained in Canada before moving to London in 1988 and has practised in the area of UK and European environmental law since that date. Her practice involves all aspects of environmental law but she has particular experience in the application of contaminated land legislation and policy to both transactions and ongoing liability management. Recent contaminated land work includes acting for Veolia Water in the Sandridge case and advice regarding remediation of residential sites subject to historic contamination. In addition to the advisory and transaction work Kathy also assists clients managing investigations into and defending criminal prosecutions against both companies and individuals for breaches of environmental and health and safety law. She also has particular experience in the water, waste, chemical and transport sectors and a keen interest in environmental policy as well as legislation.
Andrew Wiseman - Stephenson Harwood
Andrew has extensive experience of contaminated land, waste management, environmental insurance and other environmental matters. He is listed in the Chambers Guide to Legal Profession as one of the country's leading environmental lawyers which has referred to him "as being without question a leader on Contaminated Land" and "admired for his ability to explain issues ….in a calm and clear fashion" and having "won praise from clients for his impressive knowledge of contaminated land law and ability to understand the technical issues involved as well as political pressures". Andrew is a past chair of the UK Environmental Law Association and currently is the convenor of UKELA's contaminated land working party. He is the chair of the London Borough of Islington climate change fund advisory panel and has been appointed by the Minister of State to chair the advisory council of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Richard Buxton - Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law
Richard Buxton heads up a small firm in Cambridge specialising in environmental and public law,mainly for claimants concerned about the decisions of public bodies that have controversial
environmental effects, as well as statutory and private nuisance cases. Domestic law is increasingly and, from a public interest and environmental perspective, helpfully pervaded by European considerations including ECJ case law and the Aarhus Convention. Recent cases have included Akester (operation of a ferry said to be damaging sites protected by the Habitats Directive), Edwards (Supreme Court decision on the application of the Aarhus Convention), and Mellor (ECJ decision on reasons and EIA) and several nuisance cases, with a range of subject matter including waste sites, housing development, gas infrastructure, motor sports, wind turbines, and royal palaces and parks.
Mike Quint - Environmental Health Sciences
Mike has over 20 years experience of assessing hazardous chemicals in the environment, with a particular emphasis on the quantitative risk assessment of soil, water and air pollutants. Graduating from Oxford University in 1987, he spent five years working in environmental consultancy in the USA, before returning to the UK in 1992. Since then, he has undertaken numerous projects for public and private sector clients and has helped to develop government guidance in the UK and Italy. Mike has extensive experience of assessing environmental contaminants and his technical skills range from toxicological assessment to environmental audit.
