Easton, Maryland - March 25, 2010.  On Wednesday, over 60 attendees from business, government and academia came to the Easton Club in Talbot County, Maryland to hear about relevant technologies and applications that can help address the region's wastewater needs. The forum was organized by the Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership (MD-AEP) and Talbot County's Office of Economic Development, sponsored by I.M. Systems Group as part of MD-AEP's Environmental Leadership Series. 

"Talbot County provided a wonderful setting for this timely discussion," said Paige Bethke, Director of Economic Development for the County.  "We are fortunate to have a base of environmental technology companies anchored by the NOAA Oxford Laboratory in Talbot County," she said.   Presentations highlighted the current health of the Chesapeake Bay and the sources contributing to its pollution including unchecked development, industry, agriculture and natural sources.  

Speakers from the Maryland Department of Environment and the Department Natural Resources highlighted regulatory requirements to lessen pollution impact on the Bay.  Those requirements are referred to as "total maximum daily loads" (TMDLs) which puts limits on nitrogen, phosphorous and sediments, and will be achieved using watershed implementation plans called  Two-Year Milestones, that will reach final TMDL targets by 2020. As developers, industries and farmers look to address these requirements, the timing of this discussion and appropriate cost-effective technologies became very relevant.   

Technologies and applications were showcased from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, I.M. Systems Group, Spiralcat, Inc, FilterSure, Inc and Bluewing Environmental Technologies with ready-made solutions to address restoration of dead water zones, sea level rise, converting algae to biofuel, harvesting water from animal waste and various methods of wastewater filtration in both the agriculture, industrial and utility settings.  Linda Prochaska, Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Barbara Mckulski was in attendance and marveled at the displays of Maryland expertise showcased at the forum, expressing that this event "was extremely timely" given the need to address Chesapeake Bay's water issues.

"Our goal was to provide a 360-degree view from key environmental leaders influencing policy, science, technology and application for preventing water pollution," said Peter Gourlay, President of the MD-AEP.  We wanted decision makers to see the full complement of services that can be delivered through our network, whatever the water problem may be.  When you connect the dots between Maryland’s science, research, government installations, technology and applications, we are an environmental powerhouse of water resources," said Gourlay.

In addition to the U.S. attendees, the Association for International Practical Training brought an 11-member U.S. State Department sponsored delegation of environmental fellows from China to attend the forum.  "Having the China fellows attend really fit very nicely into our business model," said Gourlay.  MD-AEP is building Maryland-based partnerships to provide holistic water solutions to similar needs on the Asian continent, only the problems are exponentially worse. "The management of protecting Chesapeake Bay has come under fire from many corners, yet Asian delegations continue to look at the Bay as a great learning model," said Gourlay.  "They value our 80 years of science and research on the Bay as well as our governance and our lessons learned, both good and bad. They’re eager to learn how we are dealing with the tension between economic growth and sustainability," he said

"As a former environmental lawyer with a keen interest in wastewater and stormwater management issues, I signed up to go to this conference mainly just as an academic exercise to stay in touch with current developments in the field," said Langley Shook, President Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. "From what I heard and from a couple of the contacts I made yesterday, however, I'm now wondering if it would be a good fit to place a technology demonstration project at our Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels. I can almost picture a "floating island" just off shore from our own living shoreline, or a small FilterSure treatment plant up and running somewhere on our 18-acre campus. We'll surely look into it!"

"The MD-AEP Environmental Leadership Events have been a Godsend to our firm," said Ron McIlwaine, President of Filtersure. "The subsequent results continue to surpass our expectations," he said.  The next MD-AEP Environmental Leadership Series event will occur on April 22 in Gaithersburg, Maryland and will feature the Maryland Clean Energy Center and top leaders from Constellation Energy, the Current Group and the Science and Technology Officer from the Embassy of China.

About The Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership (MD-AEP): MD-AEP is a private trade group with over 500 organizations in our business network.  We mobilize resources and expertise from private investors and corporations, academia, government agencies and multilateral banks to holistically address Asia’s massive energy, water and pollution prevention needs.  MD-AEP is a unique catalyst for sustainable environmental solutions providing access to environmental research, technology and services to connect Maryland’s lessons-learned, know-how and resources to countries in Asia.  MD-AEP takes a sophisticated approach to its business engagement as we look to bridge Maryland-Asia partnerships from a local country standpoint and solve environmental problems with sustainable business outcomes. 

About Talbot County and the Environment: The Oxford Cooperative Lab hosts NOAA, DNR and the US Coast Guard who are jointly responsible for monitoring the security and health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.   Talbot County is poised to serve as a great place to conduct environmental studies and to attract environmental technology companies. The Paul S Sarbanes Poplar Island restoration is a living example of how our area provides a wonderful demonstration for new technologies.  Talbot County proves to be an attractive home for emerging environmental technology companies which require a place to explore sciences. Solutions to 21st Century environmental issues will require large, multidisciplinary teams to analyze complex environmental problems, and will require uninterrupted areas to conduct these studies. Talbot County provides this opportunity.

Contact Info: Peter Gourlay, President, MD-AEP at 443-275-2489
peter.gourlay.mdaep.com.

Website : Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership