Announcing an upcoming conference being organized by the EPA Office of Water and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Collaborative Cleanups II: Revitalizing and Protecting America's Watersheds will convene in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire on May 4-5, 2006. The goal of the conference is to promote better collaboration when addressing the complex array of environmental issues typically associated with watershed-based projects. At the conference you will hear about collaboration strategies that have been used successfully by others, but will also have the opportunity to be involved in discussions intended to break down some of the barriers that have prevented federal, state and local regulatory programs from working to maximum benefit. This conference will build on the excellent work completed last year at Collaborative Cleanups I in Keystone Colorado. At that meeting we heard from more than 15 local collaborative pilot projects under EPA?s Urban River Restoration Initiat

Conference agenda and other information can be found at www.collaborativecleanups.org. Note that the conference is organized around a series of facilitated discussions and break-out sessions designed to develop practical solutions to some of the cross-program issues we all face. We have assembled an impressive group of public and private sector speakers who have both the vision and real world experience to help move this agenda forward. But, for this conference to be successful, we need the participation of practitioners like you who can contribute a wide-range of perspectives and innovative ideas.

You are invited to join your colleagues from all levels of government, community representatives, NGOs and the private sector in New Hampshire on May 4 - 5. Please also note that the River Network?s national River Rally conference immediately follows Collaborative Cleanups II at the same location (See www.rivernetwork.org/rally). You may want to attend both conferences when you are in New Hampshire.

Some scholarships for travel to the conferences are available to non-federal representatives. To get further information and to apply, please go to the conference registration web page. Individuals can apply just for Collaborative Cleanups II or both Collaborative Cleanups II and River Rally.

Finally, for those wishing to refresh their understanding of EPA?s water protection, land cleanup and revitalization programs in preparation for the conference, concurrent training sessions that provide an orientation to these programs will be offered on Wednesday, May 3 from 3:00-5:00 pm. We are encouraging participants to attend one of these sessions. A welcome reception will follow.

Please feel free to call Shawna Riley from EPA at 202-566-0176 with any questions.