Chesapeake Environmental Protection Association
Annual Forum
Each
year, CEPA sponsors a public forum on an important environmental topic. The objective
is to select a timely subject and to present it in depth. Too often newspapers
and other media present only part of an issue, and then tell us brief opinions
of various politicians or experts. For our forums, we invite established authorities
capable of discussing the subject in depth, and usually have more than one speaker
to get different perspectives. The public is always given an opportunity to ask
questions. The forums are usually held in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
2016 Forum
"The Unsustainable Spiral of Growth"
The Chesapeake region has experienced explosive growth since World War II:
Increases in population and employment foster an expanded local economy.
But, taxes and fees do not recover the cost of building infrastructure and services
or their maintenance and eventual replacement. When those costs are realized local
governments often look to additional new growth for revenues.
Growth results in consumption of natural resources including productive farmland,
clean water, animal habitat, forest, and open space.
When revenues are not adequate to meet the total costs of growth, the burden is distributed to
all residents in the form of additional payments, inadequate services, congested roads, and
deteriorating quality of life.
This self-driven spiral of growth is detrimental to all residents and is unsustainable.
About the Forum
On October 14, 2016, the 2016 CEPA Forum started with a short presentation on the
Anne Arundel Community College, Environmental Center, the host for the CEPA Forum by
Dr. Sally Hornor a Trustee of CEPA.
Dr. Al Tucker, President of CEPA, then gave a short introduction on the background of the Forum.
It covered a wide range of topics in the Chesapeake region which included growth in true costs,
planning procedures, financing methods, performance assessment, and some recent successes.
A copy of his introduction can be found by clicking
here. He then introduced the panel of experts:
Presenters
Dr. Gerrit Knapp, University of Maryland, National Center for Smart Growth, Research and Education
A copy of his presentation can be found by clicking
here.
Dr. Elliott Campbell, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Chesapeake and Coastal Services
A copy of his presentation can be found by clicking
here.
Kimberly Brandt, Local Policy Director, 1000 Friends of Maryland
A copy of her presentation can be found by clicking
here.
A panel discussion followed the presentations moderated by Terence Smith. E. B. Fergurson III who was in the
audience gave a summay of the papers and the discussion in the Capital Gazette. You can read a copy of it
by clicking here.
Read about past CEPA forums
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