Article Date: 5/21/2009

This year’s organizers and sponsors included the Auburn University Water Resources Center, Alabama Water Watch, the Middle Tallapoosa Clean Water Partnership, Lake Watch of Lake Martin, the Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board, and Central Alabama Community College.

Conference topics included:

1. Overview of the Tallapoosa River Basin Management Plan
2. Evaluation of alternatives in river basin management in several southern states
3. Community participation in visioning better water policy for the Tallapoosa River Basin

View the Tallapoosa River Basin Management Plan (276 pages – PDF)

J. Brian Atkins, Division Director, Office of Water Resources (OWR), Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA)
Brian has served in his current position as Director of OWR, part of ADECA, since March 2007.   The role of OWR is to plan, coordinate, develop, and manage Alabama’s water resources in a manner that is in the best interest of the State.  Prior to that, he worked for the USGS Alabama Water Science Center in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was chief of the office’s Hydrologic Investigations and Analysis Section and project chief of the NAWQA study of the Mobile River Basin. He holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Alabama and is a registered professional engineer.

Bennett L. Bearden, Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the State Geologist, Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA)
Bennett’s legal, political and negotiating skills have placed him squarely in the center of one of Alabama‘s most important policy issues: water resources.  As an Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the State Geologist of Alabama, he is involved in a range of initiatives to foster water assessments and investigations with federal, state and local agencies.  Trained as a water lawyer, he represents the Office of the State Geologist at the Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA) and assists GSA’s water team in developing legal and policy recommendations for the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management.

Kim Benefield, Senator, 13th District, Alabama State Senate
Senator Benefield is Chairperson of the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management.  The daughter of a public educator, she grew up on a farm in rural Randolph County.  She earned a BS degree in accounting from Jacksonville State University.  She was first elected as Circuit Clerk of Randolph County in 1988 and served eighteen years.  Senator Benefield has served her community through United Way, as an officer and Board Member of the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Randolph County, treasurer of the Randolph County Baptist Association, and PTA.

Eve Brantley, Watershed Program Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Eve is with the Auburn University Department of Agronomy and Soils.  She has worked on watershed and water quality outreach, management, and restoration with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System since 2000.  She previously worked at the Weeks Bay, Alabama watershed coordinator and as a coordinator for the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program.

Gerard Brewer, City Engineer/Public Works Director, City of Alexander City
Gerard graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1991 and earned his Professional Engineering Certificate in 1996.  He worked with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for two years and as an environmental consulting engineer for four years.  He has been the City Engineer and Director of Public Works for the City of Alexander City for about twelve years.  In his role as City Engineer, Gerard has worked with many water-, wastewater-, and watershed-related issues.  He is a stakeholder and board member of the Middle Tallapoosa Basin of the Clean Water partnership.

Dick Bronson, President, Lake Watch of Lake Martin
Dick received his BS and MA from Central Michigan University.  He retired as Colonel from the US Army in 1984 and moved to the lake fulltime.  In 1991, he founded Lake Watch of Lake Martin, a local citizen volunteer group that works with governmental and non-governmental organizations within the Tallapoosa River Basin to protect and enhance the water quality of Lake Martin.  He currently serves as the group’s President and is a frequent collaborator with Alabama Water Watch on various water quality studies.

Bill Deutsch, Alabama Water Watch Director, Auburn University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
Bill has worked as a Research Fellow in the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures at Auburn University for 20 years, and previously worked 11 years for environmental consultants in Pennsylvania.  He is the Director of the Tallapoosa Watershed Project, funded by the AU Water Resources Center.  Bill also directs related watershed and environmental education programs, including Alabama Water Watch, Global Water Watch, the Saugahatchee Watershed Management Plan, and a new Gulf of Mexico Alliance project.

Laurie Fowler, Director of Public Service and Special Programs, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
Laurie is the Director of Public Service and Special Programs at the Odum School of Ecology at UGA where she also serves on the law faculty.  She is the Director for Policy of UGA’s River Basin Center where she works with a team of scientists and lawyers who study how land use affects water quality and biodiversity and help communities develop management strategies to reduce adverse impacts.

Sam Fowler, Director, Auburn University Water Resources Center
Sam is Director of the Auburn University Water Resources Center.  Prior to Becoming the Director of the Water Resources Center, he worked for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System for 32 years.  Sam has a real passion for all areas of natural resources, and especially for all water-related areas.  His goal as director of the AU Water Resources Center is to expand the water-related instruction, research, and extension/outreach efforts of the entire university, and to further enhance the capacity and reputation of Auburn University and all of its divisions in addressing water-related matters.

Barbara Gibson, Executive Director, Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority (CPYRWMA)
Barbara has served as Executive Director for the CPYRWMA, a state agency, for the past ten years.  Her responsibilities have included the management of more than 190 projects addressing comprehensive ground and surface water assessments, water resource availability evaluations, aquifer recharge studies, and the implementation of the major Federal levee rehabilitation projects in southeast Alabama.  She also oversees operation of the largest Flood Warning System in the state.  She serves on the “Water Resources Technical Advisory Subcommittee” to the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management for the State of Alabama.

Richard Hamann, Associate in Law, University of Florida Levin College
Richard is an attorney and Associate in Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Center for Governmental Responsibility.  He teaches courses and conducts research on watershed management, and environmental and water law.

Scott Hughes, Chief of Office of External Affairs, ADEM
Scott began his career at ADEM in 1989 after receiving a BS in Biology from Auburn University.  He has managed regulatory programs in the Water Division and Air Division, and represents ADEM on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Clean Water Partnership.  He currently serves as the Chief of the ADEM Office of External Affairs.  He is responsible for coordination of all media efforts as well as the publication of the ADEM Annual Report, the ADEM Update Newsletter, and the ADEM Insider Newsletter.  In addition, he oversees the administration of the Section 319 Nonpoint Source pollution Program within ADEM.

Allison Jenkins, Statewide Coordinator, Alabama Clean Water Partnership
Allison serves as the Statewide Coordinator of the Alabama Clean Water Partnership, a statewide, nonprofit organization bringing interested citizens and water users together through a neutral forum to protect and restore Alabama’s watersheds.  As coordinator she works with the ten Clean Water Partnership Watershed Facilitators located across the state, as well as with agencies, citizen groups and agricultural, business, and industry representatives to facilitate the sharing of ideas, information and resources.  Allison holds a degree in elementary and special education, and became involved in water quality issues when her dog became sick after drinking from a local stream.

Mike Kensler, Outreach Programs Administrator, Auburn University Water Resources Center
Mike joined the AU Water Resources Center in March, 2008.  His background is in natural resources management, planning, and policy, and he has previously held positions with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the National Wildlife Foundation.

Laura A. Koon, P.E., Water resource Management Director, City of Auburn, Alabama
Laura obtained her Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in 1992 and Master of Science degree in 1994 from Auburn University.  After graduation, she worked as a project engineer/project manager for a regional consulting engineering firm for eight years in Pensacola, Florida, and as a utility  manager for six years in Destin, Florida, before returning to Auburn in 2008.  Laura currently serves as the Water Resource Management Director for the City of Auburn and is responsible for the management of the water system, sewer system, and watersheds.  She is a registered professional engineer in Florida and Alabama.

Cindy Lowry, Executive Director, Alabama Rivers Alliance (ARA)
Cindy received her BS degree in Wildlife Science from Auburn University and her Master’s of Public Administration from UAB.  The focus of her master’s thesis was the theory of citizen participation in public policy.  Cindy has over ten years of work experience in the conservation nonprofit sector.  She joined the staff of the Alabama Rivers Alliance in 2005 and became the Executive Director in 2007.  Cindy also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Locust Fork River and the Alabama Wildlife Center and is the Vice-President of the UAB MPA Alumni Association.

Don McClellan, Executive Director, Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance (LMAEDA)
Don served as mayor of Alexander City from 1996-2004.  He has served as Chair of the League of Municipalities Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment.  He is currently a board member of the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority, a member of the Economic Development Alabama Association, a member of the Lake Martin Area Alabama Technology Network Committee, the Chairman of the Board of the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority, a member of the International Economic Development Council, and executive committee member of the Middle Tallapoosa Glean Water partnership, and Executive Director of the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance.

Thomas R. “Buddy” Morgan, General Manager, Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board (MWWSSB)
Buddy has a degree in Accounting from Troy University and is a certified Governmental Financial Manager.  He served as Chairman for Montgomery’s 2000 Jubilee City Fest and 2004 River Region United Way Campaign, Board President of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (2003-04), EPA Urban Wet Weather Flows Federal Advisory Committee member, and SSO Federal Advisory Committee member.  He currently serves as Chair of the Tallapoosa River Basin Steering Committee and the Catoma Creek Watershed Committee, Board Member of the Alabama Clean Water Partnership, and on the Board of Directors for the 2009 River Region United Way Campaign.

Pat O’Neil, Director, Water Investigations Program – Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA)
Pat attended the University of Alabama, receiving and MS in Aquatic Biology/Ichthyology, MS in Environmental Engineering, and PhD in Civil Engineering.  He was employed by the GSA in 1979 as a Hydrologist/Biologist, and is now Director of the Water Investigations Program.  During his career, he conducted watershed investigations and biological surveys throughout Alabama, collecting thousands of samples statewide.  In 1996, he co-authored Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin.  His current work involves applying aquatic biomonitoring principals to assess stream water quality and integrating the methods of hydrology, biology, and geology for investigating Alabama’s watersheds and water resources.

Eric Reutebuch, Conference Organizer, Auburn University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures
Eric received a BS in Biology at Purdue University in 1981, then served two years as a Fisheries Extensionist with the Peace Corps in Nepal, where he heard about a place called Auburn University.  He went to Auburn and received his MS in Fisheries at Auburn University in 1988.  He has worked with the Rivers and Reservoirs group and Alabama Water Watch at Auburn University for the past 19 years.  Eric is the Publications Coordinator for the Alabama Water Watch program, and organizer for the State of Our Watershed Conference – The Tallapoosa River Basin.

Charles “Sut” Smith, Coordinator of the Upper Tallapoosa Watershed Committee, Lake Wedowee Property Owners Association
Sut is the Coordinator of the Upper Tallapoosa Clean Water Partnership and former director of the Lake Wedowee Property Owners Association.  Sut received an AS degree in Chemistry from Brunswick Junior College.  He retired after 36 years of service from Georgia Power Company.  He worked in the laboratory at several power plants before finishing his career as a Senior Chemist in the Power Generation Technical Services Department.  This work included all phases of power plant chemistry including site water management planning, water treatment, chemical cleaning, and plant effluent discharge monitoring.  Sut is a Collaborator with the Tallapoosa Watershed Project.

Charles Stover, Supervisor – Water Compliance Section, Environmental Affairs Department, Alabama Power Company
In this position Charles is responsible for the Power Company’s programs for NPDES permits, storm water, underground tanks, Corps of Engineers wetlands permits, endangered species, cultural resources protection, water use planning and reporting, and water quality studies.  He earned his Bachelor’s of Civil Engineering from Auburn University in 1975, and a Jurist Doctorate from the Birmingham School  of Law in 1979.  Charles has worked for Alabama power for 36 years in various aspects of water resources including planning, hydropower operations, environmental studies, and modeling and control.  Charles is a member of ASCE, Alabama Bar and AWRA