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Final Workshop of the Harbor Project
The Harbor Project held a final workshop on April 3rd and 4th, 2008 to widely publicize the Project's research findings and policy recommendations. The main goals of this meeting were:
1) to further the influence of the project beyond the NY/NJ Harbor and into the future by engaging additional stakeholders in the implementation of policies recommended by the Harbor Consortium
2) to facilitate the replication of this effort, by making sure that the tools that have been developed are readily and widely available to other groups looking to engage in similar endeavors
3) to discuss possible research topics that a "second Consortium" could undertake in the near future
On April 3rd, former Harbor Project staff and Consortium members presented on various aspects of the project, including key components and dynamics of the process, methodological approach, and key findings and recommendations. Mayor Bloomberg delivered a keynote address during the meeting, during which he observed that "…the Academy has adhered to the fundamental belief that good science makes good policy. Nothing less. That idea is the foundation of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Consortium's in-depth report and recommendations on cleaning and protecting our watershed."
Other distinguished participants at the meeting chaired by Consortium Chair, Charles W. Powers included U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Alan Steinberg and then Deputy Regional Administrator Kathy Callahan; R. M. Larrabee, Director of Port Commerce Department for the Port Authority of NY&NJ; and NYAS President Ellis Rubinstein, who all commended the efforts of the Harbor Project. Mr. Steinberg remarked that "EPA is proud to have supported and partially funded this broad-based coalition of collaborative problem solvers, and […] to see final recommendations that will encourage others to […] be good environmental stewards." Mr. Larrabee said that "The Harbor Consortium members, though representing diverse and sometimes competing interests, were able to achieve consensus on the industrial sources of contaminants in the harbor and ways to prevent them from entering the watershed. The award winning pollution prevention strategies developed by the Consortium will lead to a cleaner and healthier Harbor and ultimately reduce the cost associated with maintaining safe navigation channels for the thousands of vessels calling at the port."
The day was summed up by a distinguished team of Christopher Ward (current Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey), Richard Stewart (former Assistant Attorney General for the Environment) and Reid Lifset (Editor of the Journal of Industrial Ecology).
• Read the press release
 See the agenda.
Short bios for presenters and panelists.
Findings on Contamination and Harbor Health
Presentation by Susan Boehme, Gabriela Muñoz, and Joanna Burger
Findings on New Methods for Linking Sources. Presentation by Sandra Valle and Diana Bauer
Findings on the Consortium Processes/ Success Factors. Presentation by Charles Powers and Thomas Wakeman
What the Consortium recommended/ what is yet to be done. Presentation by Marta Panero and Michael Aucott
On April 4th, the Chair of the Harbor Consortium, members and staff engaged in a discussion on future possibilities for the Harbor Project.
See the agenda.
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