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200 Expected for Conference in Portsmouth, NH, on Smart Growth in N.H. and Maine

Release Date: 06/07/01
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - Three federal agencies this month will be holding their second annual conference on growth and sprawl issues in the fast-growing region of southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will hold the all-day conference Monday, June 18, at Yoken's Restaurant on Route 1 in Portsmouth, NH.

The "Tools for Growth Management" conference, running from 8:30 am to 4 pm, will include discussions of tools for effectively managing growth.

"When planners from different towns and representatives of many government agencies join heads to work on growth issues, they can together plan a future that includes growth while protecting the lifestyle and character of our precious New England communities," said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA New England.

A similar conference in Saco, Maine, last year drew 150 people to discuss growth issues, with a focus on the impacts rail service could have on the region when it starts up later this year or in 2002. This year's conference will also address transportation planning issues, offer tools for smart growth and include an overview of growth patterns in southern Maine and New Hampshire.

Among the speakers will be Carl Dierker, regional counsel for EPA New England; Susan Forward, acting secretary's representative to HUD New England; Michael Finnegan, Director, Maine State Housing Authority; Jeff Taylor, director of the New Hampshire Office of State Planning; and Thomas Irwin of the Conservation Law Foundation.

The conference will include workshops on: "Transportation and Growth Management," "Resources for Growth Management;" an "Update on the Rail Extension;" "Neo-Traditional Town Planning" "Planning and Zoning By-Laws" and "Managing Growth Without Shortchanging Housing."

To register or for more information call 1-888-372-7341.