NOTE TO EDITORS:

Environment Minister Bob Mercer will open the 3^rd Annual Clean and Safe Drinking Water Workshop at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 25, at Hotel Gander, Gander. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend the annual workshop sponsored by the Department of Environment.

Following is the agenda for the workshop.

Monday, March 24, 2003
6:00      Advanced Registration
9:00      End of Advanced Registration

Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Session Chair: Bob Kennedy
7:30      Registration
8:30      Welcome:
            Robert Mercer, Minister, Department of Environment
            Zane Tucker, Deputy Mayor of Gander
            Greetings from the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities

9:00      Operator Education and Training - New Initiatives to Meet New Demands - Ken Dominie, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Environment 

9:45       Housekeeping Items - Bob Kennedy

10:00     Nutrition Break

10:30     Best Practices for Maintaining Water Quality in the Distribution System - Ken Collicott,  
             Manager of Municipal Engineering, R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd.

11:45     Regional Water System Operations - Cyril McCarthy, Chief Regional Engineer, Department 
             of Municipal and Provincial Affairs

12:30      Lunch ( on your own)
Session Chair: Herbert Card
1:45        Pumps and Motors in Small Distribution Systems - Chris Huyghue, Sales Engineer, 
              Sansom Equipment Ltd.

2:45        Nutrition Break

3:15        Three Years After Walkerton: What Have We Learned? - Garry Palmateer, Director of 
              Technical Services, GAP EnviroMicrobial Services.

4:30        Session End

7:00        Meet and Greet (hot and cold hors d�oeuvres and cash bar)

Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Session Chair: Ali Khan
8:30         Water Quality in the Distribution System; Starting Clean & Staying Clean - Richard 
               Laughton, President, Pollutech Group of Companies Inc.

9:30         Bacteriological Monitoring of Public Water Supplies in the Province of 
               Newfoundland and Labrador - Roger LeDrew, Director of Gander Regional Office, Central  
               Area, Department of Government Services and Lands and Terry Battcock, Environmental 
               Health Coordinator, Department of Government Services and Lands

10:30       Nutrition Break

11:00       Risk Management Overview and the Walkerton Liability Story - Dave Rikley, Director, 
               Risk Management Services, Frank Cowan Company Limited.

12:30       Lunch ( on your own)
Session Chair: Ervin McCurdy
1:45       How to Prepare Your Small Water System for Future Regulatory Requirements -Andre 
             Proulx, Manager, Ottawa Environmental Division, Delcan Corporation

2:45       Nutrition Break

3:15       Cross Connections� Are They Affecting Your Water System? Barry MacNabb, Plumbing 
             Inspector, City of Fredericton

4:30       Session End

Thursday, March 27, 2003
Session Chair: Bob Kennedy
8:30       Improving Water Quality Through Swabbing and Uni-directional Flushing - Technical 
             Considerations - Glenn Howard, General Manager, A1 Hydrant Services Ltd.

9:30       Water in Transit: Microbial Content and Related Quality Issues - Greg Bezanson, 
             Professor of Environmental Microbiology, Acadia University.

10:30      Nutrition Break

11:00      Leak Detection Today and the Future� Garry Fricke, National Sales Manager, Hetek 
              Solutions Inc.

12:00      Closing Remarks -Martin Goebel, Director, Water Resources Management Division

12:30       Session End

2003 03 24                                      11:25 a.m.