The University of Tennessee College of Law invites lawyers, activists, students, scientists, faculty, and members of the community to gather October 21–23 for an international, three-day conference on achieving environmental and social justice throughout the Appalachian bioregion and surrounding areas.
The seventh annual Appalachian Public Interest Environmental Law (APIEL) Conference, will be held at the College of Law, 1505 West Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville. The conference will feature a series of workshops and dialogues led by a diverse range of experts who will gather to exchange information, share skills, and foster collaboration between grassroots organizations, the bar and future lawyers, and policy-makers in addressing the region’s most pressing ecological problems.
UT Law alumna Judge Pamela L. Reeves will deliver the Saturday keynote address, “Mediating the Kingston Coal Ash Spill.” Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, will deliver the Sunday keynote address, “The Flint Water Crisis, Environmental Racism, and the Imperative for Just Transition.”
Online registration at www.apiel.org is required. Registration is $35 per day or $60 for the entire weekend. The conference is free to undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of institutional affiliation. Qualifying attendees who are unable to pay may be eligible for scholarships. Additional fee and registration information for lawyers seeking continuing legal education (CLE) credit is available here.
The APIEL Conference is co-sponsored by the UT chapter of the Environmental Law Organization, United Mountain Defense, the Sierra Club, the Quality Inn (on Merchant’s Drive), Eco-Products, and Sweet P’s Barbeque and Soul House.