Contaminated sediment sites are often located in coastal areas and estuaries vulnerable to multiple climate change impacts. Increasingly, there is recognition that remediation approaches will need to incorporate climate change resilience adaptation. Sediment remediation sites are also concentrated within Industrial areas that tend to be those with racial and economic disparities (communities with environmental justice concerns). The White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have placed Environmental Justice (EJ) at the center of U.S. federal strategy and states are adopting policies to address these disparities.

Speakers for this program will (1) address the potential impacts of climate change on sediment cleanup sites and discuss ways the remediation approach can incorporate climate change resilience adaptation and (2) explore opportunities and successes to apply EJ principles in the investigation and remediation of contaminated sediment sites. Each session will provide the perspectives of consultants, regulators, industry, and legal counsel, all of whom have been working on sites where considerations of climate change are important and in close proximity to communities with EJ concerns.