Jen Gillen and Dan Walsh to Join Panel on Soil Banking at BCONE’s Upstate New York Brownfield Symposium
LaBella’s Jennifer Gillen, PG, Environmental Division Director, and Daniel Walsh, Ph.D., Environmental Senior Technical Advisor and founder of the NYC Clean Soil Bank, will participate in a panel discussion at the Upstate New York Brownfield Symposium on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in Syracuse, New York. Hosted by the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE), the symposium will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and bring together industry leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping brownfield redevelopment across Upstate New York.
Jen will serve as the moderator of the panel discussion, “From Waste to Resource: Building a Circular Soil Economy in Upstate New York,” while Dan will join the conversation as a panelist alongside Jane Forbes, Division Manager for the City of Rochester’s Division of Environmental Quality.
Cities generate large quantities of soil through construction and redevelopment, often paying to haul it away while other projects simultaneously pay to import clean fill. Soil banking offers a more sustainable path by treating clean excavated soil as a valuable local resource. The panel will share lessons learned from New York City and Rochester’s innovative approaches to soil reuse and brownfield revitalization.
The panel is one of three sessions featured during the symposium. Additional discussions will focus on modernizing New York State’s soil vapor intrusion guidance and examining real-world brownfield redevelopment challenges.