WTO/Seattle Host Organization Announces a public Forum ''World Trade Organization and the Environment,'' Featuring EPA Administrator Browner and other Federal Officials.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 1999--

--Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Browner,

Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Loy, and Center for

Environmental Quality Acting Chair Frampton to Speak at a Public

Forum on October 20: "World Trade Organization and the Environment"--

Three top-level federal officials, holding key positions in areas of international trade and the environment, will be in Seattle on October 20 for a town hall event.

The forum will focus on the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial and the US Government's position with respect to trade and the environment. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol Browner, Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Frank Loy, and the Acting Chair of the President's Council on Environmental Quality George Frampton will address the audience and respond to questions from the audience. Browner is the former head of the Florida EPA, one of the largest in the country; Loy is the former chairman of the board of the Environmental Defense Fund and the former president of the German Marshall Fund; and Frampton is the former president of the Wilderness Society.

Three distinguished local figures will join the US officials on the stage and serve as panelists to bring additional perspectives to the dialogue. They include: William Ruckelshaus with the Madrona Investment Group and the first Administrator of the US EPA, Patti Goldman with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and a former trade and environment litigator with Public Citizen Litigation Group, and State Representative Velma Veloria, Democrat from the 11th District, and current co-chair of the Washington House Economic Development, Housing and Trade Committee.

The event will be held at The Town Hall, located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, on the corner of Seneca Street and 8th Avenue. It is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Doors open at 9:00 am for a resource fair and registration. Pre-registration is highly encouraged. To RSVP for this event, call 206/230-4380. Groups interested in participating in the resource fair should call 206/230-4381.

The event is sponsored by the WTO/Seattle Host Organization and organized by the Bullitt Foundation. The Foundation has received guidance from an event planning committee composed of representatives from environmental, business, governmental, and other public interest groups. Denis Hayes, President of the Bullitt Foundation will serve as the Master of Ceremonies, and Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro will serve as the moderator. One hour of the event will be dedicated to having presenters and panelists respond to questions generated by the audience.

The WTO/Seattle Host Organization (SHO) is the coordinating body for the WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Seattle, Washington on November 30th through December 3rd, 1999. SHO operates under the auspices of the Washington Council on International Trade.