Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Announces 2007 Winners of the Texas Environmental Excellence Award
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) today announced the 2007 winners of the 15th annual Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. The awards are given to 12 innovative projects across the state that demonstrate positive effects on air, water, and land resources.
Austin, Texas (PRWEB) May 2, 2007
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) today announced the 2007 winners of the 15th annual Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. The awards are given to 12 innovative projects across the state that demonstrate positive effects on air, water, and land resources.
Among this year's award recipients are a wetlands educational program that has acted as a classroom for more than 28,000 Texans; a community tool shed program that has removed more than 10 tons of trash and illegally dumped debris from El Paso; and a major company whose more than 140 pollution prevention projects have removed 398 tons of air pollution, 5,823 tons of solid/hazardous waste, and substantially reduced the plant's energy consumption.
This year marks the first presentation of the Gregg A. Cooke Memorial Award for Exceptional Environmental Excellence, created to honor individuals who display passion, innovation, and persistence for protecting the environment. Gregg Cooke, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency in Dallas, was known for his tireless and innovative efforts to make Texas a healthier place to live.
Cooke passed away in September 2006 at the age of 51.
Recommended by a Blue Ribbon Committee of environmental experts from public and private industry, the awards honor individuals, businesses, and organizations that have created successful programs that conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and prevent pollution. Created by the Texas Legislature in 1993, the awards program reflects the goals of the TCEQ itself: to protect Texas' human and natural resources and ensure clean air, clean water, and the safe management of waste.
"Today we recognize the initiative of these dozen recipients who have answered the call of duty to protect and preserve our natural resources," said Kathleen Harnett White, TCEQ Chairman. "They stand as exemplary stewards of our state's natural resources, habitats, and environmental quality."
"We applaud the Texans and our Texas companies and civic groups," said TCEQ Commissioner Larry R. Soward. "Their innovative approaches to environmental stewardship serve as an inspiration beyond our borders."
"These projects reflect a tremendous respect for both Texas and for our environment," said TCEQ Commissioner H. S. Buddy Garcia. "We are proud to honor these world class standard bearers."
The commissioners of the TCEQ will present the awards at the annual awards banquet on Wednesday May 2, 2007, at the Austin Convention Center as part of the TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference.
Following are brief profiles of the 2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Award winners. For more information about this year's winners and finalists, as well as to submit an application for next year's awards, visit www. teea. org.
2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Award Winners
BROWNWOOD
3M Company (Category: Large Business/Technical)
Since 2001, the 3M Brownwood plant employees have established almost 140 new projects, more than any other facility in the entire 3M Company. These projects have eliminated 398 tons of air pollution and 5,823 tons of solid/hazardous waste. The company has also reduced energy consumption by 150,000 MM BTUs with an associated savings of $16.3 million despite production growing steadily by almost 10 percent a year. These important achievements reflect the long tradition of environmental stewardship at the 3M Brownwood plant. The plant has been ISO 14001 EMS certified since 2000, is a charter member of the TCEQ CLEAN TEXAS Program, and is in the EPA's National Performance Track Program.
CORPUS CHRISTI
The Gulf of Mexico Foundation (Category: Youth)
In 2000, the Gulf of Mexico Foundation launched the Science & Spanish Club Network to help students obtain science-based information about the Gulf of Mexico and regional ecology. This bilingual project has expanded to students in coastal zone communities from El Campo to Brownsville in Texas, to Matamoros and Tampico in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Clubs average 15-25 members who meet weekly and after school to participate in beach cleanups, explore their watershed and estuaries on field trips, and have near-shore experiences on their rivers, bays, and Gulf waters. Children are not charged to join a club, a factor that contributes to attracting a broad range of youth.
DENTON
Dan Fette Builders Inc. (Category: Small Business)
Dan Fette's homes in the new Nevada Court subdivision are priced at almost 40 percent less than the city's average for single-family new home construction, and they all exceed the federal Energy Star criteria. Codeveloped in partnership with the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation (DAHC), a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable housing, the average energy bill for heating and cooling a 1,340 square foot house may be reduced to about $50 per month at current prices. This low energy bill is due to the use of a broad range of energy conservation attributes, ranging from light-colored shingles and radiant barrier sheathing to hydronic home heating systems to hot water on-demand systems, low flow toilets and showerheads, and xeriscaping. Finally, each home is positioned at an angle that decreases sunlight exposure during the summer and increases sunlight during the winter. As a result, DAHC believes residents will consume less than half the electricity, natural gas, and water typically used by households in similar-sized, conventionally built homes.
EARLY
Leak Surveys Inc. (Category: Innovative Technology)
David Furry developed a groundbreaking new procedure to detect leaking gas pipes that has led to a change in the way the world monitors emissions. Prior to the invention of Furry's Hawk Leak Detection System, the most effective way to find leaks was to walk over an entire system's pipes. Furry's new monitoring device, the Hawk Leak Detection System, uses a cryogenically cooled infrared camera that shows leaking gas in real time. By flying over pipelines with the system, workers can quickly discover leaks. The system is also used to detect volatile organic compound (VOC) leaks. This success has led businesses across the United States, including the TCEQ, as well as several countries to purchase the Hawk System. The EPA has even launched its own study on the effectiveness of Hawk technology, and this year will facilitate the use of optical imaging by the regulated community.
EL PASO
Center for Environmental Resource Management (Category: Special Award)
In 2004 the Center for Environmental Resource Management at UT-El Paso led the Healthy Home Environments for the Paso del Norte (HHE) project to make life safer for thousands of low-income people living in unincorporated subdivisions with little or no infrastructure in El Paso, Sunland Park, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This multipartner effort led to in-home training for 3,700 families and the distribution of 25,000 educational materials about water disinfection, the use of waterless toilets, appropriate solid waste disposal, and how to use less-toxic alternatives for household cleaning and insect control. Two hundred residents and community volunteers recently collected over 30 tons of trash in cleanup events. Funding for HHE is provided by UT El Paso, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, and Johnson & Johnson.
Keep El Paso Beautiful (KEPB) (Category: Civic/Nonprofit)
By setting up 30 public tool sheds across El Paso, the KEPB program has empowered an entire community. The sheds are open to the public and free of charge, and are stocked with rakes, shovels, push brooms, trash bags, gloves, gardening tools, grab-alls, push mowers, and dry/wet vacuums--all the necessary items needed for a cleanup or beautification project. The city estimates each shed contributes annually to the removal of 10 tons of trash and illegally dumped debris. The community tool sheds also have driven dramatic growth of the KEPB program, from an estimated 45 clean-up projects a year in 2004 to more than 350 projects a year currently. A local home improvement center provided initial funding for the tool shed program. Additional funding has come from community members, the Paso Del Norte Health Foundation, and the Rio Grande Council of Governments.
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, El Paso (Category: Agriculture)
Two state agencies tasked the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in El Paso with using lab analysis to pinpoint whether agriculture activities, wildlife, or humans were responsible for particular bacteria found in specific watersheds. Using state-of-the-art DNA fingerprinting and antibiotic resistance typing methods for E. coli, they identified specific animal and human sources of fecal pollution from the watersheds of Lake Waco and Belton Lake, the Upper and Lower San Antonio River, Salado Creek, Leon River, and Peach Creek. In addition, the research team created a genetic library of E. coli bacteria isolated from known sources. Use of the library may save millions of dollars on future tracking projects.
GARLAND
Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions, LLC (Category: Large Business/Nontechnical)
During 2006, Atlas Copco demonstrated its commitment to the environment by investing in both technology and people. The drilling equipment manufacturer spent nearly $1 million dollars upgrading lighting and air-conditioning systems. The investment, along with other procedural changes, reduced electrical use by 25 percent that year. Solid waste disposal dropped by 65 percent, and water usage was cut by 18 percent. Because of the savings, the company believes it will recoup its entire investment in the new systems in less than three years. Further, Atlas Copco, in cooperation with the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, hosts workshops to train its suppliers about the international standard ISO 14001 and environmental management systems. Such efforts earned the company the distinction of being one of "The 2006 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World" by a leading business analyst.
KILLEEN
Rick Norwood (Category: Individual)
In 2002, retired Texas Department of Transportation assistant director Rick Norwood began volunteering for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). He quickly became involved in a database development project between TNC and Fort Hood to collect endangered songbird monitoring data. Norwood devoted hundreds of hours to analyzing individual databases, some of which dated back as far as 1980. From these he created one all-encompassing program, called the Fort Hood Avian Management System, delivering the new version in 2005. He also used the same framework to develop another management database that organizes native plant-nursery information used by the conservancy's Southmost Preserve.. As a result of monitoring, management, and research made possible by the database, significant populations of the endangered Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler are found at Fort Hood. The avian database facilitates the analysis of collected data, and Norwood continues to refine the program he first developed. Through his volunteerism, Norwood has saved over $100,000 in the cost of developing this important tool for monitoring and research. Other parks or conservation organizations can also adapt the system to collect data on their own avian and vegetation monitoring efforts.
PASADENA
Sarah Metzger (Category: Individual)
Engineering coordinator for the City of Pasadena Public Works Department, Sarah Metzger goes above and beyond the scope of her job duties by working tirelessly to promote environmental stewardship in her community. She guides field trips and gives presentations on the importance of preserving the ecosystem using materials--outreach brochures, pamphlets and videos--that she creates. She began an Adopt-A-Waterway program to give citizens a sense of ownership as they work to improve water quality, and she wrote the Construction Alliance Handbook, a pollution-prevention publication for builders in the Galveston Bay area. In the spring of 2006, she organized the city's first environmental fair. Pasadena Director of Planning Tim Tietjens summed up Metzger's contribution by saying "The citizens of the City of Pasadena and the Galveston Bay area, as well as our rivers, bayous, and bay are better off because of the work of Sarah Metzger."
SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio River Basin Monitoring Network Partnership (Category: Government)
Local government, business, and community leaders in San Antonio united to create an innovative network of monitoring stations in the greater San Antonio River basin to detect pollution early. Since 2005, the San Antonio River Basin Monitoring Network (SARBMN) partnership has been providing real-time data on the basin's water quality to scientists, regulators, and the public. This voluntary partnership between local government and the private sector is also yielding important information about baseline conditions so that long-term water quality trends can be monitored in the face of increased development and urbanization. The program is estimated to have saved the state nearly $400,000 in equipment, installation, monitoring, and maintenance costs. Project partners include the Bexar Metropolitan Water District, Capitol Cement, CPS Energy, H-E-B, Public Center for Environmental Health, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, San Antonio River Authority, San Antonio Water System, TCEQ, Texas Industries (TXI), U. S. Geological Survey, and the Witte Museum. Other SARBMN members contribute to the program's success.
VICTORIA
Victoria ISD (Category: Education)
The Wetland Environmental Science Education Encounter (WE SEE) makes a hands-on experience in environmental studies possible for thousands of students through a collaborative partnership between the Victoria ISD and the INVISTA Victoria manufacturing site. The WE SEE program's state-of-the-art education center is located in the heart of a 53-acre wetland where researchers can conduct laboratory and field experiments. The center includes a partially enclosed education building where students can view the wetland and its inhabitants, and collect water samples from the facility's pier. The wetland not only helps return up to 3.2 million gallons of fresh water per day to the Guadalupe River, it has acted as an outdoor classroom for almost 28,000 Texans. The center has hosted 3,000 business, government and science professionals from around the world who seek to implement their own wetland and environmental education programs.
Contacts:
Julie Warenoff
I&O Communications
(512) 288-4054 (Office)
Terry Clawson
TCEQ
(512) 239-5000 (Office)
MEDIA RELATIONS, MC-118 $ P. O. Box 13087 $ Austin, Texas 78711 $ 512-239-5000
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