SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Press release:


For Immediate Release:
August 23, 2012
SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – During the recent Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) 7th Annual Partners Meeting in Atlanta, GA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 Air, Pesticides, and Toxics Management Division Director Beverly Banister, on behalf of the SEDC, presented the SEDC Leadership Awards to the 2011 winners.  The awardees are:
Staples Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts - SEDC Industry Leadership Award for
• Outfitting their fleet with 53 electric delivery trucks, with six of these in service in Atlanta,
• Implementing efficiency initiatives including hybrid vehicles, advanced idle reduction technology, engine horsepower reduction, transmission changes, and route planning to improve fuel economy by 18 percent since 2006,
• Achieving fuel savings of 724,000 gallons and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 8000 tons annually in 2010.
The Alabama Department of Transportation - SEDC Community Leadership Award for
• Implementing a fleet replacement program to auction older diesel vehicles to acquire vehicles and equipment that meet the 2007 and 2010 diesel emission standards,
• Retrofitting 312 on road and off road vehicles and equipment with diesel oxidation catalysts, either stand-alone or in concert with a closed crankcase ventilation system,
• Maintaining a fleet of 1256 alternative fuel vehicles and supporting the development of biofuels infrastructure in Alabama,
• Deploying GPS units in two-thirds of their fleet to ensure accountability with their no idle policy.
 
The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition - SEDC Visionary Champion Leadership Award for
• Partnering with the Kentucky Department of Education to purchase and create the largest hybrid bus fleet in the nation,
• Managing alternative fuel and advanced technology projects across the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
• Promoting sustainability partnerships with industry and other organizations.
The efforts by Staples, the Alabama DOT, and the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition demonstrated exemplary leadership in the use of latest clean diesel technologies, and serve as a role model for others to follow in effective collaboration and partnership to reduce diesel emissions.

This is the fourth year the SEDC Leadership Council has presented the Leadership Awards to recognize exemplary projects in emissions reductions in EPA Region 4. Nominated parties are judged on their effectiveness in meeting the SEDC’s goal to reduce emissions from existing diesel engines and the work done in several sectors to reduce these emissions. Previous years’ winners include United Parcel Service, Coca Cola Enterprises, Ingram Barge Company, the North Carolina Solar Center, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Miami-Dade County, Florida Government.

Organized in early 2006 by EPA Region 4, the Southeast Diesel Collaborative has enjoyed unprecedented success in bringing together leaders from federal, state and local governments, organizations, industry and academia to reduce diesel engine emissions across the eight southeastern states. Focused on promoting energy independence, a cleaner environment and growing, sustainable economies, this partnership offers wide ranging health and economic benefits to the public fleet, freight and non-road sectors.

The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, a program combining regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country. Visit the Southeast Diesel Collaborative website at: www.southeastdiesel.org.

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News Release from EPA - WaterSense Fix a Leak

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless housing in Thornton gets water-saving makeover during EPA’s ‘Fix a Leak’ Week

Delta Faucet Co. and Bell Plumbing & Heating provide water-saving retrofits at 180 units

Contacts: EPA – Lisa McClain-Vanderpool (303)501-4027; Sylvia Bienzle (303) 312-6923; Delta – Clint Wasson (303)289-4191 x22; Bell Plumbing & Heating – Larry Bell (303)757-5661

(Denver, Colo – Mar. 14, 2012) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined Delta Faucet Co., and Bell Plumbing & Heating to provide Renaissance 88 Apartments, a Colorado Coalition for the Homeless apartment building in Thornton, Colo. with a water-saving makeover. The retrofits and leak repairs taken at the apartment complex will save 560,000 gallons of water per year, enough to fill fifty backyard swimming pools.

Over the period of a week, Bell Plumbing & Heating will replace inefficient water fixtures in 180 apartment units at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless facility with EPA WaterSense-labeled products provided by Delta Faucet Company. These products include faucet aerators and showerheads.

Today’s event is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation and EPA’s WaterSense program during Fix a Leak Week. EPA is joining Delta Faucet Company --the WaterSense 2011 Manufacturer Partner of the Year- GreenPlumbers USA, the United Way, Ronald McDonald House, and various local water utilities and governments, to fix leaks in more than 1,000 low-income households and community facilities in nine cities across the country including Thornton, Colo.

“Across the country, household leaks add up to more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually. The amount we’re losing could supply Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami for a full year,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re not just losing water, we’re also losing the money our communities put into keeping our water clean and healthy. That’s why Fix a Leak Week is so important, and why we encourage everyone to take a few simple steps that can add up to have a significant positive impact.”

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 125 billion gallons of water and more than $2 billion in water and energy bills. Consumers can find WaterSense-labeled products at thousands of retail locations across the country.

For more information about finding and fixing leaks: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/fixaleak

For more information on WaterSense or to find a retailer in your area that carries WaterSense-labeled products: http://www.epa.gov/watersense

Why Inject Drinking Water Underground?

An earlier post had to do with a comment period for proposed changes in a permit to inject drinking water into an underground aquifer.  A visitor to this blog asked why would anybody want to inject drinking water into an underground aquifer in an area with abundant drinking water supplies?

I found this at the web site of the Joint Powers Water Board of Albertville - Hanover - St. Michael, MN:

Current & Upcoming Construction Projects

The Joint Powers Water Utility is a Pioneer in Minnesota

The Joint Powers Water Board recently constructed what is referred to as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), and it is the first such system in Minnesota. The primary purpose for us is to provide adequate storage capacity of treated water without the need to build additional treatment plants and water towers. We will take already treated/filtered water from the distribution system during the slower winter months, pump it into the ground to be pumped back out during the summer peak water demands. This results in a tremendous cost savings to you, the customer.