Greenbytes: April 23, 2003 Edition

Greetings from EPA New England. We hope you find this edition of Greenbytes useful and we encourage you to give us feedback. Please send an email to Paul Wintrob with your thoughts, comments or suggestions: wintrob.paul@epa.gov

Feature: Environmental Merit Awards and Commuter Choice

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to honor New England’s environmental heroes who work tirelessly and with little fanfare to protect the region’s environment.

On April 22, Earth Day, EPA New England honored 40 such individuals and groups at our 33rd annual Environmental Merit Award ceremony at Boston’s Faneuil Hall. Before a packed crowd that included Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Regional Administrator Robert Varney handed out awards to dignitaries and lesser-knowns alike.

Topping the list were nine lifetime achievement award winners, including Douglas Foy, former head of the Conservation Law Foundation who now works for Governor Romney, and Dr. Joel Feigenbaum, a long-time advocate for cleaning up Cape Cod’s Massachusetts Military Reservation who passed away on April 16, 2003.

Among the lesser-knowns: Steve Slipchinsky, agricultural marketing coordinator at Foodshare, a Greater Hartford food bank who has developed a unique system for pulverizing food waste so it can be recycled as compost; Eric Smeltzer, state limnologist in Vermont who was the primary author of a phosphorus reduction plan for improving water quality in Lake Champlain; and Mary Tebo, a community forestry educator who has worked tirelessly to revitalize Manchester, NH’s downtown landscapes, especially along the Merrimack River.

For a full list of the winners, visit our web site at www.epa.gov/ne/ra/ema/2003recipients.html.

Also, as a reminder, our Commuter Choice Program will be holding a recognition event on Tuesday, May 13, to honor 30 New England companies and organizations that are going above and beyond to get employees out of their cars and onto bikes and public transit. The event – at 10 a.m. at our regional offices at 1 Congress St. in Boston – will also kick off our campaign to triple the number of employers in the Commuter Choice program by Earth Day 2004.

If your company or organization wants to set up a comprehensive benefits package for employees, consider attending a one-day training, "Developing and Implementing a Commuter Choice Program: Best Practices for Best Results" at the State Transportation Building in Boston on May 16.

For more information, visit our Commuter Choice website at www.commuterchoice.gov or contact Lucy Edmondson at 617-918-1004.

Web Resources:

• Earth Day
• Environmental Merit Awards
• Transportation and Fuels

Press Releases

EPA and NH DES to Review Progress at the Kearsarge Metallurgical Superfund Site

EPA and NH DES to Hold Informational Meeting for Mohawk Tannery Site

EPA Announces $1.1 Million For Beach Monitoring in New England

Raymark: EPA to Sample Groundwater

EPA Begins $900,000 Cleanup of Metal-Plating Shop in Merrimac, MA

EPA Approves RI's Plan for Complying With Air Pollution Standards

Events and conferences are not archived. Please refer to the Regional Calendar for upcoming events and conferences.

Colleges and Universities - updated regulatory interpretations

Connecticut State Unit -updated significant activities and press page

Directions - big dig impacts getting to us

Earth Day - updated with 2003 content

General Electric Superfund Site - 1.5 mile-hr removal feb 2003 monthly report added

Homeland Security - major topics page added

Massachusetts Military Reservation - perchlorate information added

NPDES Permits - additional mass permits added

Pesticides - seasonal issues, agriculture work guide in portugese

Peterson Puritan Superfund Site - community relations plan updated

Raymark Superfund Site - bulletins added

Rhode Island State Unit - updated hot topics

"In The News" is a free daily service that provides links to today's top newspaper stories about the New England environment and links to related EPA New England information.

In The News Email Service: As soon as today's edition of "In The News" has been posted we will email you a listing of the day's environmental news.