FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Contact: Bill Outlaw
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 11-03
Federal Highway Administration Announces 12 Awards for Environmental Excellence
Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters today announced 12 winners of
Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) 2003 Environmental Excellence
Awards. The recipients, from California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky,
Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, were
selected from among 134 nominations received from 38 states.
"These models of excellence inspire commitment to environmental
stewardship," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. "Each
defined in new way how we in transportation are architects of the future -
visionaries for what can be achieved by working together to promote methods,
processes and projects that protect and enhance the environment."
Judges selected winners for 11 categories: Environmental Streamlining;
Cultural and Historical Resources; Ecosystems, Habitat, and Wildlife; Scenic
Byways; Wetlands and Water Quality; Roadside Resource Management and
Maintenance; Non-motorized Transportation; Livable Communities; Recycling;
and Environmental Research. They named a group and an individual winner in
Environmental Leadership.
Since the program started in 1995, these biennial awards have recognized
partners, projects and processes that use FHWA funding sources to go beyond
environmental compliance and achieve environmental excellence.
"These award winners exemplify what it means to be good environmental
stewards," Peters said. "They demonstrate how we can make needed
transportation improvements while protecting and enhancing the environment."
Peters will present the awards today, Earth Day, during a ceremony at the
U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, DC.
The award recipients are:
Vermont's Programmatic Agreement and Manual on Section 106, "Review of
Historic and Archaeological Resources in Federal-aid Highway Projects"
(Environmental Streamlining) - State and federal officials in Vermont
developed a model agreement that dramatically streamlines the review of
impacts of transportation projects on historic and archaeological resources
and better protects those resources. Contact: Scott Newman, telephone
802-828-3964 or email Scott.newman@.state.vt.us
Paris Pike (US 27/68 Paris Lexington Road) (Cultural and Historical
Resources), Kentucky - An innovative redesign of a 12-mile stretch of
highway between the City of Lexington and the rural community of Paris,
Kentucky required fitting the road to the land and dodging sensitive areas
and resources. Through context-sensitive highway design practices, a road
was produced that is attractive, visually interesting, and safe to drive.
Contact: Mark Pfeiffer, telephone 502-564-4550 or email
Mark.Pfeiffer@mail.state.ky.us
Shortgrass Prairie System (Ecosystems, Habitat, and Wildlife), Colorado -
This initiative emerged from a need to mitigate the impact of proposed
transportation projects. It contributed to a multi-species recovery effort
and promoted the recovery of listed species, used public funds more
efficiently, and improved the project development process. It offset
permanent habitat loss through large scale habitat protection.
Contact: Stacey Stegman, telephone 303-757-9362 or email
Stacey.Stegman@dot.state.co.us
Oregon Forest Highway Enhancement Program (Scenic Byways), Oregon -
Federal, state and county partners voluntarily established the Oregon Forest
Highway Enhancement Program by setting aside up to 10 percent of the
authorized Oregon Forest Highway Funds to plan, develop, design, and
implement Forest Highway enhancement projects. These included improved
signing, interpretive sites, trailheads, and roadside facilities to
accommodate the increasing volume of recreational highway users. Contact:
David Thompson, telephone 503-731-8263 or email
david.h.Thompson@odot.state.or.us
Stormwater Management Facilities and National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System Program (Wetlands and Water Quality), Maryland - The
Maryland State Highway Administration became one of the first state
transportation agencies to be regulated under the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). In order to successfully comply with
the permit requirements in an environmentally responsible and cost efficient
manner, Maryland placed all activities related to stormwater management
within a single coordinated process and provided a structured template to
systematically address stormwater pollution prevention. Contact: David
Buck, telephone 410-545-0309 or email Dbuck1@sha.state.md.us
Roadside Classification Plan and Roadside Manual (Roadside Resource
Management and Maintenance), Washington - Washington's roadside
classification plan provides a framework for providing consistent,
cost-effective, proactive roadside management statewide. The roadside manual
provides methods for implementing these practices on the ground to support
high quality roadside environments. Contact: Diana Olegre, telephone
360-705-7080 or email olegred@wsdot.wa.gov
Broward County Long-Range Transportation Plan (Nonmotorized Transportation),
Florida - This long-range plan ensures that the needs of county residents
are identified and addressed through inter-agency coordination, public
participation and consensus-building within the community. A multi-modal
set of improvement projects was identified to provide county residents,
businesses, and visitors with several travel choice options. Contact:
Lahoma Scarlette, telephone (954) 357-7810 or email Lscarlette@broward.org
Iowa's Living Roadways Community Visioning Program and Iowa's Living
Roadways Project (Livable Communities), Iowa - Through a private-public
partnership, Iowa's Living Roadways programs assist volunteer committees in
Iowa's smaller communities to think creatively and strategically about
roadside landscape improvements. Distributed throughout the state, these
small town enhancement projects now number in the hundreds and have had a
significant cumulative impact in maintaining Iowa's scenic rural character
and emphasizing its friendly, inviting communities. Contact: Dean
Gray-Fisher, telephone 515-239-1922 or email
Dean.Gray-Fisher@dot.state.ia.us
Pre-Mixed, Rubberized Slurry Seal and Recycled Tires (Recycling), California
- The city of Los Angeles created a public/private partnership that improves
street preservation through the use of premixed, rubberized slurry seal from
recycled tires. Slurry seal projects that would take weeks to complete
under the conventional method are now completed within eight hours.
Contact: Marshal Lowe, telephone 213-978-0330 or email Mlowe@bpw.lacity.org
Aesthetic Initiative Measurement System (AIMS) (Environmental Research),
Minnesota - This project was conducted to develop and test instruments and
protocols that the Minnesota Department of Transportation can use to
understand and document how travelers and neighbors perceive the visual
quality of Minnesota's highway corridor treatments and landscapes. This
system will help MnDOT fulfill its commitment to implement context-sensitive
design practices.
Contact: Sue Stein, telephone 651-284-4028 or email
Sue.Stein@dot.state.mn.us
Partnership for Improving North Carolina's Environment (Environmental
Leadership), North Carolina - Senior leadership at the North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the North Carolina
Department of Transportation formalized a partnership with the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding. The document outlined goals that support
environmental stewardship and responsible and timely transportation
decision-making. Contact: Cherie Gibson, telephone 919-715-2397 or email
Cgibson@dot.state.nc.us
Wes Goff (Environmental Leadership), Colorado - For 38 years, Wes Goff has
worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation and the environment.
Goff worked to minimize negative environmental impacts and to restore and
protect sensitive habitat while he helped build Colorado's transportation
system. Currently a Program Engineer for CDOT, Wes Goff continues to be a
leader in building partnerships for environmental protection and
transportation projects.
Contact: Stacey Stegman, telephone 303-757-9362 or email
Stacey.Stegman@dot.state.co.us
The judges in the 2003 awards competition also gave honorable mention for
environmental excellence to the Indian Creek Stormwater Treatment Facility
in Washington. This project was a result of collaboration between the
Squaxin Island Tribe, the Nisqually Tribe, the city of Olympia, the Olympia
Arts Commission and the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Their goal was to clean stormwater runoff from Interstate 5, but their
project also integrated public art, native plant-centered landscaped areas
and slope stabilization into stormwater treatment - all in an urban
environment. Contact: Diana Olegre, telephone 360-705-7080 or email
olegred@wsdot.wa.gov
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See the 2003 Environmental Excellence Awards online.
FHWA Press Room
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