News Releases from Region 01

Massachusetts Organizations and Residents Recognized by EPA for Environmental Achievements

BOSTON – Sixteen winners from Massachusetts were recognized today at the 2016 Environmental Merit Awards ceremony of the US Environmental Protection Agency's New England regional office. The environmental leaders were among three dozen recipients across New England honored for helping to improve New England's environment.

Each year EPA New England recognizes individuals and groups in the six New England states who have worked to protect or improve the region's environment in distinct ways. The merit awards, given out since 1970, honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts.

"We are proud to honor those citizens, businesses and organizations who have gone the extra mile to help protect and preserve our region's natural resources," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "These New England award winners are committed to making our towns, cities and countryside of New England healthy, vibrant places with clean air, land and water."

The Environmental Merit Awards, which are given to people who have already taken action, are awarded in the categories of individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Also, each year EPA presents lifetime achievement awards for individuals.

Merit Award Winners from Connecticut listed by category are:

Lifetime

Raymond J. Raposa
For more than 30 years, Raymond Raposa has been executive director of the New England Water Works Association, a non-profit research and philanthropic organization. During his tenure, he guided the association from a small volunteer endeavor to one with more than 2,800 active members. One of his greatest accomplishments is establishing more than 300 certified training courses to improve the education and professional standing of drinking water operators throughout New England. The Water Works Association now delivers programs, conferences and special events through the efforts of 13 staff, adjunct instructors and a large volunteer committee.

In addition, Raposa started the Spring Conference and Exhibition in Worcester, sponsored by a host of New England water works organizations and agencies, and drawing over 3,000 attendees.

Raposa has been a leader from the beginning. In the mid-1990s, he put together a coalition of environmental groups and water works organizations to create the New England Safe Drinking Water Act Task Force, which made comments that were incorporated into the reauthorization of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Today, the association also is an instrument of change, advancing knowledge, science, government awareness, public trust, and environmental stewardship of the water works profession.

EPA New England has relied on Raposa and the New England Water Works Association as a partner on critical drinking water issues in a collaboration that has created national models.

Under his leadership and vision, the New England Water Works Association has inspired excellence in the drinking water profession, public confidence in tap water, and water resource stewardship by promoting public health, safety, quality of life, and environmental stewardship. Through education, training, advocacy, and outreach relating to safe drinking water, Raposa has made a difference to the thousands of water operators and the millions of citizens who rely on this profession for clean and safe water.

Roger Frymire
Mystic River Watershed Association
With his kayak strapped faithfully to the roof of his car, Roger Frymire is a reliable and resourceful volunteer for the Mystic River Watershed Association. For the past 20 years, Frymire has monitored water quality for the association. He helped design and put in place monitoring programs that illuminate environmental conditions in the watershed, and his work has brought attention to the Mystic River, Malden River, Aberjona River, Chelsea Creek, Alewife Brook and the Mystic Lakes. Beginning in 1999, Frymire helped the Mystic Monitoring Network develop into one of New England's finest water quality monitoring programs. Frymire volunteered countless hours collecting water samples and, as part of the Mystic Monitoring team, shared his important insight into monitoring design and data control.

In addition, Frymire was a one-man "find it and fix it" team. In his own words, he is a "retired codger who enjoyed kayaking but didn't think rivers should smell like cesspools." On many kayak trips, Frymire took more than 2000 samples for fecal bacteria analysis to identify the sources of the problems, bring attention to water conditions and get the problems solved. His efforts helped the rivers and led to many victories in the Mystic. Frymire has received multiple awards from environmental groups and the city of Cambridge.

Frymire began sampling with the Charles River Watershed Association and soon after began working in the Mystic, Merrimac and Salem Sound watersheds. He worked in every kind of weather and in every season. He was a consultant to USGS, EPA, the Army Corp of Engineers, the US Geological Survey, the state and the Center for Watershed Protection, and has given expert testimony at countless public hearings and meetings. His work has been featured on TV; in the Boston Globe; on NPR's Living on the Earth; and in Mother Jones magazine, as well as numerous other publications. In these stories, Frymire always turns attention from himself to focus on the environment and on local non-profit advocates. With this Lifetime Achievement Award, EPA and the environmental community offer sincere thanks to Roger Frymire for his dedicated stewardship.

The Honorable Michael J. McGlynn
Medford, Massachusetts
As the longest serving mayor in Massachusetts, Michael J. McGlynn was Mayor of Medford, Massachusetts from 1987 until his retirement last year. His progressive leadership on energy and environmental issues spanned almost 20 years of policies and programs. Under McGlynn's leadership, the city saw a long list of achievements. Among the most notable was the 2009 construction of a wind turbine that provides 10 percent of the power for the McGlynn School, saving $25,000 a year in electric bills and providing enough energy to offset about 133 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Medford was the first EPA Clean School Bus Project recipient in the country to not only manage the program for Medford, but also for 12 other regional communities served by the same bus company. The city had the first Municipal Climate Action Plan in the state, and received the 2004 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award for its innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Under McGlynn's leadership the city also put into place a solar program that resulted in Medford residents contracting 322 kilowatts of solar power. The city was recognized for its recycling and sustainability practices, its energy and environmental initiatives, as well as its Go Green Medford initiative. During nearly three decades of leadership, Mayor McGlynn made a lifetime of difference for the city of Medford.

Individual

Michael Chavez and Trevor Smith
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Architectural designer Michael Chavez, and landscaper Trevor Smith, did ground-breaking work to promote street-level, green roofs in the City of Boston. These "living roofs" are perched on bus shelters, including in the Talbot Norfolk Triangle Eco-Innovation District, South Boston and Hyde Park. Each of these soaks up rainwater, absorbs carbon, beautifies neighborhoods, provides a cool area at bus shelters on summer days, provides jobs for those who install and maintain these mini gardens, and educates the community about the importance of urban green infrastructure. These installations were possible because of the leadership, creativity, and dedication of Chavez and Smith. Begun as a pilot effort two years ago, Chavez and Smith teamed up with public and private partners to expand the educational demonstration of what the eco-friendly future will hold along the Fairmount Corridor. They're spreading the message of the need for additional green infrastructure while filtering and reducing stormwater that enters the city's infrastructure in low-income communities. The successes of the team's original bus shelter installations now are being amplified beyond the scope of their initial efforts. Local youth have been trained to do the construction and maintenance of the living roofs. Boston is now a leader for installation of green roofs on bus shelters in the country.

Anne Maherakis, Jodie Hollister, and Scott Sheehan
Hanscom Rides Partnership
Congestion and poor air quality are two major challenges in Boston. In July 2014, three very different entities joined forces to tackle Boston's congestion and air quality, while at the same time helping meet their organization's greenhouse gas reduction goals. Hanscom Air Force Base and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, neighbors in Lexington, Lincoln, and Bedford, Massachusetts, wanted to reduce their emissions. Anna Maherakis, transportation coordinator at Lincoln Labs, and Scott Sheehan, an environmental engineer at Hanscom, and began meeting with Jodie Hollister, New England account manager for vRIDE, in 2014. Together they created and rolled out a combined commuter management program called "HanscomRIDES." Over the next 18 months, the three spent an average of 65 hours each week to build and promote the program through transportation fairs, appreciation picnics, an online ride matching service, newspaper articles, brochures and in-house education. The results in the first year alone were astounding. The number of vanpools going to Hanscom AFB and MIT Lincoln Laboratory increased from six in July 2014 to 48 as of early 2016. Of the 107 registered vanpools in the state, 48 of them go to the small suburbs of Bedford and Lexington through HanscomRIDES. As a result of their success, the three have been invited to discuss their program with town and city officials, the 128 Business Council, state representatives and the Middlesex Transportation Management Association.

Veronica Eady
Conservation Law Foundation
Veronica Eady, vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation in Massachusetts, is being honored for her work in environmental justice advocacy. Eady has been a fervent proponent of environmental justice policies, especially as they relate to climate change, land restoration, community preservation and reducing exposure to toxics. Eady also has been a strong and effective voice in the areas of food justice and transit equity.

Eady's prior positions as a consultant focusing on environmental justice and human rights issues in Berlin, Germany, as director of environmental justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, as director of the Environmental Justice and the Brownfields programs for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, and as executive director of Alternatives for Community and Environment, have prepared her for her current role with the Conservation Law Foundation. Eady has made significant contributions toward the goal of having all New Englanders enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process so they can live in a healthy environment.

Business, Industry, Trade or Professional

Regency Transportation
Franklin, Massachusetts
Last year Regency Transportation set out to consume less diesel fuel by improving gas mileage, changing routes, and reducing idling times. Since driver behavior makes a huge impact on fuel efficiency, the company educated drivers about the consequence of their driving habits on fuel consumption. Regency's efforts paid off with a significant drop in weekly idling hours. A baseline study showed that one quarter of the time trucks ran was spent idling. The hours represented 134 trucks driven by 175 different full and part-time drivers. Through social media, Regency asked drivers to shut their trucks off when parked. Hours spent idling fell the first week. Individual driver results were posted on Facebook. Personal pride and competition took over, and the idling hours continued to improve, but eventually plateaued at a level that didn't satisfy the company. The company asked drivers for ideas. This led to an incentive plan with financial rewards based on individual idling percentages. They targeted 10 percent idling time, and set up plans to reward drivers in relation to their success reducing idling. The company was able to cut idling to 8.77 percent of engine time, down from 25.74 percent when the effort began. Idling time company-wide dropped from 1601 hours to 545 hours weekly. At a gallon per hour, the company saved 55,000 gallons of diesel fuel in one year.

Braun's Express, Inc.
Hopedale, Massachusetts
Braun's Express is being recognized for its 2015 fleet and building sustainability accomplishments. The transportation company is a partner in EPA's Smartway initiative, begun in 2004, which aims to reduce emissions from freight transportation. During that time Braun's Express has grown to 225 employees, eight terminals, and hundreds of trucks and trailers, growth that has brought challenges, such as how to minimize its impact on the environment, mostly from carbon dioxide emissions. Braun's ranks in the second highest of five tiers for emissions, but it aims to do better with its trucks and its buildings. In 2015, Braun's installed a solar array at its corporate headquarters, a symbol of its dedication to the environment. Braun's also has put in place a driver incentive scorecard that lets drivers see their driving behavior for the week, and how it is translated into fuel savings, efficiency, compliance and operating safety. Drivers who reach company goals are financially rewarded. This program also provides managers with information that can be used for preventive maintenance, which in turn improves fuel-efficiency. Braun's continuously has upgraded its fleet to more efficient models to reduce its carbon footprint. It has saved about 18,000 metric tons of CO2, equivalent to 43 million miles driven. This small, family-run trucking business is committed to sustainability, and to evaluating and adopting technologies to reduce its carbon footprint.

Enviro, Community, Academia & Nonprofit

Harvard University Fleet Management
Cambridge, Massachusetts
In 2004, Harvard University became the first Ivy League school to power its diesel vehicles with cleaner burning biodiesel. Since then, Harvard's biodiesel program has grown, and paved the way for others to follow its lead. In the past year alone, Harvard's biodiesel usage reduced carbon dioxide 15 percent, carbon monoxide 12 percent, both hydrocarbon and sulfur dioxide 20 percent, and particulate matter 12 percent. Harvard uses about 2,000 gallons of a 20-80 biodiesel and petroleum blend each week. Its diesel fleet includes about 75 vehicles. In addition to using biodiesel, Harvard's Fleet Management uses bio-based hydraulic oil, parts cleaner, and lubricants. It also has a vehicle wash facility that uses recovered rainwater, saving 750 to 1000 gallons per month.

Nominated by the National Biodiesel Board, Harvard University Fleet Management, a division of Harvard Transportation Services, works directly with Harvard's Office for Sustainability to support the school's sustainability plan. David E. Harris Jr., its director, has educated fleets throughout New England about the benefits of biodiesel. Harvard protects the environment as well through a commuter choice program in which it buys more than 7,000 T passes each month, and some 85 percent of Harvard commuters use alternative transportation, including 60,000 miles traveled on the Hubway bike share program.

Center for EcoTechnology
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
For 40 years the Center for EcoTechnology has helped people and businesses save energy and reduce waste. The Center provides practical solutions that save energy, materials and money. Since its founding, the Center for EcoTechnology has been a leader and pioneer in food recovery in Massachusetts, most recently through its partnership with the state Department of Environmental Protection to offer RecyclingWorks MA. Wasted food makes up the largest component of our country's municipal solid waste and accounts for the largest portion of its methane emissions, making wasted food a significant environmental issue. In addition, reducing food losses by just 15 percent could feed more than 25 million Americans each year, according to the National Resources Defense Council. The Center for EcoTechnology along with RecyclingWorks has spearheaded collaborative efforts to address and divert wasted food by helping hundreds of food waste processors, recovery agencies, haulers and thousands of businesses divert wasted food and build a strong industry to comply with the state's food waste disposal ban. The Center recently expanded its work to Connecticut to replicate strategies tested in Massachusetts. Since 2012 the Center for EcoTechnology has helped businesses divert 20,389 tons of wasted organics, including wasted food, annually.

Mass Audubon Society and New England Aquarium
Massachusetts
The Mass Audubon Society and the New England Aquarium have worked together for more than 25 years to rescue, rehabilitate and release cold-stunned sea turtles stranded in Cape Cod Bay. Over the last two years, the number of stranded turtles has increased dramatically and unexpectedly. Most of these critically ill animals are juvenile Kemp's ridleys, the world's most endangered sea turtle. They experience hypothermia, or cold-stunning, as ocean temperatures drop in the autumn, and the turtles are trapped by Cape Cod's hook-like geography. The Mass Audubon Society has recruited more than 250 volunteers to patrol beaches. The public has learned how to respond to a beached turtle, and volunteers and staff drive turtles nearly 200 miles for rehabilitation. The Aquarium has expanded its staff and volunteers, and has built a new animal care center, including a major sea turtle hospital. Since 2009, the Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary has had more than 100 stranded turtles each autumn. In 2014, over 1200 turtles were found and 700 were treated. This past year, nearly 600 turtles were found and 300 were treated. With the release of more than 2,000 rescued Kemp's ridleys, Mass Audubon and the New England Aquarium are contributing significantly to the recovery of the world's most endangered sea turtle. This rescue program is an excellent example of citizen science in action, and the New England Aquarium and Mass Audubon have become the world's leading authorities on treatment of hypothermic sea turtles.

Governmental

Springfield Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management
Springfield, Massachusetts
Patrick Sullivan
Patrick Sullivan, executive director of the Springfield Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management has long worked to make Springfield an environmentally friendly city. Sullivan has established a technical environmental team, overseen introduction of a green housekeeping and recycling program, introduced less toxic cleaning, maintenance and curriculum products and furnishings, established 15 organic school gardens, and launched a comprehensive integrated pest management system in city buildings. This year he continued to reduce hazardous substances found in pesticides and conventional fertilizers in all 800 acres of land the city manages. In part a response to community concerns, this successful pilot program was put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of organic land management. The project reduced run-off of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Municipal staff from Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton as well as residents were trained in organic land management. In addition to addressing environmental problems in land management, Sullivan also set about cleaning Springfield's water bodies. A management plan is in place to reduce chemical use aimed at reducing pollutant loads in bodies of water, reopening them for recreational use and restoration of native habitats. This work required extensive collaboration with other city departments, the Regional Planning Agency, neighborhood councils, and Regreen Springfield. In addition to these initiatives, Sullivan is working on efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Thus far these efforts have led to a 26 percent drop in energy use in city buildings and schools since 2007.

Whale SENSE
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Tourists come to New England from around the world to see some of the world's largest animals in their habitat. These audiences bring an opportunity for whale watch companies to educate people about environmental conservation. On the Atlantic coast, whale watching is managed primarily through voluntary guidelines on approaching the whales. Whale SENSE was developed in 2008 because of concerns about the sustainability of this industry and the lack of a clear understanding of impacts. The program is a partnership between the federal government and environmental non-profit organizations, developed with input from the commercial fleet. The program uses education and incentives to encourage whale watch companies to follow guidelines. It provides training and on-board evaluation for commercial whale watching companies. Whale watch companies that participate can highlight their commitment to environmental conservation by participating in annual projects as well. For instance, in 2015 there were on-board recycling projects, marine debris collections and beach cleanups. Whale SENSE started with three whale watch companies in Massachusetts, and has expanded to Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, including nearly half of the Atlantic industry. Recently, the program even expanded to Juneau, Alaska.

Cape Cod 208 Planning Team
Cape Cod Commission - Paul Niedzwiecki; Kristy Senatori; Erin Perry; Heather McElroy; Jay Detjens; Tom Cambareri; Mahesh Ramachandran
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection - Bethany Card; Gary Moran; Brian Dudley; Dave Johnson
Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative - Andrew Gottlieb
Five years ago, Cape Cod was at a tipping point with its excessive nitrogen pollution. Because of development on the Cape and nitrogen loading, 90 percent of estuaries did not meet water quality standards. Efforts to solve the problem had been fragmented and action had stalled. The cost to address the problem was estimated at $4.2 to $6.2 billion, and communities struggled to find solutions.

Today, three organizations are being recognized for their success in updating Cape Cod's regional plan to manage waste treatment. The updated plan was approved by EPA in September and represents a unique combination of technical innovation, cooperation among government bodies and advancement of policy change. The plan relies on innovative solutions, and balances the need to restore the environment, adapt to climate change impacts and promote economic development, while also reducing the cost of restoration.

The state knew a regional approach was needed and gave the Cape Cod Commission $3.5 million to update the Cape Cod 208 Plan for the first time in more than 20 years. The Commission hosted hundreds of community meetings and two major summits, posted videos on YouTube and used a variety of approaches, including on-line games, to get a wide range of feedback.

It was clear no single solution would be enough. The Commission worked with the state DEP, EPA and technical experts to collect data about dozens of approaches. The plan provides a structure for towns to form watershed agreements and install a mix of innovative technologies and traditional wastewater infrastructure that together can generate short-term results, and allow for adjustments over time. By encouraging both innovative and traditional technologies, and regional cooperation, the Commission estimates the cost of tackling the water quality problem may be reduced by $2 billion.

The Cape is benefiting from one of the most innovative plans ever produced under Clean Water Act Section 208, and it is already being used as a model for other communities planning for their watersheds.

Food Waste Management Prevention
Vt. Department of Environmental Conservation - Cathy Jamieson
Mass. Department of Environmental Protection - John Fischer
Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection - Chris Nelson
Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut are national leaders in state policies to recover food and manage food scraps and waste. In 2014, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut passed laws limiting food waste sent to landfills. Each law restricts the amount of waste coming from businesses, grocery stores, hospitality, colleges, universities, hospitals and food processors. The first goal of all three states is to increase awareness of food waste and to increase the amount of food being recycled or composted. The bans are now one year in, and these three New England states have reduced food going to landfills. The Vermont Food Bank has seen donations of surplus food increase 24 percent. Massachusetts has seen a significant jump in technical assistance requests for diversion. Recently Rhode Island enacted an organics ban modeled after these three states.

A map done by all three states showing food waste became a model for a national EPA map on wasted food. In addition, Massachusetts set up a model technical assistance program dedicated to working with businesses on food recovery and management. New England and its creative state policies, led by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, clearly is a leader in food recovery.

State Performance Partnership Improvement Team
NH Department of Environmental Services - Susan Carlson; Vincent Perelli; Ted Diers; Wendy Waskin; John Duclos
Maine Department of Environmental Protection - Jeff Crawford
RI Department of Environmental Management - Terry Gray
Vt. Department of Environmental Conservation - Carey Hengstenberg
Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection - Nicole Lugli
Mass. Department of Environmental Protection - Deneen Simpson
The State Performance Partnership Improvement Team made the concept of E-Enterprise a reality. The team used 21st century tools to streamline work plan negotiations and ultimately strengthen oversight and management of the Performance Partnership Grant progress for New England state partners. The work of the team, consisting of representatives from six states, showed that waste can be eliminated, processes streamlined and budget shortfalls tackled through partnerships and on-line cooperation.

With declining funding from EPA over the past few years, New England states needed to address budget shortfalls for environmental efforts. A request by the state of New Hampshire for help in eliminating waste through "lean" processes led to improvements and efficiencies in environmental work across New England. Ideas were generated through the "lean" events that could benefit other states. The State Performance Partnership Improvement Team seized the chance to implement changes in 2015.

Vincent Perelli of the NH Department of Environmental Services was a leader in convening all six New England states to commit to trying this new approach. The state partners worked with EPA New England to design a new SharePoint site, which served as the E-Enterprise platform to conduct real-time state work plan negotiations, provided the opportunity to spur program dialogue in a new way, and allowed codification of negotiated 2-year agreements in a single document. This was the first time EPA New England used SharePoint for this type of E-Enterprise collaboration on such a large scale with external users. This involved significant time, effort and coordination within EPA and with state information technology offices, to resolve issues as they emerged.

Despite the technical challenges of creating this new E-Enterprise approach, it has been very successful. For instance, the air program completed negotiations through SharePoint with all six states within two months, and agreement for all work plan elements were completed with three states by mid-December – significantly faster than prior years. A high level of interest has been shown nationally for using this model to improve joint strategic planning by EPA and states to save time, resources, and produce measurable environmental results.

In addition to the 16 Merit Award winners from Massachusetts, Gretchen Latowsky of JSI Research and Training Institute won the Children's Environmental Health Award. Latowsky began her environmental work more than 30 years ago when a cluster of children with leukemia was identified by Woburn residents with links to the contaminated Wells G & H water supply. A concerned parent herself, Latowsky became executive director of a citizens' group and remained in that role for 15 years. Residents from across the country facing similar environmental issues sought her assistance, leading to the creation of JSI's Center for Environmental Health Studies. JSI continues educating, training and helping address public health and environmental threats from toxic exposures.

Latowsky has worked in more than 300 communities. After residents in one Lawrence neighborhood connected emissions from incinerators to high asthma rates, Latowsky piloted a research project, Casa de Salud: A Model for Engaging Community. Ten community members were trained to present about the hazards of environmental exposures, a training that reached more than 500 community residents. Recently, she partnered with Centro de Apoyo Familiar to train more than 120 childcare providers who then trained over 1,000 parents. Latowsky is recognized for engaging and empowering communities to address environmental issues that threaten their health and environment with a particular emphasis on children's health.

Also recognized this week, Robert Varney of Bow, NH, former regional administrator of EPA's New England office was given the Ira Leighton "In Service to States"annual award for his wide range of environmental achievements, including his efforts on global climate change, energy efficiency, integration of energy and environmental programs, clean air, clean water, safe drinking water, and environmental justice.

In addition to the Merit Awards, EPA also presented the President's Environmental Youth Award this week. It was given to the Plant Phenoms team of Sudbury. The Plant Phenoms team of Madison Miles and Katherine Siliciano tackled the environmental concern of traditional fertilizers contributing to water pollution. The team created an eco-friendly plant food called Nutrasafe. Although plants require the nutrients contained in traditional fertilizers for growth, current application rates and techniques are threatening the environment. To combat this problem, Plant Phenoms developed and tested a new fertilization method, using dried, ground up banana and orange peels placed in soluble vegetarian gel capsules. Banana and orange peels contain vital plant nutrients. The fruit peels are collected, dried in a dessicator, turned into a course powder, and placed in a soluble gel capsule. As the capsule dissolves, the powder can be safely and easily distributed directly into the soil. The team did multiple trials with different soils and seed types, and concluded the plants that were given the soluble gel capsules grew as well as plants given the traditional fertilizer. The team has plans to share its Nutrasafe fertilizer capsules with community gardens.

This year's Environmental Merit Awards program was dedicated to the historic Paris climate agreement last year at which over 190 nations committed to universally limit global warming. The agreement is a strong starting point and promotes action over time that will protect this planet from the impacts of climate change.

In addition to the Environmental Merits, EPA New England recognized two Federal Green Challenge award winners, both from New Hampshire. The Federal Green Challenge is a national EPA initiative that challenges federal agencies to set goals and report on their achievements in the areas of waste, energy, transportation, purchasing, electronics management, and water conservation. J. Anne Pillion, coordinator of environmental management for the US Veteran Affairs in Manchester, and Julie Theroux and Cindy Mason of the US Postal were given these awards.

More information on EPA's Environmental Merit Awards, including photographs from the award ceremony: www.epa.gov/environmental-merit-awards-new-england