Winners of the 2006 Texas Environmental Excellence Award

AUSTIN, Texas--April 19, 2006--The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality today announced the 2006 winners of the 14th annual Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. Commemorating Earth Day, the awards are given to 10 innovative projects across the state that demonstrate positive effects on air, water and land resources.

Among this year's award recipients are a computer-recycling project that removes 2,200 tons of computer equipment from the waste stream annually; a statewide paper recycling program that helps fund nonprofit organizations; and a clean air campaign by the state's leading association of automotive technicians.

Selected by a Blue Ribbon Committee of environmental experts from public and private industry, the awards honor individuals, businesses and organizations who 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.

"As Texans, we understand and appreciate the importance of our state's natural resources," said Kathleen Hartnett White, TCEQ Chairman. "These awards recognize the initiative and innovation of Texans who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect and enhance those resources."

"We applaud these innovative and progressive winners who, through their actions, proudly display their commitment to safeguarding our environment for future generations," said TCEQ Commissioner Larry R. Soward.

The commissioners of the TCEQ will present the awards at the annual awards banquet on Wednesday, May 1, 20060, 2006, at the Austin Convention Center as part of the TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference.

Following are brief profiles of the 2006 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.

2006 Texas Environmental Excellence Award Winners

AUSTIN

Austin Energy (Category: Innovative Technology)

The Seaholm Power Plant in Austin was retired from service in 1996, but city leaders chose to retain the iconic 1950s structure rather than demolish it. Much of the building's concrete floor, however, was saturated with PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl), an industrial chemical once used in electrical equipment that is now known to be a persistent environmental contaminant. Rather than razing the structure, which would have generated tons of hazardous materials and cost the community in financial as well as historic terms, Austin Energy devised an innovative way to contain the contaminants. The encapsulation method worked so well that the building is the first facility of its kind to receive the Environmental Protection Agency's Ready for Reuse designation among sites subject to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Seaholm Power Plant will soon begin its new life as a mixed-use development.

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (Category: Civic/Nonprofit)

Goodwill recycles and rebuilds computers and other electronic equipment donated through its drop-off locations and through the Austin Recycling Project, a joint project with Dell and the City of Austin that offers curbside pickup of computers in the greater Austin area. Goodwill then resells the refurbished computers in its retail outlet, Computer Works, located in Austin and San Antonio. Generated funds help provide jobs and job-related services to people with barriers to employment. In 2005, Goodwill recycled or resold more than 2,200 tons of computers and peripherals in Central Texas, and served more than 9,000 people.

BOERNE

Brent Evans (Category: Individual)

Brent Evans spearheaded the effort to develop the Kendall County Master Plan for Parks and Open Spaces, a blueprint for parks and natural areas that addresses the area's diverse needs for recreational opportunities, conservation, and wildlife preservation. A grassroots organizer, Evans' ability to gain consensus among stakeholders and the public was key to the success of the parks plan, which was created using guidelines from Texas Parks & Wildlife. The plan was adopted by the Kendall County Commissioners Court and will receive funding in part through a $5 million public bond, which voters approved in November 2004. Evans now heads an advisory committee of environmental experts, citizens and county officials who are assisting the county with land acquisition and planning. Evans also serves as executive director of the Cibolo Conservancy, a nature trail and environmental learning center, which he co-founded with his wife, Carolyn.

COLLEGE STATION/KILLEEN

Texas Water Resources Institute (Category: Agriculture)

TWRI's Range Revegetation Pilot Project addresses land degradation issues at the U.S. Army's Fort Hood Post. Extensive use of training vehicles on Fort Hood's 67,000-acre west range over the last 62 years has left the land prone to erosion, with sediment runoff threatening water quality in the surrounding communities. To address these problems, TWRI brought in composted manure from the North Bosque River watershed in north-central Texas. The run-off from dairy farms had been identified as a source of phosphorus in the Bosque River. By applying the compost on nutrient-starved fields at Fort Hood, the team removed excess nutrients from one watershed to improve the integrity of another. To date, nearly 15,000 tons of composted manure have been applied to 600 acres of rangeland. Initial results show that the added compost and other land management practices are helping to restore vegetation and reduce erosion on the training grounds, and TWRI is exploring ways to expand the practice to other areas.

DALLAS/FORT WORTH

American Airlines (Category: Large Business/Technical)

The American Airlines Maintenance Base at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth is a model of resource efficiency in the airline industry. When environmental department personnel saw an opportunity to recycle water and minimize hazardous waste, the team came up with an innovative solution that saves the company money, too. By expanding a reverse osmosis system, the team was able to increase storage capacity for recycled water. By creating its own inspection and inventory bar code system, the team reduced hazardous waste by more than 50 percent compared with that of the year 2000 at a savings of more than $200,000. The environmental project has enabled the airline to recycle 40 million gallons of wastewater annually at the Fort Worth airport, reducing water usage by between 24 and 36 percent over the last three years and cutting costs by almost $1 million.

HOUSTON

Abitibi-Consolidated, Inc. (Category: Large Business/Nontechnical)

Abitibi-Consolidated's PaperRetriever(R) program provides free on-site recycling bins and collection services to schools, churches, and other nonprofits -- and then pays the organizations for the paper they collect. Initiated in Houston in 1995, PaperRetriever(R) today reaches more than 3,500 organizations in Texas and serves groups throughout North America and the United Kingdom. In Texas alone, participants recycled 278,000 tons of paper in 2004 -- enough to cover more than 9,000 football fields -- and earned more than $1 million, which participating organizations used to refurbish playgrounds, enhance libraries, and underwrite scholarships, among other projects. The program complements existing community recycling efforts by giving people new ways and new reasons to recycle year-round. It also teaches good recycling habits by providing free educational materials in English and Spanish.

JOHNSON CITY

Bamberger Ranch Preserve (Category: Education)

The Bamberger Ranch Preserve is testament to what one man can do if he has enough vision -- and energy. In 1969, David Bamberger bought a 5,500-acre tract of land in Blanco County that was badly in need of repair. Ashe juniper had overrun the land, choking the water supply and leaving little native vegetation or wildlife. After years of hard work restoring the land's native grasses, the ranch's artesian springs came back to life. These springs form the headwaters of Miller Creek, an important feeder to the Pedernales and Lower Colorado Rivers. Today, endangered plant species such as the Texas snowbell and endangered birds like the black-capped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler share their native habitat with the largest herd of endangered Scimitar-horned Oryx in the world. Visitors to the ranch can hike around Madrone Lake, hunt for dinosaur fossils, watch thousands of bats emerge from a manmade bat cave, or participate in nature or land stewardship workshops.

SAN ANTONIO

Texas Independent Automotive Association (Category: Small Business)

Automotive shops are going above and beyond the call to clear the air in Texas through voluntary emissions testing, car care clinics, and a comprehensive public education campaign. Partnering with TxDOT and the TCEQ in the "Drive Clean Across Texas" campaign, TIAA members help promote cleaner air by educating the public on proper vehicle maintenance. Additional public outreach activities include car care clinics, emissions testing events, as well as instruction at local high schools and career fairs. More environmentally aware than ever before, TIAA shops earned nearly five times as many compliance certificates through the TCEQ's Compliance Commitment Partnership in 2005 as compared with 2003. Members recycle hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and antifreeze, more than 850,000 oil filters, and thousands of batteries each year.

WACO

Brazos River Authority (Category: Government)

The Brazos River Authority's proactive, non-regulatory project to protect water resources while supporting economic development -- Quality Water for the Brazos Community -- lays out a multi-year management strategy of the Central Brazos, Navasota, and Lower Brazos watersheds. The plan enables local governments to minimize water quality problems in the Brazos River Basin by sharing knowledge, staff, and educational materials. The project also created industry incentives to enhance water quality protection at poultry operations in the Bryan/College Station area. In all, 27 projects received funding, including 13 waste storage structures for poultry litter and enhanced nutrient management practices on 5,000 acres. In 2005, additional funding was made available to provide incentives for non-poultry growers to use poultry compost as a soil amendment. To date, six years of water quality data have been collected that demonstrate no adverse environmental impacts despite substantial growth in the region's poultry industry.

WESLACO

Weslaco High School (Category: Youth)

Weslaco High School's newest classroom has no chalkboard, no desks and no door. But it's an ideal place to learn. The school's Botanical Gardens serve as an outdoor learning lab for hands-on lessons in science, resource conservation, nutrition -- and a dash of community service. Students work together to nurture and maintain the garden, and at harvest time they gather fruits and vegetables to use in lessons on nutrition and healthy eating habits. The school donates most of the produce to the Rio Grande Valley Food Bank. The gardens also feature 30 species of native plants and flowering shrubs, as well as fruit trees, vegetable plots, and cactus and butterfly gardens. On April 22, Weslaco High School will host a community-wide Earth Day celebration at the gardens, where students will receive their Junior Master Gardener certifications from the Texas Cooperative Extension of Texas A&M University.