TCEQ Announces Winners of the 2011 Texas Environmental Excellence Awards

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality today formally announced the winners of the 19th annual Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. The statewide honor recognizes eight projects that demonstrate positive effects on air, water, and land resources.

Among this year’s honorees are: a Hays County man who has dedicated his life to protecting the second-longest underwater cave in Texas; the U.S. Army’s first installation to offer single-stream recycling, among many other pollution prevention initiatives; elementary school students who use recycling funds to beautify their campus; a national railroad network that pioneered a ultra-low-emitting locomotive; a Rio Grande Valley organization that preserves the natural beauty and environment of the region by promoting education and public awareness projects; a water district that created vast wetlands to naturally filter reclaimed water came up with an innovative rescue strategy to use reclaimed water and enact stronger water conservation programs; a public utility that developed beneficial uses for all three of its city’s major wastewater treatment byproducts: water, biosolids, and waste gas; and an irrigation district that promotes water conservation to help meet future water demands while maintaining or increasing farm profitability.

Created by the Texas Legislature in 1993, the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards honor individuals, organizations, and businesses that protect our state’s human and natural resources while ensuring clean air, clean water, and the safe management of waste.

“The voluntary efforts made by these winners highlight just a few of the many examples of how Texans take care of Texas,” said Chairman Bryan Shaw, Ph.D. “It is a pleasure to honor their service to our state.”

“The recipients of these awards personify a can-do spirit, a commitment to our environment, and they serve as models for others to follow,” said Commissioner Buddy Garcia.

“While we honor these award winners for one night, their dedication to the environment, through these projects, and their benefits to the environment, will continue to be realized for years to come,” said Commissioner Carlos Rubinstein.

The TCEQ commissioners will formally present the awards to the winners at a banquet, to be held May 4, 2011, as part of the TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair and Conference at the Austin Convention Center, May 3-4.

Commissioners also will make a special presentation of the TCEQ’s Gregg A. Cooke Memorial Award for Exceptional Environmental Excellence honoring Carole D. Baker.

Known at the Texas Capitol and around the state as the “Queen of Water Conservation,” Baker has been persuading Texas leaders to make water conservation issues a priority when addressing the state’s public policy issues. She is director of intergovernmental relations for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District where she has provided exceptional leadership on both the state and national level. She also serves as the chair of the National Alliance for Water Efficiency, director on the board of the Texas Water Conservation Association, director on the board of the Texas Water Foundation, and founding member and director of the Texas Water Wise Council.

2011 Texas Environmental Excellence Award Winners

DALLAS-FORT WORTH, HOUSTON
Union Pacific Railroad
(Category: Technical/Technology)

EL PASO
U.S. Army, Fort Bliss Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division
(Category: Pollution Prevention)

HARLINGEN
Harlingen Irrigation District, Cameron County No.1
(Category: Agriculture)
Valley Proud Environmental Council
(Category: Civic/Community)

ROCKPORT
Fulton 4-5 Learning Center
(Category: Youth and Education)

SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio Water System
(Category: Innovative Operations/Management)

WIMBERLEY
David Baker
(Category: Individual)

WYLIE
North Texas Municipal Water District
(Category: Water Conservation)