The Northeast Environmental Partners this week announced the winners of their 2013 awards who will be honored at a special awards dinner October 24 at the Woodlands Inn and Resort in Wilkes-Barre. 

Environmental Partnership Awards

The recipients of the Environmental Partnership Awards for 2013:

-- Air Products Ammonium Bifluoride Waste Reclamation Project, Schuylkill County for designing a process with their commercial reclamation facility to convert Ammonium Bifluoride to usable commercial products. To date, over 18 million pounds of Ammonium Bifluoride Waste has been reclaimed, thereby reducing the company’s hazardous wastes by 24 percent.

-- Blue Mountain Preservation Association, Monroe County for partnering to preserve a 354 acre tract of land on the north slope of Blue Mountain, also known as the Kittatinny Ridge, providing habitat for plants, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals, including some endangered species.

-- Delaware Highlands Conservancy Green Lodging Partnership, Wayne County for partnering with landowners and communities to protect the healthy farm and forestlands, clean waters, eagles and eagle habitat, locally sustainable economies, and quality of life in the Upper Delaware River region through the Green Lodging Project, an initiative connecting local conservation with local tourism and a sustainable economy.

-- Earth Conservancy and PA American Water Company, Luzerne County for their partnership to develop a composting residual waste recycling program. The project combines the residual waste created during water treatment processing from the PA American Water Company Watres Water Treatment Plant with compost from the Earth Conservancy’s yard waste composting facility to create a nutrient-rich compost that enhances the growth potential of grasses and other planting on EC project sites as well as on PA American Water community projects.

-- Nanticoke Conservation Club, Luzerne County for partnering with the Department of Transportation, Fish and Boat Commission, Department of Forestry and many others to provide fish habitat, turtle basking platforms and wood duck nesting boxes, stock trout, plant trees and provide educational programing for our youth.

-- Pocono Raceway, Monroe County for their efforts to make Pocono Raceway one of the most environmentally conscious NASCAR race tracks.  The green initiatives underway at the Raceway include the construction of a 3MW solar project that not only supplies the energy needs of the raceway but also powers local homes, participation in NASCAR’s Green Flag Tree Planting Program which plants 10 native trees for every green flag dropped at NASCAR races across the nation and implementation of an extensive recycling program that provides recycling bins throughout the raceway grounds.

-- Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, Northampton County for partnering with PPL Electric Utilities Corporation and Lafayette College to identify, map and protect streams and other sensitive areas within PPL’s transmission line corridors throughout the Lehigh Valley and model revegetation projects on stream crossings in these corridors. Through the partnership, five (5) stream crossings were revegetated and educational materials on the value and importance of riparian buffers were developed.

-- Catherine Hughes & Rebecca Taylor, Luzerne County for partnering with representatives from the City of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Department of Environmental Protection, local businesses, Wilkes University, Kings College and area non-profits to increase awareness and opportunity for public and commercial recycling in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Emerging Environmental Leader Award

The Emerging Environmental Leader Award will be presented this year to Corey Husic, Monroe County for his leadership and commitment to ecology and the environment. Some of Corey’s many accomplishments include activities and projects conducted at and for the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Corey conducted a longitudinal bird study at the Center, developed a sound field guide to the Center and designed and created several brochures on butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies and birds found at the Center. Corey is a dedicated and accomplished young environmental leader.

Thomas P. Shelburne Leadership Award

The Nineteenth Annual Thomas P. Shelburne Environmental Leadership Award will be presented this year to: David Buck, Bradford and Wyoming Counties.

Mr. Buck is being honored for his dedication, leadership and commitment to preserving and protecting the environment of Northeastern Pennsylvania. For over forty years Mr. Buck has been engaged in many community activities with missions to protect and improve the quality of life in our communities and the natural environment.

Early in his career Mr. Buck founded the Pocono Citizens for Conservation as a grassroots organization with a mission to protect and preserve the Tannersville Cranberry Bog, he was also one of the founding members of the Pocono Mountains Audubon Society, Mr. Buck also served on the Monroe County Planning Commission where he advocated for open space and greenways.

Mr. Buck partners with the Endless Mountains Heritage Region and the Susquehanna Greenways Partnership to promote and protect the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Mr. Buck is a leader in the environmental arena through creating partnerships that have improved the natural, recreational and cultural landscape of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Allison Tummon Kamphuis, Manager, Procter & Gamble Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program will be this year’s Keynote Speaker. Mark Volk, President of Lackawanna College will be the Master of Ceremonies for the Twenty Third Annual Environmental Partnership Awards and Dinner.

Dinner sponsors include: Benefactors: MT Carmel Cogen, Inc.; Pennoni Associates Inc.; PPL Corporation; UGI Corporation; Patrons: Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services; Pocono Manor Investors, LP; Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company; Sponsors: Borton Lawson; CAN DO, Inc.; Earth Conservancy; Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau; Pennsylvania American Water; Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, Inc.; M & T Bank; and Weis Markets.

Northeast Environmental Partners include: Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Northeast Office, PPL Corporation, Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, and Wilkes University.

Click Here for information on attending the awards dinner.

9/30/2013