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EPA Recognizes Maine Company at Environmental Merit Awards in Boston

Release Date: 04/19/2000
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued an Environmental Merit Special Recognition Award to BOC Gases in Kittery, Maine for its participation in EPA New England's StarTrack Program, an initiative to encourage companies to voluntarily assess and improve their environmental performance.

In announcing the award at a ceremony at Faneuil Hall in Boston, EPA-NE Regional Administrator Mindy S. Lubber praised BOC Gases for its outstanding commitment to become more environmentally efficient.

"Every year, through our Environmental Merit Awards, EPA celebrates the hard work and environmental accomplishments of outstanding individuals and organizations in New England," Lubber said. "We are proud today to recognize BOC Gases for its significant contribution to our regional StarTrack program. The company's hard work in developing and monitoring their own environmental systems has been beneficial for the environment and valuable in helping us find ways to regulate facilities more cost effectively."

Launched in 1996, the StarTrack Program encourages facilities and organizations in New England to voluntarily assess and improve their environmental performance. Participants in StarTrack agree to complete three steps aimed at protecting the environment: audit their environmental management and compliance performance each year; publish an environmental performance report each year; and have their compliance and environmental management system reviewed and certified by an independent third party every three years.

The BOC Gases facility, a 25-employee operation that manufactures and distributes liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon, is among 14 companies and organizations honored today for their participation in the StarTrack Program.

"BOC thoroughly enjoyed our involvement with the StarTrack program," said Jim Merriam, corporate manager of environmental affairs at BOC Gases. "It gave us the opportunity to work with EPA and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and demonstrate how an effective Environmental Management System enables companies to comply with environmental regulatory requirements while continually improving our environmental performance. We are delighted that EPA is beginning to provide incentives for companies with strong environmental programs."

Now in its fourth year, EPA New England's StarTrack program is currently being used as one of the models for a national Performance Track Program that is being developed by EPA Headquarters in Washington.

"One of the visions of our StarTrack Program was to create a national program with credibility and significant incentives," Lubber said. "The launching of the national program this year is the fruition of much hard work and innovation on the part of BOC Gases and other StarTrack facilities."