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Texas Gulf Guardian Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENov. 18, 2002
STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Five Texas projects were awarded Gulf Guardian Awards recently at the annual award ceremony held at the Clean Gulf 2002 Conference in Galveston, Texas. Texas netted two first place awards, two second place awards, and a third place award.
First place in the business category went to BP America, Inc., Gulf of Mexico Business Units, out of Houston, Texas, for a suite of environmental stewardship programs. BP is actively involved in environmental education and protection programs that serve the Gulf of Mexico and it’s surrounding coastal communities. BP’s goals of causing “no accidents, no harm to people, and no damage to the environment” are tenets that permeate every phase of exploration and production operations.
In the government category, the City of Baytown, Texas, walked away with a first place Gulf Guardian Award. In 1990, the City of Baytown formed the Goose Creek Stream Development Committee, which aimed to restore one of the city’s most neglected treasures. Over the years, Goose Creek, which feeds into one of Baytown’s six bays, had been treated as a dumping ground. The committee envisioned a creek complete with trails and scenic overlooks. However, its vision soon expanded. Plans were put in place to revitalize the creek, restore a flood-devastated neighborhood to its natural wetland habitat, create a wetlands education and recreation center, and most recently, to develop an arboretum.
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in Bryan, Texas, took
a second place award in the youth and education category for their “Down
Under, Out Yonder” education workshop. The Sanctuary was established
in 1992. At a 1994 scoping meeting, constituents and staff identified
teachers and K-12 students as two important target audiences for their
newly established Education Program. The first “Down Under, Out
Yonder” workshop was conducted in July 1996 in response to requests
from teachers for high quality, affordable, science-based, experiential
learning workshops in the sanctuary.
Eddie Seidensticker, an employee at the United States Department of Agriculture’s
Natural Resource Conservation Service, took a second place award in the
individual category for his work with the Wetland and Oyster Reef Restoration
Project at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge near Webster, Texas. The restoration
project began in the summer of 1999 and has been monitored yearly since
then to determine its success. The project was funded by the Shell Marine
Habitat Program, administered by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and
planted using volunteers from the Galveston Bay Foundation. It is located
on the Northern Shoreline of East Galveston Bay.
Third place in the business category went to BASF Corporation in Freeport, Texas, for their Nitric Acid Recovery Project. In January 2001, the Freeport, Texas, site of BASF Corporation completed construction of a $9 million recovery process to reduce the quantity of nitrate compounds discharged to the environment. A sister site in Louisiana uses the recovered nitrates stream as a raw material in their manufacturing process. The new process is expected to reduce the site’s total TRI releases and nitrate compounds releases by 75 and 85 percent, respectively.
“The Gulf Guardian Awards take on special significance in 2002 as we celebrate 30 years since the passage of the Clean Water Act,” said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. “The efforts of those being recognized as Gulf Guardians are key to our success as we address water issues. These award winners accepted the challenge and have joined us as we restore and protect our nation’s waters for future generations."
“Three years ago the Gulf of Mexico Program developed the Gulf Guardian awards as a method of recognizing and honoring the businesses, community groups, individuals, and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf healthy, beautiful and productive,” said Bryon Griffith, deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Program. “These award winners today exemplify the exceptional level of quality of effort being undertaken cooperatively by the public and private sectors to address critical issues that face Gulf coastal communities,” he added.
The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore, and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. Award entries were received from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. A first, second, and third place award are given each year in six categories – individual, business, youth and education, nonprofit organizations, government, and partnership efforts.
The Gulf of Mexico Program is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and is a non-regulatory, inclusive consortium of state and federal
government agencies and representatives of the business and agricultural
community, fishing industry, scientists, environmentalists, and community
leaders from all five Gulf States. The Gulf Program seeks to improve the
environmental health of the Gulf in concert with economic development.
For more information about the Gulf Guardian call Terry Hines Smith bat
228-688-1159. Photos of the award winners accepting their awards and accompanying
cutlines are below. NOTE: If you need a higher resolution photo, they
can be emailed to you individually.
TEXAS AWARD WINNERS
Mr. Kenny Lang, vice president in charge of Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Production
for BP accepted a first place Gulf Guardian Award in
the Business category for a suite of environmental projects managed by
BP. He accepted BP’s award at the Nov. 6 ceremony in Galveston,
Texas, at the Clean Gulf Conference. Pictured from left to right are:
Bryon Griffith, deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Program and event
host; Kenny Lang of BP; and award presenter Bruce Moulton with the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
Mayor Pete Alfaro from the City of Baytown and Wayne
Gray, chairman of the Baytown Parks and Recreation Advisory Board accepted
a first place Gulf Guardian Award in the Government category. Alfaro and
Gray accepted the award at the Nov. 6 ceremony in Galveston, Texas, at
the Clean Gulf Conference. Pictured from left to right are: Bryon Griffith,
deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Program and event host; Wayne Gray
and Mayor Pete Alfaro; and award presenter Bruce Moulton with the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
Eddie Seidensticker accepted a second place Gulf Guardian
Award in the Individual category. He accepted his award at the Nov. 6
ceremony in Galveston, Texas, at the Clean Gulf Conference. Pictured from
left to right are: Bryon Griffith, deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico
Program and event host; Eddie Seidensticker; and award presenter Bruce
Moulton with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Art Colwell, BASF vice president and general manager
accepted a third place Gulf Guardian Award in the Business category for
BASF’s Nitric Acid Recovery Project. He accepted the award on behalf
of BASF at the Nov. 6 ceremony in Galveston, Texas, at the Clean Gulf
Conference. Pictured from left to right are: Bryon Griffith, deputy director
of the Gulf of Mexico Program and event host; Art Colwell; and award presenter
Bruce Moulton with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Sarah Bernhardt of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
accepted a second place Gulf Guardian Award in the Youth and Education
category for the Down Under, Out Yonder teacher workshop. She accepted
the award at the Nov. 6 ceremony in Galveston, Texas, at the Clean Gulf
Conference. Pictured from left to right are: Bryon Griffith, deputy director
of the Gulf of Mexico Program and event host; Sarah Bernhardt; and award
presenter Bruce Moulton with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Texas Gulf Guardian award winners pictured from left to right are: Bryon
Griffith, deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Program and event host;
Art Colwell, BASF vice president and general manager; representing the
City of Baytown, Wayne Gray and Mayor Pete Alfaro; representing the Flower
Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Sarah Bernhardt; Ken Lang, vice
president in charge of Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Production for BP; Eddie
Seidensticker; and award presenter Bruce Moulton with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.
