The applicants and nominees listed below were recognized by the Governor in 1999 for their efforts to protect and enhance the environmental quality of Vermont by conserving natural resources and preventing pollution before it is generated. Where there are multiple award recipients in a single category, the panel of judges did not make a distinction between first, second, and third place winners. Thus, the award recipients are listed alphabetically.

Business/Industry/Trade/Professional Organizations

Large Businesses:

Blodgett Oven Co. (Burlington, VT) - Henry Ford once told customers that they could have a model -T in any color they liked -- so long as it was black! He probably never saw himself as a pioneer of pollution prevention, but probably the same could be said for the Blodgett Oven Company. Blodgett, headquartered in Burlington, employs 300 Vermonters and is an industry leader in the manufacture of high quality convection, deck, pizza and conveyor-style commercial ovens and steamers. Blodgett customers, like Ford customers, could also have an oven in any color they liked -- so long as it was black -- until recently. The company began operations in 1848 and today operates three manufacturing plants in the greater Burlington area. Efforts to reduce waste have been a way of life and a way of doing business at Blodgett for many years. Company policy states that Blodgett "is committed to being an industry leader in the area of environmental protection. The Company will meet or exceed all applicable environmental laws and regulations in all its business activities." Air emissions associated with the painting of ovens caused Blodgett to be ranked ninth of all Vermont manufacturing facilities in 1995 for environmental releases as reported on the annual Toxics Release Inventory submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 1992, Blodgett generated more than 30,000 pounds of paint-related hazardous waste. By implementing various pollution prevention strategies, they were able to more than halve this amount in 1998. Also that year, the company decided to eliminate the painting of deck ovens entirely -- and to use unpainted stainless steel panels instead. This decision, upped the ante on Henry Ford’s decision to produce only black cars. Blodgett eliminates paint and paint waste entirely. With one decision, Blodgett scores a win for business, a win for the customer -- and a big win for the state’s environment.

International Business Machines (IBM Chemical/ Environmental Programs) (Essex Jct., VT) - IBM, with 7,500 employees in Essex Junction, manufactures semiconductor memory and logic components for computers. A seventh-time award recipient, this year it is members of the energy conservation and pollution prevention team at IBM that are recognized for their efforts. At IBM, aggressively pursuing opportunities to conserve energy has netted both cost savings and pollution prevented. Over the years, however, it has become increasingly difficult and expensive to achieve additional savings -- that is until a business and production evaluation process was applied to the energy conservation program. The process allowed the IBM Energy Team to identify and adopt dozens more, easily overlooked energy saving measures that, when taken together significantly reduced energy use and prevented many energy production and consumption related pollutants. The Team converted exit signs to electroluminescent lamps, 95% more energy efficient than standard fluorescent bulbs and 92% more efficient than even newer LED lighting. Exit signs located throughout the facility are illuminated 8,760 hours per year. This alone illustrates how a seemingly trivial improvement can result in very real and significant energy savings and pollution prevention due to the number of units and the hours of operation. As a result of this and other energy conservation initiatives, during the project period 1996 to 1998, IBM reduced its need for electric by 88,289 Megawatt hours resulting in pollution prevention savings of 11,875 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and a reduction in fuel consumption of 83,938 Million BTUs resulting in pollution prevention of 9,601 pounds of Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx). 911 pounds of Oxides of Sulfur (Sox) and 6,636 pounds of Carbon Monoxide (CO). Total energy consumption at IBM has reduced 6% each year since 1996.

USGen New England (A PG&E Company) - Toxics use reduction always makes sense where the goal is to reduce risks to ecosystems and communities. USGen New England operates five hydroelectric facilities in Vermont; providing clean, competitively priced power for the region. The five hydroelectric stations have recently completed a multi-year plant modernization, capital improvement and toxics use reduction project that resulted in the replacement of petroleum-based lubricating oil with vegetable-based oil in equipment directly exposed to waterways. USGen New England developed and now trains employees to implement "Green Systems Procedures" for tasks which have significant potential environmental, health or safety impact. Nearly a half-dozen additional initiatives now provide environmental safeguards that serve to prevent or minimize the release of contaminated oils into the waters of Vermont. Equipment modernization resulted in a 15,000 gallon reduction in the need for petroleum oil and mineral oil dielectric fluid. Taken together, these and other eco-efficiency initiatives cost several million dollars to implement but have reduced hazardous waste costs by 50%. Most importantly, this pollution prevention project has provided a significant level of added environmental protection for the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers, two of the region’s most valuable natural resources.

Small Businesses:

Residuum (Barre, VT) - Residuum exemplifies the wartime adage that reminds us to "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". Residuum is an important source for used, scrap and new building materials that haven’t been fully "used up or worn out" and would otherwise be wasted. These materials; doors, roofing, lumber, plumbing fixtures, bricks, tile, countertops and much more, are stored at a central warehouse and offered for sale to those needing building and other materials for remodeling, home repair, arts and crafts, and school projects. By actively soliciting, warehousing and offering for resale waste construction and demolition materials for reuse Residuum extends the useful lifespan of building supplies, conserves landfill space, and prevents the need to both manufacture and purchase new items. Residuum helps us to better understand and do what is necessary if we are to take the material wealth we enjoy today and...use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

Environmental, Community, and Non-Profit Organizations

National Wildlife Federation/Vermont State Dental Association (The dental mercury project) - In his 1865 book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll introduced a character he called the Mad Hatter. Although Carroll’s Mad Hatter was fictional, the strange and unpredictable behavior he displayed was not uncommon among people in the hat industry exposed to mercury in the 1800s. Mercury and other materials critical to society can become poisons to people and to wildlife if they are not managed or disposed of properly. Recognizing this risk, the National Wildlife Federation and the Vermont State Dental Society created a partnership with intent to design and implement an educational pollution prevention project designed to inform the Vermont dental community about alternatives to mercury-containing dental amalgam and how to properly manage mercury and other dental office wastes. The result of their efforts is a guide, The Environmentally Responsible Dental Office: A Guide to Proper Waste Management in Dental Offices. The guide was distributed to 342 Vermont dentists in June of 1999. In a follow-up survey to Vermont dentists, 80% of respondents indicated that they either had already, or were now planning to, make changes in their waste management practices as a result of reading the guide and that 63% of offices without a pollution prevention program planned to develop one. Increased awareness and a mercury collection effort has already netted nearly 40 pounds of elemental mercury collected from the shelves of dental offices in Vermont. With partnerships like this, it becomes possible to realize more environmentally sustainable business practices that serve to protect people and wildlife.

Public/Private Consortium

EVermont: Richard Watts & Harold Garabedian (Electric vehicles program) - EVermont was established by my office in 1993 as a non-profit public/private partnership of state agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations committed to testing electric vehicle technology in a cold climate and rural environment. EVermont works with engineering firms and electric vehicle and battery manufacturers to design, develop and evaluate new technologies and to integrate these and existing technologies into electric vehicles. From a one car pilot project, EVermont has grown to a multifaceted research and development program with more than 15 electric vehicles, an electric vehicle leasing program, and several trophies from the Tour de Sol -- a road race for electric vehicles. Evermont’s field testing of cold weather technologies has demonstrated that electric vehicles can and do work in Vermont’s winters. Both Richard Watts, Project Director, and Harold Garabedian have given of themselves tirelessly to realize the day when electric vehicles will make up a significant portion of the on-road vehicle population in Vermont and the nation.

Individual Citizens

Rocco J. Graziano (Mobile home park program) - As Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation’s Technical Assistance Director since August 1998, Rocco Graziano has assisted the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, mobile home park residents, and non-profit housing organizations to both correct and prevent health and safety concerns in mobile home parks. Residents of mobile home parks chronically must contend with environmental health problems related to inadequate separation between drinking water sources and contaminants from wastewater disposal systems and harmful activities taking place too near the well. Rocco’s expertise in water and sewer systems as a certified water system operator have made him invaluable in both correcting and preventing environmental health problems for Vermonters living in mobile home parks. As a volunteer health officer in both North Hero and in Colchester, Rocco organized the first free rabies vaccination clinic in Vermont; negotiated directly with the now closed medical waste incinerator, Safety Medical Systems, to address community and neighbors’ health concerns; and initiated an aggressive water testing program in Mallett’s Bay in Colchester to identify and monitor water pollution sources. Rocco Graziano is described by those he works with as thoughtful, savvy, results-oriented and driven to advocate for win-win solutions for both the environment and for low-income Vermonters. Vermont and Vermonters can only benefit from such drive and diligence to achieve environmental excellence in pollution prevention.

Alyssa Borowske and Brittany Moffett (Dangers of lead sinkers project) - Nearly one in eleven children in America have high levels of lead in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thousands of Vermonters unknowingly have lead in their homes. Because it’s often impossible to see, taste, or smell it and because it doesn’t break down naturally, lead remains a potential health risk until it’s either removed or managed properly. Before we knew how harmful it could be, lead was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other products. Preventing the release of lead into the environment began as early as the 1970s when gasoline was reformulated to eliminate lead. In 1978, lead-based house paints were banned, and lead solder was banned in 1988. Lead is still a threat to species in the wild, however. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has begun a campaign to warn anglers about how loons and other bottom-feeding waterfowl can die of lead poisoning after swallowing lead fishing sinkers and jigs lost by anglers. Eight of 15 (53 percent) adult loons in Vermont that were evaluated for cause of death between 1989 and 1998 died of lead poisoning from fishing sinkers. Individual Vermonters are also working to eliminate the risk of lead exposure. Alyssa Borowske and Brittany Moffett are both Cadette Girl Scouts from Barre. These two young ladies completed their Silver Award service project with a hometown effort to encourage the use of non-lead sinkers. Alyssa and Brittany started a "get the lead out" campaign at their school, sponsored a poster contest with lead sinker awareness as the theme, and worked with the Barre Fish and Game Club to make its annual Gunner Brook Fishing Derby the state’s first lead-free fishing event. On that one day alone, they collected eight pounds of lead sinkers and swapped more than 200 sample packets of non-lead sinkers. The girl scout motto is to be prepared. Alyssa and Brittany prepared themselves to think big and to confront a real world problem in their own community. In a day and age where we look hard for reasons to embrace and believe in environmental optimism, Alyssa and Brittany make it easier for us all to envision a more environmentally sustainable future.

Institutions (Schools, Hospitals, Municipalities)

Vermont Law School/Truex Cullins & Partners Architects (Oakes Hall project) - Mahatma Ghandi exemplified a life philosophy based on the notion that we must each become the change we want to see in the world. His was a much more poetic way of saying that we must walk the talk or practice what we preach. The Vermont Law School, in South Royalton, and Truex Cullins & Partners Architects designed Oakes Hall as a model of what it means to live a life consistent in both word and deed. The school, reknown for its environmental law program, worked with its architects to design and have constructed a building with as small an ecological footprint as possible. This was accomplished by incorporating stress skin insulation panels and by using exceptionally durable fiber cement siding, composite wood trim, composting toilets, non-toxic flooring materials, super energy-efficient windows, photoelectric controlled energy-efficient lighting, and a seven-foot diameter enthalpic energy recovery wheel. The wheel, located within the ventilation air ductwork, is coated with a substance which absorbs and re-releases moisture thereby controlling humidity and recycling exhaust heat. The wheel recovers 80% of the heat in exhaust air, transferring it to incoming fresh air. Oakes Hall has reduced demand for fuel oil by 57% and the demand for electricity by 25%. Maintenance costs are 15% of what they would be had the decision been made to construct a more traditional building. Through its energy- and material-efficient design, the building eliminates much of the expense and prevents pollution typically associated with the building, operation and maintenance of traditional structures.

Teachers and Students

Community Planning Project of Lake Region Union High School (Barton River integrated enhancements) - The Barton River Integrated Enhancements project brings together schools, businesses and communities together to restore and prevent erosion damage within the riparian zone along the Barton River. Students at Lake Region Union High School work together with other community members to address existing and to prevent future erosion and siltation problems along the Barton River by constructing tree revetments. Such revetments typically consist of bushy cedar or spruce trees cabled to the river bank. The first riparian zone conservation plan was implemented in 1997 along 1,000 feet of the Barton River. Since then, over 2,000 feet of stream bank has been protected with tree revetments and nearly 20,000 linear feet of riparian zone has been set aside for conservation. In addition to the riverbank work, students constructed a bluebird trail with over 100 nesting boxes from Irasburg to Derby. Last year, AP Biology students checked 83 of the boxes and discovered that 23 were homes for Eastern Bluebirds. Of these 23 nesting boxes, there were 13 with eggs or young birds. On average there were four (4) eggs per box.
The Community Planning Project of Lake Region Union High School makes it readily apparent that where schools, businesses and communities come together purposely to improve the quality of damaged ecosystems and to prevent pollution, much can be accomplished.

Peoples Academy (Environmental quality monitoring of Morrisville’s watershed) - For the past five years, continuing to this day, students in Sheila Angelillo’s environmental science class have conducted physiobiochemical analyses twice each year on the Lamoille River to determine a water quality index, and to assess the impact of land use within the watershed, on the river, and on Lake Champlain. Data are collected on nine water quality parameters and the benthic macroinvertebrate community are sampled to determine a pollution tolerance index. The nine data parameters of water quality are those developed by the National Sanitation and include; dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, pH, biological oxygen demand, change in temperature, phosphates, nitrates, turbidity, total solids, and discharge which, taken together, provide a water quality index. Qualitative and quantitative assessments of the benthic macroinvertebrate community determine a pollution tolerance index. Field trips to a hydroelectric power plant, the town’s wellhead, a farm, the wastewater treatment plant, and riparian enhancement projects also are part of the curriculum designed to help students understand their watershed. This strong commitment to monitoring water quality over the long-term has itself presented a dilemma, however. Using wet chemistry techniques, chemical testing generated hazardous waste in the form of spent chemicals that required expensive disposal methods. Preventing the wastes generated during water quality testing would mean purchasing Calculator-Based Laboratory Systems with chemical sensor probes. These chemical sensor probes would prevent or eliminate much, if not all, of the hazardous waste generated. Sheila has worked hard, and continues her efforts, to find the necessary funding to complete a transition to these newer and cleaner technologies and to source reduce waste generated as a result of conducting the People’s Academy Watershed Monitoring Project. Sheila exemplifies the type of thinking and commitment to environmental excellence and problem solving that make pollution prevention and science come alive for students in ways that are meaningful to them and hold long-term benefits for everyone and everything living within the community and the watershed.

Public Agencies

United States Post Office (White River Junction, VT) - The United States Postal Service operates at over 200 locations in the state of Vermont. Facilities include post offices, stations, and branches, as well as mail processing facilities. The White River Junction Mail Processing and Distribution Center is the second largest Postal facility in Vermont, with over 400 employees and 89,000 square feet under one roof. Beginning as early as 1993, employees at the White River Junction Mail Processing and Distribution Center implemented a Comprehensive Pollution Prevention Initiative that included five separate activities. The activities focused on energy conservation; eliminating the use of EPA’s targeted chemicals; repair rather than replacement of damaged equipment; equipment reuse and recycling; and eco-purchasing that gave preference to products with recycled content. Energy conservation measures helped save 115 megawatt hours per year -- the amount of electricity needed to meet the annual electrical needs of 16 Vermont homes! Employees practiced toxics use reduction by replacing cleaners, strippers, glues, paints and solvents with less- and non-toxic alternatives. In addition, they reduced the need for replacement equipment by seeking opportunities to repair broken equipment and by finding reuse opportunities for what typically had been disposed of in the past. Changing the culture of a workplace is difficult, if not impossible, without the concerted efforts of many people throughout an organization. It’s clear that environmental excellence in pollution prevention has forever changed the environmental practices and organizational culture at the United States Postal Service.