2002 Governor's Award Recipients

Environmental Excellence in
Pollution Prevention
Projects in this category reduce or eliminate the generation of pollutants and wastes at the source. The award category also includes toxics use reduction (TUR) efforts.

The City of Burlington - Vermont's largest city is home to many innovative programs designed to better the lives of its citizens. In 1996, the city of Burlington recognized the environmental, economic, and social threats posed by Global Warming and joined "Cities for Climate Protection," a campaign organized by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. This provided the springboard for the City Council's decision in 1998 to reduce Burlington's greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent by 2010. The Mayor formed the Burlington Climate Protection Task Force, now known as the Alliance for Climate Action, and charged it with developing an action plan to achieve the city's goal. In May of 2000, the City Council adopted the Alliance's Climate Action Plan, an impressive document that details how the city intends to achieve its 10% reduction. A major component of this plan is a public outreach campaign called the 10% Challenge.

The Ten Percent Challenge is a voluntary campaign to raise public awareness about global climate change and to encourage actions from individuals and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2010. The 10% Challenge aims to recognize those individuals and businesses for their actions by sharing their successes and by monitoring and reporting the community's progress. Besides public presentations, the 10% Challenge offers citizens a Web site where they can register their participation, calculate their current annual greenhouse gas emissions, learn about strategies they can use to reduce those emissions, and use the calculator to keep track of their progress.

While the future of Earth's climate cannot be conclusively known, the potential scale and irreversibility of these impacts suggests we do what we can now to avoid such impacts. Senator Leahy says "A small state can lead the way in the effort to stop climate change. By taking the 10% Challenge, Vermonters can be part of the solution, and set an example for other states." Our thanks to the City of Burlington for its leadership role in helping to prevent the generation of greenhouse gas emissions - thereby reducing our contributions to global climate change.

IBM Back Side Grind Process Team - IBM's Back Side Grind Process Team is recognized for optimization of its Back Side Grind and Polish Process. With this award, IBM marks a decade of achieving environmental excellence in pollution prevention. IBM shows that pollution prevention can become part of the very fabric of a company - and that it proves profitable to do so. This year the company's Back Side Grind Process Team is recognized for their redesign of a process that involves grinding and polishing the backside of silicon wafers before being cut into computer chips. The grinding and polishing tool that IBM purchased was designed to use polishing slurry that contains heterocyclic amine, a known skin irritant. By testing alternative slurries for the polishing process, the team was able to find one that worked. This product substitution reduced process cost, eliminated the heterocyclical amine, and minimized facility infrastructure and wastewater treatment costs. Total one-time savings are estimated to be $245,000 for reduced infrastructure costs and annual savings in chemical costs are estimated to be approximately $1M. Indeed, IBM proves once again that pollution prevention pays.

IBM Energy Management Team - IBM's Energy Management Team is recognized for its work in energy management. The IBM Essex Junction facility has a long history of aggressively pursuing energy conservation, with exceptional results. Team efforts to replace single-speed motors with Variable Frequency Drive motors have decreased electrical demand by from 20-40%. With decreased semiconductor production demand in 2001 and 2002, IBM also revisited a standard procedure that had them idling unused equipment in order to keep them on stand-by. Taking into account new realities, the Energy Management Team worked with managers to modify standard procedure in order to shut down tools that would otherwise be idled for long periods of time.

Additionally, IBM is the only large industrial facility in the State of Vermont that participates in the Independent System Operators New England Load Response program. The goal of the program is to reduce electrical load during periods of peak energy usage. IBM's Energy Management Team reviewed electrical consumption on-site to identify possible electrical devices that could be turned off or down for short periods of time without serious consequence to manufacturing processes. A detailed procedure was tested in April 2002 when temperatures within the region created the first critical test of the program. The New England Power Pool declared a "Power Caution" and a "Power Watch" for all of the New England states except Maine. IBM was able to shed 2 Megawatts of consumption for several hours. The New England Power Pool was thus able to maintain service to their customer base and no involuntary power disruptions were imposed.

For more than a decade now the Essex Junction facility has exceeded IBM's corporate goal of achieving energy conservation savings of 4% of annual energy use. Economic savings over the last two years are approximately $9M. In that same time period, IBM saved 123,000-Megawatt hours and reduced energy-related air pollutants by an estimated 27,591 pounds.

Brown's Auto Salvage - Mark Brown owns and operates Brown's Auto Salvage located in Bomoseen, Vermont. The company is a model for how to do at least two things at once: attend to the needs of building a successful auto salvage business AND operating in a manner that respects and protects the environment. At the dismantling shop where salvagable parts are reclaimed and the vehicle is prepared for crushing; oil, antifreeze, gasoline and other fluids are drained and, where possible, stored for reuse. Much of the oil is used to heat the shop, the antifreeze is given away to quarry operators and loggers to be used in their equipment, and gasoline reuse has accounted for more than 5,000 gallons last year alone. Inexpensive red plastic caps are used to plug hoses and drains before bringing the vehicle to the crusher. Refrigerants, which pose a threat to the Earth's statospheric ozone layer, are removed from vehicles using certified equipment, and lead wheel weights and mercury switches commonly found in hoods and trunks are removed to avoid accidental release to the environment.

By dismantling and salvaging reusable mechanical parts and removing fluids indoors Brown extends the useable life of vehicle parts and prevents potential releases of contaminants to the environment. Special dismantling trays were built for each of the four dismantlers to capture any fluids dripping from a vehicle while it is being dissasembled. This minimizes indoor spills of oil and ensures each drop of usable fluid goes to reuse.

As a service to his community, Brown accepts any vehicle from nearby residents without charge. Mark Brown serves the larger community of salvage yard operators by sharing with them the environmentally sound practices he uses in his business. As he puts it himself, he's eager to prove that… "We're not the problem; we are the solution to processing the more than 30,000 end-of-life vehicles in Vermont every year".

Environmental Excellence in
Environmental Stewardship & Resource Protection
Projects with measurable and direct benefits to air, land or water - or fish, wildlife and human communities dependent upon a clean and healthy environment.

Central Vermont Public Service Forestry Department - The Forestry Department of Central Vermont Public Service is recognized for its pioneering, innovative, and cost-effective forest management system. With its home office in Rutland, Central Vermont Public Service is an independent, investor-owned company providing energy and energy-related services to customers in nearly three-quarters of the towns, villages and cities of Vermont. The company employs 540 people and serves the electrical energy needs of nearly half of all Vermonters.

Working under the belief that an improved plant and tree environment along utility line rights-of-way will ultimately improve electric service costs and reliability, the CVPS Forestry Department has focused on environmental stewardship as a company priority. Toward that end they have created a unique forest management program that includes planting low-growing tree species -- including dwarf fruit trees, selective cutting of limbs and trees, a minimal use of herbicides, and specific management techniques designed to foster bird and wildlife populations.

CVPS efforts have substantially improved tree and plant health in and along thousands of miles of right-of-way managed by the company, cut the average number of hours customers are without service by more than two-thirds, reduced herbicide use by nearly 90 percent, and improved habitat to foster whitetail deer, songbird, American Kestrel, wild turkey, and other wildlife populations.

Patricia Hanson - Patricia Hanson, of Burlington, is recognized for her commitment to energy efficiency and her Super Energy Efficient Home built in 2000. Pat believes strongly that we all should do whatever we can to reduce fossil fuel use to protect the environment. Her new 2,000 square-foot home has all the modern conveniences and space but it comes with a very low energy bill when compared to a typical new Vermont home -- about 42% less for heating and hot water and 60% less for electricity. The home has been recognized as one of the most energy efficient in Vermont by Vermont home builders and energy efficiency professionals.

Pat Hanson, her architect and builder teamed up with the Burlington Electric Department and Vermont Gas Systems to design this special home to exceed Residential Building Energy Code requirements by building a house using super-insulation techniques, high-efficiency windows and high-efficency heating and hot-water equipment. Pat also wanted to include solar technology and installed a 1.4 killowatt photovoltaic array where the excess electricity is sold back to Burlington Electric Department.

Pat chose to use building materials that are mostly made from recycled products. The cellulose insulation in the walls and attics and the fiber-cement siding are two primary examples. The high level of energy efficiency in combination with the use of solar technology reduces this home's contribution to global greenhouse gas emmissions by over 50% when compared to a typical new Vermont home.

Pat encourages people to visit and to ask questions about her new home hoping that the excitement about her special home will encourage others to do the same.

Environmental Excellence in
Resource Conservation
Projects that conserve resources and protect the environment by minimizing resource consumption or by applying the strategies of reuse or recycling.

Smugglers' Notch Resort - Smugglers' Notch Resort is recognized for its Energy & Water Conservation efforts. Smugglers' Notch Resort is a year round destination resort catering to families. Smugglers' owns more than 1,000 acres and leases approximately 3,000 acres from the State of Vermont. Their resort village consists of approximately 550 homes, restaurants, a grocery store, a sport shop and various administrative offices. Smuggler's was previously recognized for their pollution prevention initiatives and their innovative wastewater treatment system.

Since 1998, new residential construction in the resort village has been built to the highest standards of energy efficiency, marking Smugglers' as the first Five Star Builder in the State of Vermont. In addition, Smugglers' has won the "Best of the Best" award from the Vermont Energy Star Program for multi-family construction in 1999 and 2002. In 2002, Smugglers' constructed a state of the art day care facility. The heating, cooling and lighting were designed to exceed the Vermont Guidelines for Energy Efficient Commercial Construction. Buildings at Smugglers' Notch feature energy efficient fluorescent lighting, LED exit lights, high efficiency Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems, high insulation values, and energy efficient appliances. In 2001 alone, estimated energy savings amounted to 318,693-kilowatt hours and saved Smugglers' more than $38,000. Water conservation efforts reduce domestic water consumption by an estimated 10%, or 3,000,000 gallons annually.

Smugglers' Notch Resort continues to make good on its commitment to being responsible stewards of Vermont's natural resources. Smugglers' environmental vision is realized through initiatives large and small that together seek to create more sustainable operations today and to weave together a more sustainable tomorrow for future generations of Vermonters.

IBM Chemical Mechanical Polish Team - IBM's Chemical Mechanical Polish Team is recognized for its Water Use Reductions in the Chemical Mechanical Planarization step of Semiconductor Fabrication. Chemical Mechanical Planarization -- or CMP for short -- is one of the most water intensive process steps in semiconductor manufacturing, representing more than 25% of the water used at the Essex Junction facility. IBM set a goal of 2% reduction in water use per year and knew that to obtain that goal they were going to have to find savings in the CMP process.

IBM's Chemical Mechanical Polish Team was able to reduce CMP water usage by 7.5% through process changes and equipment replacements, saving 118 million gallons per year with a cost savings of approximately $1,300,000 per year for deionized water production, energy consumption, and wastewater treatment. The chemical and energy costs of making deionized water are immense both financially and in terms of chemical use. By reducing the need for deionized water, IBM eliminates the use of 6,680 gallons of sulfuric acid; 1,080 gallons of Sodium Bisulfite; 8,700 gallons of Sodium Hydroxide; and nearly 93 tons of lime annually. Reducing the need for deionized water and replacing inefficient tools reduces IBM's energy demand by nearly 9,600,000-kilowatt hours. This translates into the elimination of almost one ton of carbon dioxide that would normally be produced as a byproduct of power generation.

The economic and resource conservation advantages of the equipment and process changes have been widely communicated within the IBM semiconductor manufacturing process and equipment engineering communities. The work of the IBM engineering team to improve the performance of the CMP tools will ultimately result in these improvements being available to other semiconductor manufacturers through internal and external alliances.

Middlebury College - Middlebury College is recognized for its recent Deconstruction Project. Middlebury College is a reknown co-educational, liberal arts institution located on a hillside overlooking the Town of Middlebury and the rolling farmlands of the Champlain Valley. Middlebury College is also recognized nationally as an environmental leader in campus operations.

Middlebury College has had a long tradition of environmental commitment that it continues to demonstrate -- most recently by diverting over 97% of an old science building through salvage, reuse and recycling after several consultants determined that the building was not a candidate for adaptive reuse. In the fall of 2001, T-REX Corporation of East Derry, NH, was hired to deconstruct a six-story structure formerly housing the science department. The site would then be reused as the location for a new library and technology center. Over 1,350 tons of materials (97.4% of the total) -- concrete, copper, rebar, stainless steel, limestone, and science equipment -- were diverted for new uses. This left only 36 tons -- or 2.6% of the total -- of roofing and composite materials requiring disposal at a construction and demolition landfill. The science equipment was donated to fourteen high schools in Vermont after an announcement invited schools to select from equipment that was not moved to the new science center. From triple beam balances to spectrometers to test tubes, area schools received thousands of dollars worth of useful science equipment.

The benefits of the deconstruction approach included fewer community impacts, significantly higher return of resources to the economy through reclamation, minimal generation of waste for the landfill, and access to crushed concrete that will be used in upcoming campus construction projects. Middlebury's experience raises the bar for colleges and others facing retirement and replacement of unneeded buildings. Vermont's current structures may indeed someday be viewed as the raw material "forests and quarries" from which to harvest or mine resources for other building projects.

Environmental Excellence in
Land Use & Land Use Planning
Projects that preserve or conserve land to create ecological and environmental benefits or that advance smart growth alternatives.

Stratton Mountain Resort - Stratton Mountain Resort is recognized for its wildlife management program and the Conservation Easements they put into effect to preserve important wildlife habitat and travel corridors. Stratton Mountain is a year-round ski and golf destination resort. Stratton employs a year-round staff of 250 and 1,100 during the winter season.

A land conservation agreement between Stratton and the State of Vermont will permanently preserve and protect nearly 1,000 acres of black bear, white-tailed deer, and Bicknell's thrush habitat. These easements are the culmination of a decade-long effort to better understand the effects of ski area development on Vermont's black bears. The wildlife habitat needing protection was identified in the resort's master planning process, and was based in part on two Stratton-sponsored wildlife research projects: a six-year radio telemetry study of the black bear and an on-going study of the Bickenell's thrush.

While the state usually requires that two acres of land be offered as mitigation for each acre affected by development, Stratton's conservation easements up the ante for future development by moving the ratio closer to 18-to-1. The Stratton master plan, based on cluster rather than sprawl development, supports the resort's economic viability while permanently protecting nearly a third of the resort property for use by important wildlife species.

Environmental Excellence in
Education & Outreach
Projects that inform and educate others about environmentally responsible practices or that empower citizens to enhance the quality of the environment for local, regional or global communities.

Edward D. Leary - Edward Leary is honored today for his role as both an inspired and inspiring Environmental Educator and for his role as the Champion Land Transaction Coordinator working for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation.

We are, each of us, many things to many people - and our actions, like the ripple from a pebble tossed into a pond, touch many others. Mr. Ed Leary has done much to advance the cause of environmental education and educational excellence both as an environmental educator at Community College of Vermont since 1986, and as Operations Director at the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation.

His caring attitude toward the environment and to his students ensures that it is a win-win for both Vermont's environment and for the students coming to his class to learn about the environment. No one taking his classes leaves uninformed, unimpressed with the need to take action in defense of the environment, and lacking the skills and the motivation to make a difference.

Additionally, Mr Leary was State government's " environmental champion" regarding the Champion Land discussions. He coordinated planning efforts necessary to realize the Champion land transaction in the northeast region of Vermont. A major accomplishment in the cause of environmental protection is to preserve both a working landscape and the way of life that maintains and sustains that working landscape. The working forestlands, approximately 85,000 acres, shall remain in timber production through a "working forest" easement that also provides perpetual public access. By creating a sustainable forest resource through "working forest" easements, private enterprise is assured that a high quality timber resource will exist in the region. The perpetual public access easement requires public access for hunting, fishing, trapping hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and other recreational uses. Habitat protection, air and water quality protection are also enhanced by protection of these lands.

They say that actions speak louder than words. If this is so, then Mr. Leary's joint roles both as an educator and as a state employee with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation allows him to model how we can all become Earth stewards in all the many aspects of our lives.

Sugarbush Resort/Summit Ventures NE LLC - Sugarbush Resort/Summit Ventures is recognized for its Resort Green Team and for its GMX Alternating Current Drive Installation Project. Sugarbush Resort is a destination mountain resort located in the Mad River Valley. The all season resort offers skiing and snowboarding in the winter and in the summer offers golf and a Kids Adventure Camp. Sugarbush Resort was purchased during the summer of 2001 by Summit Ventures. The new owners re-established the resort's "Green Team" and challenged them to achieve goals set for water conservation, water quality protection, energy management, and solid waste minimization

The resort has completed lighting retrofits to one of their Base Lodges and an Administration building, purchased Vending Misers for five vending machines, and converted five electric lift shack heaters to gas. Water conservation fixtures have been installed in all common area and public restrooms. All of the resort's brochures have been printed on recycled paper along with the 2002/2003 trail maps.

In 1998, Sugarbush Resort received local and state approval to install a new high speed detachable express quad lift on Mt. Ellen. The project was postponed until the Spring of 2002 when the new owners of the resort signed a contract with Lietner/Poma to move ahead with the project. Although the lift had been previously designed and permitted, a complete reevaluation of the design and equipment selection was necessary to determine the feasibility of the proposed project. The reevaluation concluded that the by changing the drive and motor from DC to AC, the best available technology could be applied to this project.

The design and equipment change to an AC drive and motor increase the energy efficiency to 95%, eliminating the need for an estimated 26,000-kilowatt hours of electricity per year with an estimated energy savings of $1,400 annually. This equates to a reduction in Carbon Dioxide emissions of approximately 39,000 lbs. The AC Drive motor system is the first of its kind for a ski lift in the East.

Central Vermont Public Service - Central Vermont Public Service is recognized for its Osprey Program. CVPS has worked for more than a decade to help improve the nesting and fledgling success of endangered ospreys at Lake Arrowhead in Milton. Besides the nuts-and-bolts effort of building nesting platforms and nesting sites for this relative of hawks and eagles, CVPS developed an extensive effort to educate Vermonters, in particular young schoolchildren, about these wonderful birds.

The osprey is a dramatic and spectacular species, once on the verge of extinction in Vermont and much of the United States. Osprey populations in Vermont had been severely reduced by DDT, an insecticide that got into the food chain and ultimately crippled osprey reproduction. The chemical caused thin, brittle eggshells to be produced, which failed under the weight of the brooding parents.

CVPS efforts to inform and educate the public about the plight of ospreys culminated in 2001 and 2002 with publication of "Meeri Meets the Ospreys," and with development of an osprey website targeted to young Vermonters. CVPS staff wrote and produced the full-color, hardbound book and a companion five-part teaching unit for elementary schools. The book was donated to every third-grader in the state -- including public, private, and home-schooled students - and sent to every elementary school and public library. Additional copies of the book have been sold, with proceeds from the sale being donated to the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife's Non-Game and Natural Heritage Program, with which CVPS has partnered to protect ospreys.

In 2002, ospreys attempted to nest at 55 locations in Vermont. Of those 39 osprey pairs were successful at raising 68 osprey chicks to the fledgling or flight age! CVPS's educational efforts and collaborative work with state officials have paid enormous dividends. A bird once nearly lost can now be seen soaring Vermont's skies, and thousands of Vermonters and their children have learned not only about the careful balance of nature, but how human actions can affect it for the better.