(July 9, 2019) During its Annual Summit & Expo in Chicago, held from June 4-7, the Western Dredging Association (WEDA) presented the “2019 Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Dredging” to the Great Lakes Legacy Act team that successfully remediated the wetlands below the former Zephyr Oil Refinery in Michigan. EPA funding for this remediation project was provided through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
The award was presented to the project team from EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC (EA) and Sevenson Environmental Services (SES) for the dredging and restoration of the Former Zephyr Refinery: Fire Suppression Ditch project (Zephyr project). The award was also accepted by:
- U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
- Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
- Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
- West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission
- Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership
The Environmental Excellence Award recognized the team’s environmental awareness while dredging at the Zephyr site, part of the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern in Michigan. It also recognized outstanding contributions to the goals of WEDA, which are to “promote communication and understanding of environmental issues and stimulate new solutions associated with dredging and placement of dredged materials such that dredging projects, including navigation and environmental, are accomplished in an efficient manner while meeting environmental goals.”
At the summit, WEDA also presented the “2019 Special Recognition Award” to GLNPO. The award was officially presented by Marcel Hermans, WEDA President and Chair, WEDA Board of Directors, and accepted on GLNPO’s behalf by Marc Tuchman, Chief of the Great Lakes Remediation and Restoration Branch, GLNPO.
The Special Recognition Award recognized GLNPO’s long-standing efforts to restore and protect the health of the Great Lakes, specifically by remediating historical contamination in ports, harbors, and other waterways.
GLNPO coordinates U.S. efforts with Canada to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. In addition, it brings together federal, state, tribal, local, and industry partners under the strategic framework of the GLRI to accomplish the objectives of the GLRI action plan.
View the Zephyr remediation project by Sevenson
Read the article here: https://www.glri.us/node/230