Albany, N.Y. - The Buffalo River Restoration Project was awarded the 2013 The Business Council of New York State's Environmental Committee Chairman's Award. The Award was presented to Honeywell at The Business Council's Annual Industry Environment Conference.
“The Environmental Committee Chairman's Award highlights the business community's commitment to conserving resources, protecting and enhancing the environment and developing innovate approaches to environmental challenges,” said Heather C. Briccetti, Esq. “The Buffalo River Restoration Project is a noteworthy example of the business community's commitment to cultivate a more economically and environmentally sustainable New York.”
“We thank The Business Council for recognizing this multi-million project that will transform the Buffalo River into a recreational, economic, and community resource for decades to come,” said Evan van Hook, corporate vice president for health, safety, environment & sustainability for Honeywell. “Honeywell was honored to accept this award on behalf of the Buffalo River Restoration Partnership.”
About the Buffalo River Restoration Partnership
The Buffalo River Restoration Partnership is a unique public-private-nonprofit partnership, including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER® and Honeywell. This partnership is moving forward with a collaborative plan to address a number of environmental matters affecting the Buffalo River.
Congressman Brian Higgins, a member of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, has been instrumental in securing funding for the Buffalo River restoration and a tremendous champion for the project.
The environmental challenges include contaminated river sediments, poor water quality, a lack of safe public access, and insufficient fish and wildlife habitat. The goal is to remediate and restore the Buffalo River and drive economic development in the City of Buffalo.
The project involves addressing contaminated sediments in the lower six miles of the Buffalo River and the 1.3-mile City Ship Canal. The project has been designed to minimize near-term impact on river users while addressing those sediments that require remediation. Already, more than 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment has been removed from the Federal navigation channel. An additional estimated 450,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be removed from the river outside the navigation channel, which is equivalent to about 33,000 truckloads.
The Buffalo River Restoration Project is being performed under the Great Lakes Legacy Act program by USEPA and non-federal sponsors including Honeywell and Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER. Over the last decade, the combined efforts from the various partners have leveraged nearly $75 million dollars into restoration of the Buffalo River and its shoreline, making it one of the Great Lakes most successful revitalization efforts.
About The Business Council Environmental Committee Chairman's Award
The Environmental Committee Chairman's Award is presented at the Annual Industry Environment Conference by The Business Council. Competition is open to all members of The Business Council. All applications are evaluated on their strength in the following specific areas: results, transferability/scalability, environmental impact, resource conservation impact, economic progress, and innovation/uniqueness.
The nominated finalists made project presentations at the 2013 Annual Industry-Environment Conference earlier this month. The Buffalo River Restoration Project was selected for the award by the conference participants who witnessed the presentations.
Other projects entered in the competition were:
- The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's Cleaner, Greener, Communities Program, submitted by Ecology and Environment, Inc.
- The installation of a large rooftop solar panel array at Stewart's Shops manufacturing and distribution facility in Greenfield, N.Y, submitted by EnterSolar, Inc.
- The West Brook Conservation Initiative's primary objective is to improve water quality in Lake George through a natural storm water management system on a 5-acre site available for development, submitted jointly by The Lake George Association and The Chazen Companies.
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