FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2012
Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Bob McDonnell
Governor McDonnell Announces Environmental Excellence Award Winners
RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today announced the winners of the 2012 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards, which will be presented at the Environment Virginia Symposium in Lexington.
The awards recognize the significant contributions of environmental and conservation leaders in three categories: environmental projects, environmental programs and land conservation. They are given to businesses and industrial facilities, not-for-profit organizations and government agencies.
Speaking about the awards, Governor McDonnell remarked, “The accomplishments of these award winners are truly impressive. They demonstrate a clear commitment to improve our environment and make the lives of all Virginians better.”
The awards will be presented by Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech, Department of Environmental Quality Director David Paylor, and Department of Conservation and Recreation Director David Johnson. Four Bronze level, four Silver level, and five Gold level awards will be presented.
The Gold Medal winners are:
· Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority for its successful efforts to protect and preserve land with significant agricultural, natural, scenic and historic resources. The authority has filled an important niche by enabling smaller landowners who might not meet the criteria of other programs to place land in easement.
· NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility for its highly successful Energy Savings Performance Project, a broad-perspective analysis of alternative measures. The project was a multi-year collaborative effort between the Wallops Environmental Office and the Wallops Facilities Management Branch to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint.
· NASA Langley Research Center for implementation of the “revitalization through sustainability” concept for the campus. This initiative included building high-performance green buildings, upgrading current infrastructure to be more energy efficient and conserve water, and making the core campus a walkable community.
Office of the Governor
Contact: Jeff Caldwell
Phone: (804) 225-4260
Email: Jeff.Caldwell@Governor.Virginia.Gov
Department of Environmental Quality
Contact: Ann Regn
Phone: (804) 698-4482
Email: Ann.Regn@deq.virginia.gov
