Applications open for clean water award

The winners will be announced at USPOULTRY’s Environmental Management Seminar to be held March 7-8 in Tennessee.

“This is our seventh year for this competition, and the applications we receive each year are always very impressive with respect to performance of all the facilities,” said Don Dalton, USPOULTRY president.

“What sets the award winners apart is their personal commitment to enhancing the environment…sometimes through involvement with community environmental service projects, sometimes through wildlife habitat improvement, sometimes through enhanced operator training programs that result in performance far beyond permit requirements.”

There are two categories for the award: one for full treatment facilities (those that fully reclamate their wastewater prior to discharge into a receiving water or final land application system) and one for pretreatment facilities (those that discharge pretreated effluent to publicly-owned full treatment facilities).

Any USPOULTRY member company is eligible to submit one nominee in each category. Facilities that have previously won the award may not be re-nominated for five years. Applications must be submitted by 28 December, 2006.

An evaluation committee comprised of university personnel, industry engineers and managers and state regulatory officials will review the application packages and select two semifinalist facilities in each category. The review committee will then visit the semifinalist facilities to select the award recipients.

More information can be obtained by emailing John Starkey, vice president environmental programs, USPOULTRY.