Environmental Achievement Award Winners
Award Categories
One award per year may be granted in the following categories:
- Environmental Management
- Mitigation
- Outreach/Education/Community Involvement
Award Criteria
Entries are judged based on the following criteria:
- Environmental Benefit
- Innovation
- Effective Implementation
- Widespread Applicability
- Cost Effectiveness
2007 Winners
Environmental Management Award Category:
San Francisco International Airport: Environmental Sustainability Program
The San Francisco International Airport plays a key role in meeting the City's commitment to attaining environmental sustainability. Significant measures have been undertaken to reduce emissions, save energy, improve water quality, preserve natural resources, and minimize waste at the airport. Components of the airport's Environmental Sustainability Program include a pilot program with Virgin Atlantic to tow departing aircraft part-way to the runway, 400 Hz power and pre-conditioned air at many gates, conversion of airport shuttles to bio-diesel fuel, installation of solar panels, and a solid waste minimization and recycling program.
Outreach/Education/Community Involvement:
Portland International Airport: Environmental Outreach and Communications Program
The Port of Portland's Environmental Outreach and Communication Program informs stakeholders about the Port's aviation environmental programs and integrates stakeholder input to those programs through use of Community Integration Guidelines developed specifically for the Program. The Program, which includes a dedicated Environmental Outreach Manager, enhances relationship building between the airport and the community, allowing more effective implementation of the airport's proactive environmental projects.
Mitigation Award Category:
Dane County Regional Airport: Runway 14/32 Safety Area and Associated Improvements
To bring Runway 14/32's safety area into compliance with FAA design standards, the Dane County Regional Airport relocated 2.4 miles of active rail line, 0.8 miles of a county highway, over one mile of creek, and the airport perimeter road and fence. The project resulted in 36 acres of direct wetland fill and 35 acres of secondary impact, necessitating 53 acres of wetland mitigation credit. In conjunction with 10 federal, state, and local agencies, the airport developed an on-site mitigation plan that included measures to address adverse historical impacts to water resources. The airport restored both the hydrology of the Cherokee Fen, including buffer plantings and sediment removal, and the Starkweather Creek. The mitigation measures of the project will result in a net overall enhancement to local water resources.
Special Recognition Award
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport: Runway 10-28 Rehabilitation, Levee Lift, Flood Gate, and Canal Enclosure
Having been in service for almost 30 years without a major rehabilitation, rehabilitating Runway 10-28 became a priority for the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in late 2003. The project was completed successfully through use of monetary incentives for early completion, innovative and environmentally-friendly construction techniques, and inclusion of regional flood protection construction works. Completion of the rehabilitation coincided almost to the hour of Hurricane Katrina making landfall near New Orleans. With daily operations soaring from an average of 700 to as many as 3,800, completion of the rehabilitated runway proved critical to emergency operations following the Hurricane's devastating effects.
2006 Winners
Class A/B Airport Category
Winnipeg International Airport: Central Deicing Facility
Winnipeg Airports Authority constructed the Central Deicing Facility to address community concerns regarding aircraft deicing activities and water quality. WAA conducted extensive soil studies and glycol deposition modeling to design the CDF. Part of this effort included a unique wind dispersion model that was developed to estimate the amount of aircraft deicing fluid that becomes airborne during application and the drift pattern based on various wind velocities. Results of the model led to a design that maximized total recovery of ADF, therefore reducing the environmental impacts from glycol which landed outside the deicing pad. The central facility also allows for more efficient deicing operations and direct taxi to the departure runway. While the facility was only commissioned in September 2005, initial data indicates significantly improved surface water quality and glycol recovery rates.
Class C/D Airport Category
Oakland International Airport: Materials Management Program
Through its Materials Management Program, Oakland International Airport handles and processes demolition waste for reuse in airport construction projects. Through the MMP, over 300,000 cubic yards of construction material will be recycled over a 5-year period. Waste materials from airport projects are stockpiled, crushed, and blended to make FAA specified aggregate base for reuse in other airport projects. The program aims to reduce the adverse environmental impacts, high disposal costs, and high import costs resulting from airfield and roadway construction projects by reprocessing waste concrete, asphalt, and soil for reuse. The MMP has resulted in reduced truck trips on local roads, elimination of truck-generated air emissions, and diversion of waste from landfills. The program has also saved over $2.6 million in waste disposal costs and $200,000 in material import costs.
2005 Winners
Class A/B Airport Category
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority: Glycol Biotreatment System
In 2002/2003, OMCIAA designed and constructed a glycol Biotreatment System to prevent glycol releases to the neighboring Rideau River. The Rideau River is an affluent of the Ottawa River, which itself is a tributary of the St. Laurence River. The system was designed to capture the glycol-impacted storm water and treat it in a manner that would not attract wildlife and at minimal operational cost. Ideal indigenous soil conditions and a network of perforated pipes have allowed them to treat the glycol impacted storm water underground using bacteria. This innovative system has proven that glycol-impacted storm water can be treated in-situ with no impact to the neighboring water bodies.
Class C/D Airport Category
Los Angeles World Airports—Los
Angeles International
Airport: Hydrogen Fueling and Generation Station
Honorable Mention
Westchester County Airport: Airport-Wide Environmental Management Systems (AEMS) Registered to the ISO 14001 Standard
Westchester County Airport (HPN) designed, implemented and achieved successful registration of an ISO 14001 Airport-Wide Environmental Management System (AEMS) in August 2004. The County Executive, Andrew J. Spano, committed to implement an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System that would ensure stakeholder confidence in the sound environmental performance of the airport and would include all parties that have the potential to impact the environment at the airport. To achieve this goal, it was decided that all operations including those performed by tenants, contractors, vendors, County Departments, and AvPORTS, the County’s management agent, would have to be addressed. The resulting AEMS coordinated the environmental components of all activities performed by eight (8) County Departments, forty (40) prime tenants, County and tenant contractors and vendors, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and AvPORTS. Over 1500 individuals are employed by these various organizations and participate in the AEMS.
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