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Ohio River Watershed Celebration Attracts Nearly 1,000, Recognizes Partnerships
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The 2011 Ohio River Watershed Celebration was held on September 22 attracting nearly 1,000 attendees who toured the region’s three rivers and discussed past, present and future goals and successes in protecting and improving Western Pennsylvania’s Ohio River watershed. The celebration, a free event and open to the public, will take place on board two Gateway Clipper Fleet boats. Recognizing Partnerships Awards were presented to organizations and individuals recognizing them for their exemplary efforts to restore and promoting our region’s streams and rivers as a valuable resource. The awards were presented to Joan Jessen, the Allegheny Land Trust, Monoca Borough and Michael Baker, Jr. Inc. Here are the details on each award winner: Individual – Joan Jessen: Joan Jessen holds a B. S. in Chemistry degree from Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia and worked as a chemist for several years. She is a volunteer monitor for the Chartiers Creek Watershed Association, treasurer of the Washington County Watershed Alliance, and editor of ChCWA and Alliance newsletters.
Other volunteer experience: Project Manager for the Upper Chartiers Creek River Conservation Plan, several terms on the Peters Township and Washington County Planning Commissions, past-president and currently First Vice-president of the League of Women Voters of Washington County.
She has also managed PR and video editing work for the League of Women Voters of Washington County and served as a director and vice-president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. She is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair, where she is an ordained elder.
Non- Profit- Allegheny Land Trust: Allegheny Land Trust is an organization formed in 1993 to protect land of natural value in and adjacent to Allegheny County.
Allegheny Land Trust’s mission is to serve as the lead land trust conserving and stewarding lands that support the scenic, recreational and environmental well-being of communities in Allegheny County and its environs. To date, ALT has protected more than 1,500 acres in Allegheny and Washington Counties.
ALT’s conservation efforts are guided by the ALT GREENPRINT, which is a map of regional conservation targets identifying lands that contain three primary criteria – biodiversity, unique scenic character and water quality and stormwater management functions. The ALT GREENPRINT ensures that ALT protects lands providing the greatest public benefit-per-acre.
Implementation of the ALT GREENPRINT has led to the conservation of lands in the Chartiers and Pine Creek Watersheds that provide stormwater management, reduce the impacts of flooding and improve water quality.
Notably, ALT’s Winfield Pines Conservation Area located in the Chartiers Creek Watershed has one of 8 untreated Abandoned Mine Drainage sites along Chartiers Creek. Allegheny Land Trust and its partners built a passive AMD treatment system to mitigate over 43 tons of iron oxide that was flowing into Chartiers Creek.
ALT continues its efforts to conserve lands within watersheds that will manage water quantity and improve water quality.
Local & Government – Monaca Borough – Mario Leone Borough Manger: Monaca Borough to receive an award recognizing them as being an exemplary local government making an effort to restore our regions rivers as a valuable resource. To receive this award will be the Borough Manager Mario Leone Jr. and Council President Norm Ely.
Some of the accomplishments of Monaca Borough include:
-- In October, it won one of 23 $150,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pilot grants for remediation and conversion of brownfields, the only winner in the state.
-- As a result, Monaca, Midland, Aliquippa and Coraopolis will begin planning with the Ohio River Trail Initiative, a bike and pedestrian path from Monaca Meanwhile, Monaca has been busily upgrading its infrastructure.
-- Energy audits by Johnson Controls "educated me on our energy performance," he said. "We changed all the ballasts in our lighting, our heating and air conditioning and in some buildings changed windows, doors, garage doors."
-- A new waterline monitoring and metering system that cost $1.5 million is guaranteed by Johnson Controls to save the borough $2.6 million over the
next 15 years. The new water meters are on WiFi, read by an antenna on the tank.
-- For $4.5 million, 17,000 feet of waterlines have been replaced and an elevated water tank is being built.
-- Instead of having to pump water 24/7 to maintain pressure, water will be pumped up to the elevated tank at night. Gravity will take care of the rest.
Industry – Michael Baker Jr., Inc.: They have also nominated Michael Baker Jr., Inc. with an outstanding Project Award for the design of the Rain Garden in Moon Twp. Michael Baker Jr., Inc. has designed three rain gardens this summer in the area between Moon Township's Municipal and Public Safety buildings giving it a new environmentally friendly face-lift.
Moon Township officials have installed a rain garden at 1000 Beaver Grade Road and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awarded the township a $90,000 grant for the project.
The garden features the township's new 9/11 memorial, which is rafted from a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.
The new rain gardens consists of three 20-by-60-foot landscaped islands and will absorb rainwater runoff from the buildings' parking lots, allowing it to filtrate through plants and into the ground.
To receive the award for Michael Baker will be the designer Mal Petroccia and Sandie Egley, Manager of Business Development.
The organizations that volunteer their time in addition to the USACE to educate the public and sponsor the event include Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, CONSOL, PA American Water, Stream Restoration Inc., the Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, and many others.
Sponsors of the event include: CONSOL Energy (Prime Sponsor); American Waterworks Association; Anonymous; Bankson Engineers; Connections Academy, LLC; Michael Baker Jr., Inc.; BioMost, Inc.; Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds; HARSCO; David E. Hess, PA Environment Digest; Dept. Conservation & Natural Resources; DEP Environmental Education Grant; Fish & Boat Commission; Pennsylvania American Water; Peoples Natural Gas; PlasTie LLC; Port of Pittsburgh Commission; Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh; Society for Analytical Chemistry of Pittsburgh; Stream Restoration Inc.; Three Rivers Regatta; W.K. Merriman Inc.; and West View Water Authority.
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10/10/2011 |
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