The Environmental Council of the States Thursday announced the six recipients of its 2017 State Program Innovation Awards, including the Department of Environmental Protection’s Brownfields To Playfields initiative.

ECOS spotlights the innovation of state environmental agencies in addressing community concerns, improving the interface of regulated entities with state agencies, and putting land back into productive use,” said ECOS President John Linc Stine, Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “Nearly 30 projects were nominated for this recognition, and we commend these award winners on their selection.”

Nominations were sought in the areas of business process improvement, community outreach, and land revitalization – as well as innovations in air and water.

DEP’s Brownfields To Playfields Initiative aims to restore and repurpose more than 40 acres of former industrial lands for recreation and conservation, particularly in underserved communities, by improving project coordination between multiple state agencies, local governments, federal programs, and private partnerships.

In July, a groundbreaking ceremony at the first of seven pilot projects dedicated the future site of the Ira Reynolds Riverfront Park, transformed from a former railyard in Susquehanna County. (Photo)

Click Here for a list of all award winners.

The Awards will be presented at the Association’s Fall meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Environmental Council of the States is a nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders.

To learn more about the brownfields program, visit DEP’s Brownfield Redevelopment webpage.

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Former Susquehanna County Railyard To Be Converted To Community Park

[Posted: August 10, 2017]

8/14/2017