KANAWHA CITY, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has handed out its top environmental awards for the year.
A ceremony was held at DEP headquarters in Kanawha City Monday afternoon where 19 organizations from 14 counties were honored.
Mitchell DeBoard, president of the Buffalo Creek Watershed Improvement Association in Clay County, was the final recipient. His group is working to establish a healthy stream with access to the Buffalo Creek Recreational Trail.
“We’ve got a 22 mile hiking, biking trail that’s in the works,” he explained. “We should have 15 miles of that open within the next two months probably.”
DeBoard said they’re hoping to expand the trout stockings once the trail is open to create more economic development in the area.
Hundreds of people have been a part of the effort, DeBoard said.
“We’ve had a lot of volunteers. We got our local businesses donated materials, times, labor, Boy Scout troops, 4H groups, too many to list, really,” he said.
The Boy Scout Troop 99 in Kanawha County has been recycling Christmas trees, aluminum, plastic, took part in the DEP’s Adopt a Highway program, planted trees in local parks and much more. Kim Mason, assistant scout master, said they were shocked to receive an award.
“It’s an honor to be named in this because I know there are so many other deserving people,” Mason said. “(We) do what we can to serve our communities because that’s what scouting is all about.”
Several individuals were also recognized during Monday’s ceremony including retired Glenville State College professor Joe Evans. He worked to incorporate environmental education into his curriculum at the college.
“We try to bring these environmental groups in and try to encourage our students to remember the agencies when they go out into public schools and teach,” Evans said.
“This was really very special,” Evans said of his award. “I was very surprised and very very pleased.”
Randy C. Huffman, DEP cabinet secretary said in a news release, “Making sure West Virginia stays ‘Wild and Wonderful’ is a job that involves every citizen of this state, and I congratulate all of these recipients for dedicating their time to do their part.”
The 2016 Environmental Award recipients are listed below:
Cabinet Secretary Award:
The Buffalo Creek Watershed Improvement Association (Clay County)
Environmental Stewardship:
Greg Puckett, Mercer County Commission
Sajid Barlas, West Virginia Division of Highways
The City of St. Albans
Education and Community Involvement:
The Mercer County Solid Waste Authority
Boy Scout Troop 99 (Kanawha County)
Dr. Joe Evans, Glenville State College
Friends of the Hughes River (Ritchie County)
Outstanding Litter Control
Lt. Ron Gardner, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department
Landuse Development:
The Jefferson County Commission
Land Revitalization:
The City of Kingwood
Environmental Partnership:
Travis Bailey, Marshall University
The Guyandotte River Trail (Fayette County)
Improvement to Air Quality:
Orbital ATK (Mineral County)
Water Conservation:
Highland Hospital (Kanawha County)
Clean Energy:
Mary Ellen and Patrick Cassidy (First State Capitol, Ohio County)
Municipal Stormwater:
The City of Charleston
Municipal Stormwater:
The City of Fairmont
Sewage Treatment > 400,000 GPD:
The City of Parkersburg