Ten Texas Efforts to Receive State's Highest Environmental Honor from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

[TCEQ via BizWire]

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2004--The Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality today announced the winners of the
2004 Environmental Excellence Awards, the state's highest
environmental honor. Ten diverse environmental projects representing
the state's most outstanding achievements in resource conservation,
waste reduction and pollution prevention will be honored at the Texas
Environmental Excellence Awards banquet on May 4 in Austin.
"These awards go to individuals who recognize the importance of
caring for and conserving our natural resources and to outstanding
programs that serve as models for others to follow," said Gov. Rick
Perry. "It is our responsibility to be good stewards of Texas'
abundant and diverse natural resources so that future generations will
also share in the beauty of our state."
At the TEEA banquet, videos of each winner will demonstrate how
each project addresses such environmental issues as resource
conservation, watershed protection, air quality, clean energy,
recycling, solid waste management, pollution prevention, and even
environmental crime-fighting.

The award winners are summarized by category below:

CIVIC/NONPROFIT: River, Lakes, Bays 'N Bayous Trash Bash, Houston

The Houston-area River, Lakes, Bays 'N Bayous Trash Bash is
receiving its award for an ongoing clean-up effort that's working to
address the effects of nonpoint source pollution in the Gulf of Mexico
and San Jacinto River watershed. Since it began in 1994, the annual
Trash Bash has pulled in 48,450 volunteers who have cleaned up 1,473
tons of trash from local waterways, beaches and bayous. A
community-wide effort, Trash Bash involves diverse stakeholder groups
including industry, government, schools, scout troops, residents and
youth groups. Trash Bash is coordinated by the Houston-Galveston Area
Council and a diverse volunteer steering committee.

EDUCATION: City of Austin, Watershed Protection

The City of Austin's Grow Green program is being honored for its
innovative approach to landscape education. A partnership between the
City of Austin's Watershed Protection Department and the Texas
Cooperative Extension, Grow Green was created in response to
scientific findings that improper use of landscaping chemicals is a
major source of water quality degradation in and around Austin.
Through homeowner seminars, informational brochures and staff training
at more than 40 area nurseries, the Grow Green program is spreading
the message that choosing less-toxic landscaping products protects the
area's watershed.

GOVERNMENT: City of Crockett

The City of Crockett is being recognized for a progressive
curbside recycling program that cuts solid waste by 52 percent -- more
than any other city in Texas. Initially designed to reduce costs of
solid waste disposal, the program takes a hard but effective line by
mandating recycling citywide. Using recycling trucks and clear bags,
the Crockett system enables easier sorting of recycled goods, which
are then remarketed to generate revenues for city operations. Cited by
the Environmental Protection Agency as one of 18 highly successful
recycling programs nationally, Crockett's recycling rates surpass the
state of Texas' 40 percent goal, and far exceed many other major
metropolitan areas across the country.

INDIVIDUAL: Mayor James Matz, Palm Valley

James Matz is being recognized for his ongoing efforts in
reforestation and environmental conservation in the Rio Grande Valley.
In an area that has seen tremendous growth and development over the
past 15 years, Matz has fostered a bicultural spirit of cooperation.
As founder and chairman of the Valley Proud Environmental Council,
Matz has galvanized thousands of volunteers through tree-planting
events, reforestation projects and clean-up efforts in communities on
the United States and Mexican sides of the Rio Grande. Matz and Valley
Proud promote the planting of native trees through All-Valley Arbor
Month/Arboles de Amistad and Project Rio Reforestation. In addition,
as creator and project manager of the Ramsey Nature Park project, Matz
helped transform a former landfill into an outdoor classroom and a
site along the Great Texas Birding Trail.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY: American National Power, Midlothian and
Hays

To address issues of air quality and water conservation, American
National Power designed and constructed the Midlothian and Hays Energy
Projects, voluntarily setting a new standard for cleaner power in
Texas. Both projects combine the use of clean-burning natural gas with
an innovative sequential firing technique in the combustion turbines
to significantly reduce nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions.
In addition to being the first plants in Texas to use this technology,
the Midlothian and Hays facilities have also greatly reduced water use
by replacing water-cooled condensers with air-cooled condensers in
most of the turbines. The two units at Hays that rely on water-cooled
condensers use reclaimed water from the City of San Marcos wastewater
plant, saving a projected 100 million gallons annually from the San
Marcos River.

LARGE BUSINESS-TECHNICAL: Freescale Semiconductor, Austin

Freescale Semiconductor is being recognized for its efforts in
resource conservation at its Austin semiconductor manufacturing
facility and office complex. The company's efforts to streamline plant
and office operations save 265 million gallons of water yearly. In
addition, energy consumption has been reduced by 64 million kilowatt
hours every year. Freescale Semiconductor is the only three-time
winner in the history of the awards program.

LARGE BUSINESS-NONTECHNICAL: Horizon Milling, Saginaw

Horizon Milling, a subsidiary of Cargill Industries, is being
recognized for its work in environmental education. Horizon initiated
the innovative Water Matters program, a multifaceted approach to
educating children about the importance of water conservation and
protection. For eight years, Horizon employees have been teaching
second through fifth graders about nonpoint source pollution and the
effects of human behaviors on the environment through
interdisciplinary classroom and outdoor learning. Funded by Horizon's
plant recycling campaigns, Water Matters has touched the lives of more
than 6,000 children in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw School District.

SMALL BUSINESS: J-V Dirt & Loam, Austin

J-V Dirt and Loam has been working for almost 10 years to develop
a better way to control erosion on Texas roads. Partnering with the
Texas Department of Transportation and TCEQ, J-V Dirt helped implement
the idea to remove organic materials from Texas landfills and
endangered watersheds, compost it and apply it to eroding soils to
create rich topsoil seeded with native plants. The company has
installed 200 soil revegetation projects across the state of Texas
that address issues of watershed improvement, water conservation as
well as erosion control.

YOUTH: Carver Center, Midland

The Carver Center, Midland Independent School District's gifted
and talented elementary program, is being honored in the Youth
category for its nationally recognized biodiverse garden. When a
baseline biodiversity survey conducted by fourth-grade students
revealed the need for a more natural habitat to enable native plant
and animal species to flourish, the class went to work to develop a
landscape plan. Plants were donated by the Permian Basin Master
Gardeners and two Junior Master Gardener chapters were formed. Local
Boy Scout troops were called in to help, and Texas Cooperative
extension agents got into the act by helping to educate the students
on native plants and organisms. Over the past five years, hundreds of
individuals from across the community have given more than 2,500
volunteer hours to turn a weedy school lot into an area alive with
color and movement.

SPECIAL AWARD: Carl Redford and the Ellis County Citizens for a
Clean Environment Inc.

Environmental Crimes Investigator Carl Redford and the Ellis
County Citizens for a Clean Environment (ECCCE) will receive a Special
Award recognizing their humanitarian efforts on behalf of citizens of
Ellis County. When Redford discovered a septic leak near the home of
an elderly couple, he could have simply turned the case over for
enforcement. Instead, Redford sought the help of the newly created
ECCCE, a community-based organization formed to help clean up illegal
dump sites in Ellis County and increase environmental awareness
through education and assistance to disadvantaged citizens. Through
community donations, the ECCCE built the Inmans a new septic system
and got the couple a mobile home complete with a new front porch. The
couple now has a safe, clean place to live, and the ECCCE is helping
clean up the property of other Ellis County citizens, establishing
itself as an environmental organization with a humanitarian charter.

For more information on this year's award winners, or to learn how
to apply for next year's awards, visit www.teea.org.