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MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPIONS RECEIVE EPA MERIT AWARDS

Release Date: 04/22/1999
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1064

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today honored former environmental commissioner Ned Sullivan and two Maine organizations for their contributions to the environment.

The Maine winners were among 39 recipients from around New England that received Environmental Merit Awards at an Earth Day ceremony at Faneuil Hall. The awards, given out since 1970, are given to individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts to preserve the environment. This year's competition drew more than 80 applications.

"Today we celebrate the efforts of a group of people who have gone above and beyond to make the air, water and land cleaner and safer for years to come," said John P. DeVillars, EPA's New England Administrator. "All those who received awards, as well as those who were nominated, stand as models for how each of us can make a difference in protecting our environment."

A description of the Maine winners follows:

Ned Sullivan
As former environmental commissioner, Ned Sullivan has been a tireless worker for the enhancement of Maine's environment. He has used his natural talent for collaboration and consideration of other people's point of view to forge numerous agreements on contentious environmental issues. Ned was instrumental in the effort to convince EPA to require power plants upwind of New England to reduce their emissions. He led a difficult collaborative process that resulted in one of the most stringent dioxin laws in the nation. Ned has been a leader in mercury and toxics reduction efforts. Most recently, he directed a major effort to bring a more environmentally sound gasoline to Maine. Ned's passionate leadership, willingness to make personnel sacrifices and ability to bring people together in a collaborative approaches have made a major difference for the people of Maine and New England.

Oakhurst Dairy, Maine
The 77 year old Oakhurst Dairy is the largest independently owned dairy in Northern New England. In January 1998 Maine and parts of New Hampshire suffered severe damage from ice storms, including extensive tree damage. Within 15 days of the first storm, a tree clean-up, repair and replacement program named Tree ReLeaf was created by Oakhurst Dairy. Oakhurst pledged to donate 3 cents for every gallon and ½ gallon of their milk sold during the next four months to provide funds for the program. The ReLeaf program raised $112,500 and Oakhurst President Stanley Bennet presented 44 municipalities checks to clean-up, repair or replace trees in their town. The Oakhurst's ReLeaf program made the Maine Forestry Service eligible for matching federal funds. The Forestry Service asked Oakhurst to apply for and administer the federal grant money Bthe first time a business would administer the federal funds in Maine.

Center for Environmental Enterprise
Philip Helgerson is the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Enterprise (CEE), the only New England business incubator specializing in the support of start-up firms with an environmental facet to their products and services. After two years at its facility on the campus of Southern Maine Technical College, CEE now supports eight tenant firms and one research study team. Mr. Helgerson's leadership has built a network of support including academic institutions, banks, government, business, and economic development providers, leading to one tenant firm winning a $100,000 NSF Small Business Innovative Research grant.