Stockpiles Recognized for "Excellent" Salt Storage Practices
Indiana, PA (October 3) ? PennDOT Engineering District 10 is pleased to announce that its Clarion County Maintenance Organization has been recognized for environmental excellence at all five of its stockpile locations by the national Salt Institute.
Clarion County won four of only ten Excellence in Storage awards given in the nation. Clarion won for its stockpile locations in Knox, Callensburg, New Bethlehem, and Tylersburg. The County's main stockpile location in Shippenville won the award in 2004 and this year, won a "continuing excellence" award from the Salt Institute.
District 10, through a cooperative effort with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), is International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001:2004 registered for its environmental management efforts in Maintenance. ISO 14001:2004 standards covering environmental management are intended to provide organizations with the elements necessary for an effective Environmental Management System (EMS) that can be integrated with other management requirements to support environmental protection and the prevention of pollution in balance with socio-economic needs.
For District 10, it means every effort is taken to protect the environment and preserve vital resources. District 10 has ISO 14001 registration in three maintenance areas: winter maintenance, stockpile management, and erosion and sedimentation control. To maintain registration, continuous improvement in these areas must be demonstrated.
This strict adherence to sound environmental practices enabled Clarion County to earn this prestigious award.
"We are very happy our Clarion County Maintenance organization has set an example in environmental stewardship," said District Executive Richard H. Hogg. "More importantly, this award represents the benefits these practices have on the quality of life for area residents. We understand the importance of the natural environment to our customers and we take every effort to ensure it is protected."
The award recognizes high standards of environmental consciousness and effective management of winter materials storage. Proper storage, according to the award criteria, includes environmental considerations in location, design, and operation of all facilities which store salt and also community and employee safety, good housekeeping practices and provisions to store sufficient salt to meet winter's snow and ice emergency needs without re-supply problems. The Excellence in Storage Award is part of the Salt Institute's Sensible Salting Program ? an educational program for salt customers on how to store and apply salt in an environmentally sound manner. Over the award competition?s 17 years, just 107 excellent programs have been recognized.
"Your program ? both the excellent physical facilities and your policies and commitment to the environmentally conscious operations ? is a model for your neighbors in your community and throughout the Snow Belt regions of the world," wrote Richard Hanneman, Salt Institute President, in a letter to Clarion County.
Salt Institute is the global association of salt companies. Its website, http://www.saltinstitute.org, has more information about the Excellence in Storage Award. |