Somerset among recipients of governor’s awards

By: centraljersey.com
Somerset County was among 13 individuals, organizations and companies recognized recently for their outstanding environmental performance, programs and projects during the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards.
"The projects and individuals being honored exemplify my administration’s commitment to protect the environment," Gov. Chris Christie said. "We can all learn from these folks who are taking a look around them, seeing things they want to improve and doing something about it. They are community leaders who are preparing our state for environmental success, and I’m proud to recognize them for their efforts."
"New Jersey residents are the winners through the hard work of these individuals and organizations," added Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin. "They have made the state a better place to live. We owe them all a great deal of thanks."
Somerset County was recognized for its engineering division’s use of GPS units to record the location and other details of the more than 7,000 inlets and catch basins on county roads. This enabled the county to take a proactive approach to catch-basin cleaning and also allowed engineers to track structural repairs that might be needed at certain locations.
The GPS hardware and software had been acquired through a state SHARE grant awarded to the county’s Geographical Information System staff.
The 2010 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award recipients joined more than 100 businesses, individuals, municipalities and institutions that have been honored for their environmental contributions to the state since the program’s inception.
This was the 11th annual awards ceremony. Coordinated by DEP, the program is sponsored by the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
A panel of judges evaluates the nominations accepted from individuals, municipalities, organizations or businesses located throughout New Jersey that perform unique or valuable environmental activities they believe worthy of commendation.
The DEP’s annual Clean Water New Jersey Award presentations are integrated into the Environmental Excellence program. The Clean Water New Jersey program recognizes exceptional programs by municipalities, public complexes and highway agencies that are regulated under DEP municipal stormwater permits.
To learn more about the awards program, visit www.nj.gov/dep/eeawards.