Employees find their “footprints”

If DEQ staff members in Southwestern Virginia drive farther than their counterparts in Northern Virginia, but Northern Virginia employees spend more time in traffic, then who has a greater impact upon the Earth?

This question and more were explored by DEQ staff members across the state who participated in the training “Your Ecological Footprint,” sponsored by the Virginia Office of Environmental Education at DEQ. More than 200 DEQ employees have participated in the training, with the largest participation of 56 staff members from the Valley Regional Office.

An ecological footprint is a measure of how much land and water area a human population needs to produce the resources required for sustainability and to absorb its wastes, given prevailing technology. Factors taken into account for this calculation are food, shelter and transportation preferences, as well as the cost of goods and services. DEQ staff members who wish to give “Your Ecological Footprint” presentations to communities can contact David Ruble at dnruble@deq.virginia.gov or (804) 698-4039.

David Ruble, Central Office

Tire pile cleanups move forward

With the adoption of a revised plan, tire pile cleanups have started again after a two-year lull due to a lack of funding. With 161 piles currently on the list, the initial targets are 27 piles in the counties covered by the West Central and South Central regional offices.

Contractors have finished work on removal and staging projects at seven tire piles. These preparation activities are required before general cleanup work can begin as tires in some locations are not accessible. Once retrieved, all tires are handled by a single contractor who loads, hauls, shreds and recycles them. 

Each pile has a unique story of how it was created and how the tires are recycled. For instance, Beasley Tire Recycling of Lynchburg recently removed 83 very large off-road tires from a ravine in Botetourt County. They were “left” there decades ago by an equipment contractor. Because off-road tires have lots of rubber and very little wire, they make excellent rubberized mulch. These tires were taken to a Virginia Beach recycler that specializes in colored landscaping mulch. 

Once sufficient progress has been made, the next target is the Southwest Regional Office tire piles, followed by ones in the areas covered by the Northern Virginia and Valley regional offices. With the extra financial support provided by the 2008 General Assembly, funding and cleanup work will continue though at least 2011. To qualify for the cleanups, a tire pile must have been created in 1993 or earlier or without the property owner’s knowledge or consent. A statewide survey identified 750 piles in 1993 and more than 500 have since been added to the list. DEQ is notified almost weekly of new piles, most of which qualify.

Allan Lassiter, Central Office

Northern Virginia staff participates in local science fairs

Volunteers from the Northern Virginia Regional Office supported the Loudoun County science and engineering fair in March.

During this time of year, area school systems are participating in science fairs. Students work very hard on these projects and it certainly shows. Staff members from the Northern Virginia Regional Office had the pleasure of judging some of these fairs. This was a great opportunity to reach out to the students, encourage them to pursue the science field and applaud them for their efforts.

Loudoun County regional science and engineering fair

Kurt Runge, Ali Khalilzadeh, Trisha Eyler and George Apperson participated in Loudoun County’s 27th annual regional fair in March. This event included 200 high school students from 11 schools and from the Academy of Science. There were 17 categories, including “Environmental Management” with eight projects and “Environmental Sciences” with 23 projects. Trisha had the pleasure of working with other experts in the field to select a winner in the environmental management category and the rest of the guys, on behalf of DEQ, gave out special awards for the environmental sciences category.

George Apperson, Northern Virginia Regional Office

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School science fair

Katie Evans and John McKie served as judges for the fifth grade science fair at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Dale City. Given the large number of high-tech, research and engineering firms in Northern Virginia, DEQ should be proud that the coordinator for the fair thought of DEQ when trying to decide who she could contact for experts in science and engineering to determine which students should advance to a regional fair.

John McKie, Northern Virginia Regional Office

 

First Last, Title, Office

Tires, trash removed from river

Ted Turner and Mike Asma from the Valley Regional Office haul a tractor tire from the river.

More than 20 volunteers from the Valley Regional Office participated in an Adopt-A-Stream cleanup of a section of the North River on May 7. They removed about 24 tires, 20 bags of trash (mostly plastic bottles, bags and drink cans), 22 golf balls, a wooden pallet, large pieces of plywood, lumber, scrap metal and pipes, a toilet float, two swimming pool floats and several other items. The Town of Bridgewater provided a trash truck, and both the town and Rockingham County accepted waste free-of-charge in support of the river cleanup.

David Forrer, Valley Regional Office

Update on DEQ Earth Day celebrations

South Central celebrates with week of activities

South Central employees participated in the annual Blackwater Creek cleanup in Lynchburg on April 24.

The Environmental Management System team at the South Central Regional Office held two events in honor of Earth Day last month. Steve Coe, DEQ EMS coordinator, gave a presentation on the DEQ environmental management system plan on April 21. South Central has also purchased tire gauges for each vehicle to ensure tires are inflated properly and improve fuel efficiency. Staff also participated in the installation of a rain barrel at the DEQ office building. 

On April 24, 20 South Central employees participated in the annual Blackwater Creek cleanup in Lynchburg. This is the fifth year that South Central has cleaned Blackwater Creek through the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Adopt-A-Stream program. Trash collected this year included nine tires, 25 bags of trash that included many cans and plastic bottles, a fire extinguisher, a 55 gallon drum, several basketballs, a skeleton pirate action figure, and a Pepsi syrup canister. Thanks to the following South Central employees for volunteering: Tom Henderson, Tom Berkeley, Craig Nicol, Alan Ball, Joey Daniel, Jed Brown, Keith Ince, Peggy Barbour, Todd Nash, Scott Hasinger, Rose Brooks, Mary Beth Keesee, Allen Armistead, Paula Nash, David Kirby, Mike Shaver, Doug Foran, David Skelly, James Puckett and Kelly Hazlegrove.

Amanda Gray and Kelly Hazlegrove, South Central Regional Offices

West Central participates at the Roanoke Valley celebration

On April 19, the Roanoke Valley celebrated Earth Day by conducting an outdoor event featuring displays and information from many environmental organizations, live entertainment and activities for children. DEQ staff succeeded in raising awareness of DEQ’s presence and activities. Approximately 30 groups of people visited the displays to discuss environmental concerns and to pick up literature. Roanoke Valley citizens had an opportunity to ask questions and discuss environmental concerns with DEQ staff in an informal setting. DEQ staff also familiarized the general public with DEQ’s mission and objectives through color displays, distribution of brochures and handing out checklists for homeowners. DEQ participants that helped make the event a success were Allen Linkenhoker, Robina Jordan, Lillian Alexander, Jeff Hurst, Wanda Bowman and Jenny Poland. 

Alicia Meadows, West Central Regional Office

Piedmont office participates in several Earth Day activities

Volunteers for the Lake Rooty cleanup included (left to right) Doug Masini, Carolyn Stevens, Jack Mason, Valerie McGee, Dianne Ross, Megan Hayes, Jeanne Puricelli, Roger Harris, Kelley Harris, Heather Horne, Margaret Smigo, Jeremy Kazio and Corey Chamberlain. Not pictured: Meredith Williams, Emilee Carpenter, Liana Shrader, Mark McDonald and Jason Ericson.

PRO staff attended the first ever Earth Day at Innsbrook in Glen Allen on April 22, presented by Ridefinders. Alison Sinclair and Jennifer Hoeffner offered tips to other Innsbrook employees on how to conserve water in their homes and yards. This event brought together groups from around the area to teach citizens about environmentally friendly products and services that can be used in and around the home. This was also an opportunity for these groups to network and exchange information and ideas with each other. 

  

April 22 was also the date for the quarterly Adopt-a-Highway cleanup of a section of Broad Street near the DEQ office. Despite periods of rain and drizzle, the five-person volunteer crew was able to collect six bags of trash along a stretch of busy road more than a mile long. Thanks to Kyle Winter, Carolyn Stevens, Liana Shrader, Mark McDonald and Margaret Smigo for their efforts.

In conjunction with “Keep Henrico Beautiful” and “Stewardship Virginia,” the Piedmont office was invited to participate in a local area “Innsbrook Lake Cleanup Day” around Lake Rooty on April 23. There were 28 participants from local businesses with the Piedmont office contributing the most employees –14 volunteers, including two watercrafts for waterside cleanup. A total of 30 to 35 bags of trash were collected along more than a mile of walkway around the lake and creek beds feeding the lake.

Alison Sinclair and Doug Masini, Piedmont Regional Office

 

 

New air quality standard means better protection

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has adopted a new air quality standard to improve protection of public health when forecasting air quality this summer. Air quality continues to improve in Virginia, but the standard by which good air quality is measured has changed.

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David K. Paylor, DEQ Director