Travis grabs environmental award

  • Published
  • By Merrie Schillter Lowe
  • 60 Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

The environmental restoration program staff at Travis Air Force Base, California, knew from all the accolades received in the past decade that they have an outstanding base cleanup program. Now the Air Force knows it, too.

The staff learned last week it won the 2016 Gen. Thomas D. White Environmental Restoration Award for Installations, meaning it has “the top program in the Air Force,” said Lonnie Duke, Air Force Civil Engineer Center Installation Support Team restoration program manager at Travis.

The award recognizes installations and individuals for environmental quality, restoration, pollution prevention, recycling and conservation of natural and cultural resources. It is named in honor of the general who served as the fourth Air Force chief of staff from 1957 to 1961. White, who died at age 64 in 1965, helped to establish Air Force environmental programs.

“We are very excited as this award demonstrates that how we have managed our program over the last decade and is how a restoration program should be managed,” said Duke. “I believe our use of sustainable remediation practices, a biological approach to cleaning up sites and the reduction of energy use all factored in to make our program stand tall above the others.”

Since 2008, the ERP team has worked with the environmental contractor, CH2M Hill and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to introduce and use innovative cleanup technologies. In 2016 they were the first to self-certify a restoration program as green and sustainable by the American Society for Testing and Material international standards.

ASTM is one of the largest organizations in the world that develops and publishes voluntary technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and services. Although the standards are voluntary, public law requires government agencies to use them whenever possible to save tax dollars and avoid duplicated efforts.

“The environmental cleanup contractor, CH2M Hill, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers share in our success. We couldn’t have accomplished what we have without them,” said Duke.

Although this is their first Air Force level win, the staff won the White award at the Air Mobility Command level in 2001 and 2009.

Travis will now compete for the Secretary of Defense award for the installation with exceptional achievements, innovative and cost-effective environmental practices. The winner will be announced April 22, said Duke.