Yesterday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest District recognized the city of Tallahassee, Gulf Power and Naval Air Station Whiting Field for outstanding environmental stewardship.
“On behalf of DEP and the State of Florida, I am proud to recognize the city of Tallahassee, Gulf Power and NAS Whiting Field for their environmental stewardship,†said Shawn Hamilton, director of DEP’s Northwest District. “With such outstanding community partners working along side us, we can better accomplish our goal of safeguarding Florida’s natural resources.â€
The awards were presented during the district’s annual open house aimed at growing the community’s awareness of the agency’s mission, increasing communication and developing collaborative relationships with the community. Guests were invited to meet the district’s staff and Director Shawn Hamilton. Permitting and compliance experts from each of the district’s regulatory programs – Waste, Air, Water and Environmental Resources – were on hand to answer questions and provide information about their respective programs.
The city of Tallahassee, Gulf Power and NAS Whiting Field are the first to be awarded under the Northwest District’s new Environmental Stewardship Awards Program. The program was developed to recognize those who are working alongside DEP to safeguard Florida’s natural resources.
Gulf Power
Gulf Power has invested more than $1.9 billion in pioneering clean air systems and gave drastically reduced emissions from plants in Northwest Florida. Gulf Power is also bringing large-scale solar to Northwest Florida through a partnership with local military bases. Gulf Power’s Plant Crist has surpassed the 10-billion-gallon milestone for the use of reclaimed water well from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s Central Water Reclamation Facility. The plant uses the advanced treated wastewater as a coolant during electricity production and to run a scrubber that reduces air emissions. By using the reclaimed water, Gulf Power avoids taking millions of gallons of water out of the Escambia River. Reclaimed water well soon also be used in Gulf Power’s Plant Smith in Panama City. The Bay County project will greatly reduce the amount of water Gulf Power currently uses from St. Andrews Bay as well as the wastewater being discharged by other entities. In addition, Gulf Power employees have volunteered more than 1,200 hours in 2016 to projects such as tree planting, trimming trails in conservation areas, building oyster reefs, monitoring shorebird nesting sites, cleaning up shorelines and clearing invasive trees and plants.
Naval Air Station Whiting Field
Naval Air Station Whiting Field actively promotes a variety of environmentally sound operations. Environmental management training is performed on a weekly basis to new student naval aviators and as of August 2016, 2,192 students have completed the training. The training emphasizes the military mission with regards to the Environmental Management System, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, EMS 14001, National Environmental Policy Act, Hazardous Materials Management and Natural Resources. The purpose of the training is to provide young military officers an education in environmental awareness as well as highlight their responsibilities in contributing to a safe and clean environment – a lesson that is meant to build a foundation that can be carried forward throughout their personal and military careers. NAS Whiting Field also recently finalized an agreement with Gulf Power to construct a 305-acre photovoltaic energy production facility to be located on NOLF Holley, which is expected to provide 52 megawatts of electricity.