(Charlottesville, VA) The Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) is pleased to announce that its nomination of Covanta’s Alexandria/Arlington Resource Recovery Facility for an environmental excellence award was granted by the Virginia Water Environment Association. Covanta was the recipient of the prestigious Silver 2010 Industrial Waste and Pretreatment Environmental Excellence Award. The presentation was made today at a ceremony in Charlottesville, VA.
The Covanta facility serves about 300,000 residents of the County of Arlington and the City of Alexandria, which jointly own the site. The facility’s three furnaces process 975 tons of solid waste each day, generating up to 23 megawatts of renewable energy that is sold to Dominion Virginia Power Company. AlexRenew permits Covanta as part of federal and state industrial wastewater pretreatment requirements.
Industrial pretreatment has become an increasingly important and effective tool in modern wastewater treatment and management. Requiring industries and businesses to pretreat their wastewater before discharging it into the sewer system improves the quality of treated water and beneficial biosolids. For example, pretreatment removes oils and heavy metals that are not broken down in a sewage treatment facility and could even harm the plant.
“I want to commend Covanta on not only winning this award but for its commitment to environmental excellence,” said AlexRenew General Manager Karen. L. Pallansch. “Pretreatment of industrial wastewater has become a major part of AlexRenew’s game plan to produce the highest quality reclaimed water and Class A Exceptional biosolids. By removing any potentially harmful materials at its source, Covanta has become a partner in our stewardship efforts to protect the City’s environment and help restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay.”
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(Alexandria, VA) The Alexandria Renew Enterprises today released its 2009 Annual Report, which demonstrated steady and across-the-board progress in mission critical areas, such as reducing the amount of nutrients being released into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Despite a challenging economy in 2009, AlexRenew also made significant improvements in both energy sustainability and reducing its own carbon footprint, helping Alexandria become a model Eco-city of the future.
As the Authority embarks on its latest facility upgrade to meet tough new environmental regulations, it was also recognized by its peers for its industry leadership and commitment to environmental excellence.
“The progress we achieved in 2009 was particularly gratifying,” said AlexRenew General Manager Karen Pallansch. “The numbers we posted paint a very positive story about commitment and achievement. Not only are we significantly reducing the amount of harmful nutrients in our treated wastewater, such as nitrogen, but we are turning them into a valuable natural resource that can be used on Virginia’s farms.”
The report states that in 2009, AlexRenew:
- Received and treated 12.5 billion gallons of dirty water ␣ Removed nearly all nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater (92.4% and 99.1% respectively). These nutrients fuel algae blooms that kill life in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Delivered 125 tons of soil amendment product to Virginia farmers
- Used methane gas produced from the cleaning process as a renewable fuel source to heat its buildings and processes
- Reduced its energy consumption by 17% since 2006, with a goal to become a “net-zero” energy facility in ten years
AlexRenew has already embarked on its latest upgrade, called SANUP, the State-of-the-Art Nitrogen Upgrade Project, to comply with strict new environmental regulations created to reverse the declining health of the Chesapeake Bay. AlexRenew is committed to make the facility as aesthetically-pleasing as possible, so as not to distract from the City’s architectural beauty – just as it did during its last upgrade in 2006.
The AlexRenew 2009 Annual Report is available at www.alexsan.com.
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2009 Annual Report
The Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) was awarded with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).
According to GFOA, the Certificate of Achievement is “the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.” This is the second time the AlexRenew has received the award.
The AlexRenew received the award for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), which was prepared by AlexRenew’s Strategic Resource Allocation division, headed by Director Wendy Batkin.
“The comprehensive annual financial report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive ‘spirit of full disclosure’ to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report,” GFOA stated.
“I am extremely proud of AlexRenew’s financial team for its outstanding work. At AlexRenew, we set out to meet the highest standards possible in cleaning water and serving the community. We are honored that GFOA recognizes the clarity and transparency we strive for in our financial reporting as well,” commented AlexRenew General Manager Karen Pallansch.
GFOA is a non-profit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
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This summer, the Alexandria Renew Enterprises hosted dozens of local students and young people to explain what happens after water goes down the drain.
In July, over 50 students from the Alexandria Public School Summer Program toured AlexRenew’s facility, learning how AlexRenew filters and disinfects wastewater without using chlorine. They also learned how solid wastes are processed and pasteurized in a process not unlike what’s used for milk and orange juice. The result is exceptional quality, pathogen-free matter used like compost by Virginia farmers and others to help meet AlexRenew’s efforts to benefit the community through sustainability.
In August, about a dozen teens and young adults from Alexandria toured AlexRenew as part of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation’s “Green Awareness” program. Sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice, Joblink, and the school system, the program focused on water issues, including shortages and pollution. In addition to touring AlexRenew, the group built a water filtration and irrigation system for the Green Roof at T.C. Williams High School.
And later this month, AlexRenew will host science teachers from the Alexandria City School District with a tour and presentation.
“We welcome hundreds of students from both public and private schools to tour AlexRenew each year,” said Karen Pallansch, General Manager of AlexRenew. “This state-of-art water resource facility can process 54 million gallons of water each day, producing the highest quality ‘recycled’ water back to the environment. We show visitors real world sustainability practices on a large scale. Those practices benefit our community and help improve the Bay.”
She added, “It is exciting to see the city fulfill its mission to become more sustainable through its Alexandria Eco-City Environmental Action Plan,” said Ms. Pallansch. “AlexRenew is pleased to be part of this community-wide effort.”
Students are not the only ones who tour AlexRenew. Each year, representatives of governments and municipalities around the world visit AlexRenew as an award-winning water treatment model. This year, AlexRenew hosted official visitors from Chile, Israel, Japan and Romania to tour the facility.
To plan a tour, contact George Floyd at 703-549-3382, extension 2237.
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The Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) recently added to its impressive list of honors and commendations when on June 17th, the National Biosolids Partnership awarded AlexRenew its prestigious “Platinum Level” seal of approval. AlexRenew was recognized for representing “the highest achievement in biosolids management and environmental stewardship.”
AlexRenew’s biosolids are a highly efficient natural fertilizer produced during the water reclamation process. They are a great resource for Virginia’s farmers who can apply them to their fields, thereby reducing the need for costly chemical fertilizers.
The award was made on behalf of the Partnership, which includes the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Environment Federation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
AlexRenew – one of the nation’s most respected water reclamation agencies – was granted the award following an independent audit of its biosolids and environmental management system (EMS). The audit verified that AlexRenew:
- Has an effective biosolids EMS that supports continually improving environmental performance;
- Exceeds regulatory compliance obligations;
- Utilizes best biosolids management practices; and
- Creates meaningful opportunities for public participation.
The Partnership emulate: “Thank you for being a leader and a model for other wastewater treatment agencies nationwide that strive for continuous environmental improvement.”
Commenting on the award, AlexRenew General Manager Karen L. Pallansch said, “We are deeply honored by this award. It reflects the dedication of AlexRenew’s employees who never accept second best. The people of AlexRenew are professionals working together to protect the environment for today and tomorrow. This is another step to ensuring a bright, healthy and safe future for the City of Alexandria and its citizens. AlexRenew is proud to be part of it.”
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ALEXANDRIA, VA – Alexandria residents and businesses will continue to have safe and reliable sewer operations as the Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) furthers the modernization of approximately 3,000 feet of the Commonwealth Avenue Sewer this month. Improvements include rehabilitating existing sewer lines and manholes; replacing existing sewer manhole covers and frames; installing a new sewer liner; and repaving and re-striping portions of the roadway surface affected by the construction activities. The project will resume in May and is expected to be complete by the end of June.
During construction, there will be traffic delays and lane closures in the project area. Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians are encouraged to use alternate routes. However, mass transit providers, including the DASH bus line, Metrobus, Metrorail, Amtrak, Alexandria trolley and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), as well as school buses, will maintain normal operations. Most work will be done within the roadway and on public property.
Phase 3 of the Commonwealth Avenue Sewer System Improvements Project includes work on Daingerfield Road from King Street to Duke Street and will include the following lane closures and movement restrictions:
- Daingerfield Road – Southbound through traffic will be reduced to one lane from King Street to Dechantal Street. • Prince Street will be closed from Reinekers Lane to Daingerfield Road and Reinekers Road will be limited to one lane reversible controlled by flaggers. This closure will be limited to one weekend.
- There will be temporary lane closures on Duke Street just east of Daingerfield Road. During these temporary closures, eastbound and westbound traffic will be reduced to single lanes.
- There will be temporary no parking zones on the east side of Daingerfield Road and along Diagonal Road near the Reinekers Lane intersection. Sidewalks will remain open.
- Sidewalk ramps will be installed over the by-pass piping on Duke Street.
Citizens can expect traffic delays and lane closures in the area beginning on Monday, May 11, 2009 until Friday, June 19, 2009.
After more than 50 years of service, the Commonwealth Avenue Sewer is in need of rehabilitation to reduce the possible likelihood of a sewer service interruption. In 1997, AlexRenew began the initial design of the modernization project which is being implemented in five phases and involves sewer improvements from Caton Avenue to the Hooff’s Run Junction Chamber. Currently, the project is in its fourth phase, focusing on improvements from Oak Street to Duke Street. The fifth and final phase will involve improvements from Duke Street to Hooff’s Run. The estimated construction cost for this phase of the Commonwealth Avenue Sewer System Improvements Project is $1.4 million.
Throughout the project, AlexRenew will be working closely with its contractor, AM-Liner East, Inc., to minimize the construction’s impact on the community; provide updates on projected work; and respond to concerns and questions from the public.
“This is a critical infrastructure investment for the community and will allow us to continue to protect the public’s health and safety, as well as the environment,” said Karen Pallansch, Alexandria Renew Enterprises General Manager.
For more detailed information on the entire project, please visit: www.alexsan.com/commonwealthsewer or call the project construction hotline at (703) 549-3383.
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(Alexandria, VA) The City of Alexandria’s Environmental Policy Commission and the Alexandria Renew Enterprises announce the first annual Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award recipients. They are Elizabeth Chimento and Poul Hertel. Both are residents of the Old Town section of Alexandria.
Aside from donating much of their time, they have also spent their own money to ensure that the City and State governments had hard technical data to support their concerns relating to emissions emanating from the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station. They zealously defended the rights of their community to ensure that the power plant was held to all permit conditions and rules and regulations of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Their work has been the catalyst that raised the awareness of this issue to City Council and eventually led the City to achieve a $34 million dollar settlement with Mirant aimed at installing improved stack and fugitive PM2.5 controls at this plant, in addition to the $35 million dollars Mirant recently spent on the stack merge project which helps address the downwash issue originally identified by the award winners.
Ellen Pickering’s daughter, Frances, a member of the award selection committee, notes, “It was very difficult to choose among the nominees because they are all doing equally valuable work to protect the natural environment and promote environmental sustainability. They are taking different approaches to the issue and all of their approaches are vital. I know my mother valued all of these approaches — her own efforts ranged from planting cherry trees to fighting city hall.”
She adds that Ms. Chimento and Mr. Hertel should be commended for taking on such a controversial issue. “It takes persistence, courage, and vision — and, in this case, also scientific and communication skills — to take on an issue that not everyone can readily understand and not everyone would necessarily agree about at the start. It couldn’t have been easy to challenge the interests of a corporation and to make the levers of a government bureaucracy work in support of its citizens. But they did take on these challenges, and they prevailed.”
The Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award is named in honor of Mrs. Pickering’s lifelong dedication to preservation and conservation in the City of Alexandria. Frances Ellen Pickering, a long- time activist, first gained recognition for her lobbying efforts that, more than 30 years ago, helped to create the Mount Vernon Trail between Alexandria and Washington. An active preservationist and conservationist, she was deeply committed to preserving and enhancing the City’s waterfront. She urged the adoption of the City’s Open Space Plan, lobbied to preserve Founder’s Park and protect it from high-rise development, and implemented the planting of 1,000 citizen-donated cherry trees during her tenure as chair of the Alexandria Beautification Commission. Mrs. Pickering was also elected to City Council and a member of numerous City boards and commissions, including the Alexandria Renew Enterprises.
To read more, go to www.alexearthday.org.
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The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) has announced that the Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) has been honored to receive two prestigious 2009 National Environmental Achievement Awards.
Earlier this year, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced that AlexRenew had been accepted as an Exemplary Environmental Enterprise participant in the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program. AlexRenew is one of eight water reclamation plants in the Commonwealth to receive such an honor.
AlexRenew is being recognized by NACWA for its collaboration with the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority on the Enhancing Nitrogen Removal and Increasing Sustainability with Innovative Sidestream Treatment project. Additionally, AlexRenew is being acknowledged for its public information and outreach efforts as part of the Virginia Biosolids Council.
NACWA stated that, “with this award NACWA celebrates your commitment to innovation and best practices in the clean water community.” The awards will be presented during the NACWA Summer Conference and Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized by our industry peers for our collaboration and contributions to a safer and greener environment and for helping the public to understand the importance of renewable resources. Once again, this was a team effort from start to finish and I commend the entire AlexRenew team for their continued commitment to excellence and environmental stewardship,” said Karen Pallansch, AlexRenew General Manager.
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The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced that the Alexandria Renew Enterprises has been accepted as an Exemplary Environmental Enterprise participant in the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program. AlexRenew is one of 8 water reclamation plants in the commonwealth to receive such an honor.
In reaching this milestone, AlexRenew had to demonstrate its action plan and environmental management system that systematically handle its environmental and health safety issues. By meeting its action plan, AlexRenew will no only reduce the amount of nutrients in its reclaimed water, but will carry out numerous other pollution prevention activities, such as reducing energy consumption, purchasing less toxic chemicals, and building a rain garden.
“We are deeply honored by this latest recognition by the DEQ. Once again, this was a team effort by AlexRenew’s team. They are dedicated to not only a greener, safer environment, but excellence in all they do. I am proud to be a part of this great team,” said Karen Pallansch, AlexRenew General Manager.
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The City of Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission and the Alexandria Renew Enterprises announced today its first annual award program to select and formally recognize outstanding citizens who have demonstrated their commitment to protecting the natural environment and promoting environmental sustainability.
In addition to Alexandria citizens, an Alexandria group, club, organization or corporate neighbor may also be nominated. The recipient(s) of the award will have a tree planted in their honor during Alexandria Earth Day 2009.
The Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award is named in honor of Mrs. Pickering’s lifelong dedication to preservation and conservation in the City of Alexandria. Frances Ellen Pickering, a long- time City activist, first gained recognition for her lobbying efforts that, more than 30 years ago, helped to create the Mount Vernon Trail between Alexandria and Washington. An active preservationist and conservationist, she was deeply committed to preserving and enhancing the City’s waterfront.
Mrs. Pickering served as an AlexRenew Board member from 1992 to 2007. “She will be remembered by all of us for her commitment to the environment and the City of Alexandria and its people for whom she tirelessly worked. I think this award is a fitting tribute to Mrs. Pickering’s sense of community, volunteerism, and that wonderful spirit that touched us all,” said Karen Pallansch, AlexRenew General Manager.
Full details on the award can be found at www.alexsan.com.
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Ellen Pickering Award
