Winners of the 2009 White House Closing the Circle Awards — handed out Wednesday during the middle of the three-day 2009 Federal Environmental Symposium East in Bethesda, Md. –  are demonstrating best practices in areas such as recycling, green purchasing and fuel conservation.

The big winner was the Air Force, which received four awards for initiatives under way at local bases and headquarters. The Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Denver was the biggest individual winner, taking home two awards.

A complete list of the winners — along with some of their accomplishments — is after the jump.

Environmental management systems

Defense Supply Center, Richmond, Va.
Why it won: Increased number of alternative fuel vehicles, cut energy use in half by replacing florescent lights, contracted for a greenhouse gas emissions study

Federal Aviation Administration’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Why it won: Reduced non-hazardous industrial waste by recycling cardboard, cut gasoline use by purchasing electric vehicles and driving less, cut water consumption

Recycling

Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
Why it won: Diverted more than 8,000 tons of solid waste in 2008 through recycling and reuse programs, saving base more than $1 million

General Services Administration’s National Capital Region, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Recycled 8,400 tons of paper and 283 tons of cans and bottles in 2008, saving 27,300 cubic yards of landfill space

Alternative fuel and fuel conservation in transportation

Air Force’s Material Support Division, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Purchased more than 1,000 low speed electric vehicles in 2008 and opened four new E-85 refueling stations

Treasury Department, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Last year, cut overall fuel use by 2.6 percent, increased alternative fuel use by 1.8 percent, reduced total miles driven by 3.1 percent and cut number of vehicles by 4 percent

Water/pollution prevention

Army’s Fort Hood, Texas
Why it won: Established a community program for recycling electronics at the base, eliminating more than 320,000 pounds of electronic waste from entering landfills, and saved $150,000 by collecting used fuel and oil for recycling

Energy Department’s Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Why it won: Saved $277,000 in operating expenses by replacing Freon with non-ozone depleting solvent for chip cleaning operations and saved $800,000 in disposal costs by developing new crusher operation for drums contaminated from radioactive waste

Green purchasing

Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
Why it won: Purchased $610,000 in green products last year and saved $160,000 by using a paint gun filtration system for F-15 aircraft that reduces waste solvent usage by 83 percent

U.S. Postal Service, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Rolled out new agencywide green purchasing plan and purchased about $90 million in recycled or environmentally preferable products in 2008

Electronics stewardship

Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Office, Denver, Colo.
Why it won: Recycles 100 percent of non-reusable electronic equipment, which in 2008 saved 2.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity, cut 190,000 kilograms of greenhouse gases and reduced 13,400 kilograms of solid waste

Sustainable design/green buildings

Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
Why it won: Air Force Weather Agency headquarters building earned the Air Force’s first gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program

Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Office, Denver, Colo.
Why it won: New regional headquarters building was certified gold by LEED by incorporating features such as a vegetative roof and an under-floor air distribution system

Sowing the Seeds for Change innovation award

Forest Service Deer River Ranger District, Chippewa National Forest, Minn.
Why it won: Made a reality television program to demonstrate how employees can work together to green their operations, generating ideas that have saved $32,000 to date

National Institutes of Health Office of Research Facilities, Bethesda, Md.
Why it won: Developed a protocol for safely handling hazardous materials during laboratory demolition projects that allows hazardous materials to be captured and non-hazardous materials to be recycled

I also didn’t know EPA certified TV prizes, but according to this EPA press release the home has “earned EPA’s Indoor AirPlus and Energy Star labels.”

• Roger Baker, nominee for assistant secretary for information and technology, Veterans Affairs. Baker is the former president and chief executive office of Dataline, a technology company in Norfolk, Va. He also is a former chief information officer of the Commerce Department and served on President Barack Obama’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications policy group during his 2008 presidential campaign.

• William Gunn, nominee for general counsel, VA. He represents military members and veterans in his Northern Virginia law practice. He retired in 2005 from the Air Force, where he was a colonel in the JAG corps.

• John U. Sepúlveda, nominee for assistant secretary of human resources, VA. He is a former deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management, appointed in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton.

• Anne Castle, nominee for assistant secretary for water and science, Interior Department. She is a partner at Holland & Hart in Denver, where she practices water rights and water quality law.

• Mathy Stanislaus, nominee for assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Environmental Protection Agency. He is an environmental lawyer and chemical engineer and champions revelopment of brownfield sites.

• Jo-Ellen Darcy, nominee for assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Defense Department. She is the senior environmental adviser for the Senate Finance Committee.

And in case you’re wondering, it’s not over unpaid taxes, an issue which has befallen a handful of Obama’s other nominees.

Cannon, an environmental law professor at the University of Virginia, said he withdrew because he once served on the board of a nonprofit group currently under investigation.

It has come to my attention that America’s Clean Water Foundation, where I once served on the board of directors, has become the subject of scrutiny. While my service on the board of that now-dissolved organization is not the subject of the scrutiny, I believe the energy and environmental challenges facing our nation are too great to delay confirmation for this position, and I do not wish to present any distraction to the agency.”

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had scheduled a confirmation hearing for Cannon for Thursday.

CFLs: Friend or foe?

That’s the question one insightful Pennsylvania resident posed to the Environmental Protection Agency recently. The spiral-shaped CFLs contain the toxic chemical mercury, which makes them dangerous to land, water and animals if not disposed of properly. “Should we be more concerned with energy saving or mercury hazards?” the woman asked.

CFLs contain a trace amount of mercury — five milligrams — which would fit on the tip of a ballpoint pen, said Dan Gallo, EPA’s electronics recycling specialist, who responded to the question. It would take 100 bulbs to equal the amount of mercury contained in one of the old thermometers, Gallo said.

The benefits of lower energy consumption — CFLs use 75 percent less electricity than traditional bulbs — outweigh the environmental disadvantages, Gallo said.

Still, safely disposing of the bulbs is important — especially as federal agencies and other energy-conscious businesses and consumers begin buying more CFLs to reduce their electricity use. Several national retailers accept the bulbs for recycling, including Ace Hardware, IKEA and Home Depot. Most local landfills also accept the bulbs as part of their hazardous waste disposal programs.

In a pinch, EPA says you can place the fluorescent light bulb in two plastic bags and seal it before putting it into the outside trash. Just don’t tell the plastic bag recycling advocates.

She said:

I will look to you every day for ideas, advice and expertise. EPA should once again be the workplace of choice for veteran public servants and also talented young people beginning careers in environmental protection – just as it was for me when I first joined EPA shortly after graduate school.

She also reiterated promises she made to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to make science the foundation of EPA programs and decisions.

When scientific judgments are suppressed, misrepresented or distorted by political agendas, Americans can lose faith in their government to provide strong public health and environmental protection…The laws that Congress has written and directed EPA to implement leave room for policy judgments. However, policy decisions should not be disguised as scientific findings.

In the introductory memo to her the staff, she also pledged to make the agency more transparent and to involve the public in decision making processes, particularly communities that have been “disproportionately impacted by pollution.”

• Shaun Donovan to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
• Ray LaHood to be Secretary of Transportation.

In other confirmation news:

• Susan Rice, Obama’s choice for U.N. ambassador, was approved.
• Nancy Sutley was confirmed as chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
• And finally, Lisa Jackson was given the green light to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, after Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., lifted his objection to a vote by unanimous consent.

Barrasso’s change of heart came after he spoke with Carol Browner, Obama’s energy and environment czar. The pair will meet next week to discuss Barrasso’s concerns about her new role and how it may affect the  independence of EPA.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency may have to wait a while to see the changes Lisa Jackson, Obama’s nominee for agency administrator, promised at a hearing last week.

That’s because Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has requested more time to review her nomination, CQ reported today (subscription may be required). Barrasso is not concerned so much about Jackson’s qualifications for the post, as he is about whether the new White House environmental czar, Carol Browner, would diminish or usurp Jackson’s authorities, according to CQ.

At last week’s hearing Barrasso expressed concern that Browner and Jackson would clash over how to implement environmental regulations.

“Who will ultimately make final EPA decisions?” Barasso asked. “If the two of you disagree on an environmental issue how does that work?”

Jackson replied that regardless of Browner’s White House role, EPA decisions will still fall to the administrator, and she will uphold and enforce the law if confirmed, Jackson said. She also downplayed the possibility of a turf war.

“I’m sure advisers can agree or disagree on any number of issues and her advice and counsel is something I will certainly seek,” Jackson said.

• Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to serve as secretary of the Energy Department.
• Lisa Jackson, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Carol Browner, former EPA administrator during the Clinton administration, to serve in a new White House position coordinating energy and climate control initiatives across goverment.
• Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor for energy and environment in Los Angeles, to head the White House  Council on Environmental Quality.

The four will be charged with carrying out key environmental and energy goals in the Obama administration, including creating millions of green collar jobs through new investments in clean enegy sources.

The picks would also continue a pledge by Obama to have a diverse cabinet. Chu would be the first person of Chinese descent to head the Energy Department. Jackson, if confirmed, would be the first African American to head the EPA, where discrimination against a black employee there led to a landmark 2002 law holding agencies and managers accountable for discrimination. Sutley is a Latino and would be the first openly gay nominee for a high-level post in the Obama administration.

Well, the agency has a solution for you: A Web site tailored specifically for cell phone users, m.epa.gov.

This pared-down, text-only site will let the mobile user access agency contact information, find environmental information by ZIP code, read news releases and access the agency’s blog Greenversations. The agency said in a news release that it plans to add more features later.

EPA is the latest agency to launch a site that’s easy to load and view on mobile devices. You can find a list of other federal sites that have gone mobile here.