Can towns ban hydrofracking? New York's highest court will decide:

Hydrofracking protesters

Central New York residents line up outside the main entrance to the New York State Fair last year to protest hydrofracking. The state's highest court said today it will decide whether towns can ban hydrofracking and other gas drilling. (Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com)

Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com By Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com 
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on August 29, 2013 at 9:54 AM, updated August 29, 2013 at 10:10 AM

New York's highest court will decide whether towns can ban hydrofracking and other gas drilling.

The Court of Appeals announced today it will hear arguments in two cases in which towns banned gas drilling through zoning.

The Tompkins County town of Dryden and the Otsego County town of Middlefield were taken to court after they enacted bans. Gas companies and landowners argued that drilling can be regulated only by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The towns argued that they can ban certain industrial activity, including gas drilling, under zoning laws.

Dryden and Middlefield have won the first two rounds, at the state Supreme Court and mid-level appeals courts.

The decision to hear the case was lauded by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, which favors hydrofracking.

"We are hopeful that the Court of Appeals will protect the rights of landowners and allow New York to realize the environmental and economic benefits of natural gas while allowing our nation to maintain its course towards energy independence," read a statement by Scott Kurkoski, a Binghamton attorney who works with the coalition.

A decision by the Court of Appeals could help decide where hydrofracking happens in New York if it is approved. The state has had a moratorium on hydrofracking in place for five years, and the state DEC and Department of Health continue to study the potential effects.

The court today also allowed a variety of groups who are not parties to the lawsuits to submit briefs supporting their positions. Those groups include the New York Farm Bureau, the Associated General Contractors of New York, and the American Petroleum Institute,

Contact Glenn Coin at gcoin@syracuse.com or 315-470-3251.

Charge your electric car at the New York State Fair:

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com By Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com 

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on August 27, 2013 at 12:19 PM, updated August 27, 2013 at 12:21 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- You can charge up your electric and plug-in hybrid cars at the New York State Fair for free, according to Fleet Management Company of Canandaigua.

The charging stations at the fairgrounds in Geddes are in the Gate 10 parking lot, which can be accessed from Gates 6 or 7, according to the company.

Other charging stations in the Syracuse area include Destiny USA, along East Washington Street downtown, and the Chili's restaurant in DeWitt.

Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.

Marcellus Shale:

Marcellus Shale has become nation's most productive gas field thanks to hydrofracking

The Associated Press By The Associated Press 
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on August 15, 2013 at 10:07 AM

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Hydrofracking in Pennsylvania and West Virginia has made the Marcellus Shale the nation's most productive gas field, according to a new report.

Bentek, a Colorado company that analyzes energy trends, said 2013 production in Pennsylvania and West Virginia is up about 50 percent compared with last year. Figures for the pipelines that take gas out of the Marcellus show that in the first six months of the year, Pennsylvania produced about 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, with projections for a year-end total of about 3.2 trillion cubic feet.

That yearly number translates into the equivalent of about 550 million barrels of oil.

The official mid-2013 production figures for Pennsylvania and West Virginia haven't been released yet by those states, but Bentek's figures are considered very reliable by government and industry sources.

Hydrofracking in shale has been on hold in New York for five years while the state Department of Environmental Conservation continues to study the environmental and health effects.

Marcellus production this year "has definitely outpaced our expectations," said Diana Oswald, a Bentek energy analyst, and it's changing long-established national energy trends.

Marcellus gas is "actually starting to displace" production from the Gulf of Mexico in places, Oswald said. For example, when serious shale drilling started in Pennsylvania in 2008, output barely registered on a national level, and most of the Northeast relied on natural gas that was being pumped from the Gulf of Mexico or from Canada through a network of pipelines.

Tom Murphy, a director of the Penn State University Marcellus Center for Research & Outreach, said that while the number of drilling rigs operating in Pennsylvania has declined, companies have learned to drill more efficiently, "so fewer rigs are drilling more wells."

The Marcellus Shale is a gas-rich formation deep underground that extends across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Ohio and Maryland, but most of the production is in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Production from West Virginia is also on track to increase by about 50 percent this year, according to Bentek. Ohio shale gas production is in its beginning stages but is expected to grow substantially in 2014 and 2015.

In 2011 and 2012, there was a highly publicized debate over the potential of the Marcellus Shale, with some contending the industry had exaggerated the numbers. But the actual production figures have mostly put that debate to rest.

Murphy believes there is still a backlog of about 2,000 wells that have already been drilled but aren't hooked up to pipelines for production yet. Others estimate the backlog at 1,000 wells, but in either case, it's adding to the production surge.

Kathryn Klaber, CEO of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said in an email that the industry group expects "that activity will remain robust" since the necessary infrastructure is increasingly in place to process and move natural gas to market.

Trash talk:

Read OCRRA Q&A transcript on burning Cortland County garbage

OCRRA Q&A on Cortland trash.JPG

Amy Miller, OCRRA engineer, and Business Manager Warren Simpson answer questions from syracuse.com readers today about a proposal to burn Cortland County trash in OCRRA's incinerator in Jamesville. (Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com)

Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com By Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com 
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on August 19, 2013 at 1:14 PM

Syracuse, NY - Three top officials from the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency answered questions today at syracuse.com about a proposal to swamp Cortland County trash for incinerator ash.

The tentative agreement was outlined last week by officials from Onondaga and Cortland counties. Under the plan, OCRRA would burn Cortland County's trash and Cortland County would bury OCRRA's incinerator ash.

They said for the first time that the earliest the deal could go into effect is May 2015, when OCRRA's current contract to haul ash to High Acres landfill near Fairport expires.

A transcript of today's Q&A is available in the box below.

Answering questions were three top OCRRA officials: Mark Donnelly, executive director and former board member; Amy Miller, agency engineer; and Warren Simpson, business manager.

U.S. Green Building Council, NY Upstate Chapter:

U.S. Green Building Council to host presentation Thursday on funding for green building and renewable energy projects

Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com By Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com 
on August 20, 2013 at 4:19 PM

Syracuse, NY -- The U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter will host a presentation Thursday on state and federal programs that assist with the funding of green building and renewable energy projects.

The presentation by Brian Pincelli of the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Planning and Development Board's office at 126 N. Salina St. in Syracuse.

Pincelli will review programs available at the state and federal level to advance and support green building practices and renewable energy deployment.

The presentation is open to the public, but advance registration is required at www.greenupstateny.org. Admission is free for students, $5 for Green Building Council members and $10 for the general public. Call Charlie Bertuch at (315) 415-5364 for more information.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148. Follow him on Twitter @RickMoriartyCNY and on Facebook at rick.moriarty.92.

Green Materials and Services Expo, Ulster NY:

 Thursday, October 17, 2013

5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Set up - 4:00 pm

Senate Gymnasium

SUNY Ulster County Community College

Stone Ridge Campus

Ulster, NY 12484

 Hudson Valley

(Click Here for Directions)

 

Food will be provided

 

EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION FORM

 

The Hudson Valley Branch of the U.S. Green Building Council NY Upstate Chapter is hosting a 'Green Materials and Services Expo' on Thursday October 17, 2013.  The event is an excellent way for your company to specifically reach your preferred customer market.  Last year we had 23 exhibitors and a lot of fun.  This year we expect more.  Meet your peers.  Learn from each other and collaborate to grow!

 

 

Register via the link to the left. Fee for exhibitors $250. Fee for sponsoring exhibitor $500. Fee for gold sponsor $1000. You will need to log-in with your email address and create a profile if you have not already done so.  You must use the email address associated with your Chapter membership account in order to receive the member's rate for registration.  Free for those who pre-register! $5 at the door. 

 

 

Thanks to our sustaining sponsors: 
    

To Sponsor A Hudson Valley Branch Event, Contact
Rick Alfandre

http://www.greenupstateny.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1034465&eventId=678928&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Green Materials and Services Expo, Rochester NY:

 Thursday, October 10, 2013

3:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Set up - 2:30 pm

HSBC Plaza

 100 Chestnut Street

Rochester, NY 
  Food will be provided

(Click Here for Directions)

EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION FORM

The Genesee Region of the US Green Building Council NY Upstate Chapter is hosting a 'Green Materials and Services Expo' on Thursday, October 10, 2013.  The event is an excellent way for your company to specifically reach your preferred customer market.  Last year this event was held in the Hudson Valley, and featured 23 exhibitors and a lot of fun! Meet your peers.  Learn from each other and collaborate to grow!

Register via the link to the left. Fee for exhibitors $250. Fee for sponsoring exhibitor $500. Fee for gold sponsor $1000. You will need to log-in with your email address and create a profile if you have not already done so.  You must use the email address associated with your Chapter membership account in order to receive the member's rate for registration.  Free for those who pre-register! $5 at the door. 

Thanks to our sponsor partner: 

http://www.greenupstateny.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1034465&eventId=727113&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Cortland County, OCRRA might swap trash for ash:

Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com By Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com 

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on August 14, 2013 at 2:38 PM, updated August 14, 2013 at 4:28 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga and Cortland counties hope to cut a deal this year to burn Cortland garbage in Jamesville in exchange for dumping incinerator ash in Cortland County's landfill.

Officials from both counties and the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency said today a deal will boost Cortland County's money-losing landfill and also generate $500,000 more in electricity sales at the OCRRA incinerator in Jamesville.

The deal would also strengthen OCRRA's hand in its negotiations with Covanta Energy, which runs the incinerator and has the option of buying it in 2015. Covanta would have to take on $40 million in bond debt that would have to be repaid through incinerator revenues.

"We're going to start negotiating with Cortland County in a way that is going to satisfy a lot of competing interests," Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said at a news conference.

The agreement would require approval of both county legislatures. Onondaga County in 1992 banned trash from other counties, but could make an exception for Cortland County, officials said. Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon said there would be public hearings before any vote.

Details of the arrangement are still being negotiated, but officials today outlined a general idea of how it would work:

-- OCRRA would truck all the ash from the Rock Cut Road incinerator -- about 86,000 tons a year -- to Cortland County's landfill.

-- Trucks that brought that ash would then haul to the incinerator 23,000 tons of Cortland County's trash.

-- OCRRA would pay Cortland county about $1 million a year to take the ash, which would more than make up the $400,000 annual loss at the Cortland landfill.

-- OCRRA would save money by shipping the ash 40 miles to Cortland County instead of 80 miles to High Acres landfill near Rochester, where the ash goes now.

Increasing recycling rates and a drop in trash due to the economic recession have caused the incinerator to run at less than its capacity, officials said. The incinerator burns about 320,000 tons of trash a year, said OCRRA Executive Director Mark Donnelly, but could burn 361,000 tons.

Falling electricity rates have also cut into the plant's revenues: OCRRA took in $7.4 million in 2011 from electrical sales, but just $6.1 million last year. OCRRA has budgeted $6.5 million for this year.

The incinerator lost nearly $6 million from 2009 to 2011, the most recent data on the agency's web site.

A deal with Cortland County would put OCRRA in a better position when negotiating with 
Covanta, Mahoney said.

"It solves a problem for OCRRA and therefore for Onondaga County in how do you fill that capacity when entering negotiations," she said. "We want to enter negotiations with a maximized facility."

The Onondaga County Legislature in 1992 adopted a law banning trash from outside the county. Mahoney said people were fearful then about imported trash, but they shouldn't fear garbage coming from next-door Cortland County.

"Onondaga County and Cortland County trash are the same thing," Mahoney said. "It's not wise to let fear stand in the way of maximizing a world-class facility."

13th Annual SyracuseCoE Symposium:

Urban Reinvention and Resilience
October 21st-22nd, 2013
Oncenter Complex, Syracuse, NY

Symposium Program

Conference Highlights

Featured Speakers

Partner Day

Integrated Heat Recovery Workshops

Student Poster Competition

Registration

Symposium Development Committee

Sponsorship Opportunities

Contact

The 13th annual SyracuseCoE Symposium: Urban Reinvention and Resilience will feature the latest results from collaborators from across the nation and beyond. This year's Symposium will feature sessions and workshops designed to engage a wide audience, including industry practitioners, state and local officials, and university faculty and students.

SyracuseCoE is New York State's Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Innovations.

Session tracks will focus on:

     •   Advanced building technologies   
     •   Clean and renewable energy
     •   Healthy buildings
     •   Indoor environmental quality   
     •   Sustainable communities
     •   Sustainable materials management
     •   Water resources

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Conference Highlights

Featured Speakers

Nancy Grimm

-  Director of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term

   Ecological Research (LTER) Program

-  Lead author for the U.S. National Climate Assessment

-  Senior Sustainability Scientist at Global Institute of Sustainability

Stay tuned as we reveal our other keynote and featured speakers!

Partner Day - Monday, October 21st

Join us for a full day of programming on Monday, October 21st dedicated to SyracuseCoE Partners as part of this year's SyracuseCoE Symposium!
Topics include Industrial Heat Recovery Technologies, Energy Saving Opportunities, and a "Pitch Fest" panel on Licensing University Intellectual Property.

Partner Day Schedule
Register for Partner Day.

Registration Information: Registration for Partner Day activities is complimentary for SyracuseCoE Partner Program firms and institutions (including Faculty and Staff) and registration for the Symposium reception and following day's programming is discounted by 50 percent. 

For more information about joining the Partner Program, visit http://www.syracusecoe.org/coe/sub1.html?skuvar=201

Please visit our Partner Day Page for more details.

Integrated Heat Recovery Workshops

Workshop Details and Agendas

Join us for several discussions of the energy and business opportunities available from capturing waste heat and cooling from industrial processes as part of an integrated approach to energy planning and management. Peter Garforth of Garforth International, LLC, will offer three workshops during the Symposium exploring – both from an operational and structured view – the opportunities and challenges related to structured, integrated approaches to thermal energy management in industrial facilities and in municipal settings.

The target audience for these workshops includes industry division energy managers, thermal energy product manufacturers and suppliers, municipal leaders and other decision makers considering district energy systems.

Workshop #1 – “Industrial Heat Recovery” 
Monday, October 21^st, 8:30 am – noon
Workshop #2 – “Community Approaches to Industrial Energy Management”
Tuesday, October 22^st, 11:00a - noon
Cost: Included in SyracuseCoE Symposium registration fee.
Workshop #3 – “City of Guelph – Community Energy Initiative” 
Tuesday, October 22^st, 1:30 – 2:30p
Cost: Included in SyracuseCoE Symposium registration fee.

Student Poster Competition 

Cash prizes are available! $500 will be awarded for first prize.

Undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students interested in presenting recent research projects are encouraged to enter the Student Poster Competition, taking place Monday, October 21st at the Symposium. Judging starts at 4:00pm, followed by networking and awards at the 5:00pm Monday reception. Poster viewing continues on Tuesday through 3:00pm.

Abstracts are welcome on research in SyracuseCoE focus areas:

• Advanced building technologies
• Clean and renewable energy
• Healthy buildings
• Indoor environmental quality
• Sustainable communities
• Sustainable materials management
• Water resources

To enter, submit name, school, abstract, and degree in progress to Gabi Levinson atgslevins@syr.edu.

The deadline for abstract submissions is September 30th.

Download the Student Poster Competition flyer.

Projects entered into the Student Poster Competition will be judged based in a rubric rating system.

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Registration 

Early-Bird Rate - $120 (Available through September 20th, 2013)
Partner Program Institution Student - Complimentary Registration 
Non-Partner Program Institution Student - $40
Registration includes access to the Symposium program on Tuesday as well as the evening networking reception on Monday night. 
Register Now

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Symposium Development Committee

• Cliff Davidson, Syracuse University (Chair)
• Stephen Bird, Clarkson University
• David Chandler, Syracuse University
• Sharon Dotger, Syracuse University
• Patrick Jackson, Corning
• Laura Lautz, Syracuse University
• Valerie Luzadis, SUNY ESF
• Myron Mitchell, SUNY ESF
• Usha Satish, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Chuck Spuches, SUNY ESF
• Pete Wilcoxen, Syracuse, University
• Jensen Zhang, Syracuse University

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Sponsorship Information

SyracuseCoE invites Symposium sponsorships at various levels of support.

Download the list of 2013 SyracuseCoE Symposium Sponsorship Opportunities. 
Download the Symposium Prospectus. 

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Contact

For additional program information, contact Gabi Levinson at gslevins@syr.edu.

While we are no longer accepting Oral Presentation Abstracts, we are accepting Student Poster Competition Abstracts until September 30th. Please submit proposals to Gabi Levinson at gslevins@syr.edu.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Tammy Rosanio attrosanio@syracusecoe.org

Onondaga County Electric Truck Vouchers:

Onondaga County among NY locales eligible for electric truck vouchers

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com By Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com 
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on August 09, 2013 at 1:15 PM, updated August 09, 2013 at 1:21 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Some commercial trucks fueled by electric batteries just got a little cheaper in certain parts of New York, thanks to a $9 million voucher program.

The program means to bring down prices of class 3 to 8 trucks in 30 counties that did not meet federal clean air standards. That includes Onondaga County, and other counties in Western New York, the Capital Region and the New York City area, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced the vouchers today.

The vouchers from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority are available beginning today, according to the governor's news release. Companies, non-profits and governments can use the vouchers -- up to $60,000 -- to purchase electric buses and trucks. The trucks eligible for the program include large pick-ups, delivery vans, box trucks, buses, tractor trailers, garbage trucks, and construction vehicles such as cement and dump trucks.

"The Truck Voucher Incentive Program is another important step that New York State is taking to meet clean air standards," Cuomo said in a news release. "This program highlights the state's commitment to developing, promoting, and implementing new measures that lower emissions and reduce our carbon footprint. By focusing on advanced transportation technologies, including electronic and hybrid vehicles, we can provide cleaner communities in which to live and work."

The money comes from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program. The vouchers will be available from qualified vendors, including 
AMP Trucks Inc., Boulder Electric Vehicle, Electric Vehicles International and Smith Electric Vehicles. Those vendors will receive the vouchers and pass on the full incentive in a lower vehicle price to buyers.

Cuomo today also announced a $10 million alternative fuels voucher fund for New York City. Those vouchers can apply toward compressed natural gas, hybrid-electric vehicles and retrofitting diesel engines with emission control devices. The New York City vouchers will be rolled out in late August and September.

Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.

Final DRAFT of Vision CNY Regional Sustainability Plan Released:

June 20th, 2013  |  Published in Challenge News

The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board released a Final DRAFT of the Vision CNY Regional Sustainability Plan on June 11th, 2013.

Vision CNY was initiated by the CNY RPDB with a $1 million grant from the New York State Cleaner Green Communities Program. Cleaner Greener Communities is an environmental initiative announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2011.

The Vision CNY Regional Sustainability Plan covers the five counties of Central New York including Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties, and covers one of 10 designated regions across New York State. In 2013, approximately $90 million in state funding will be available from the Cleaner, Greener Communities Program to assist 10 regions across the state on a competitive basis to implement projects that support the goals and strategies of each regions plan.

Plans and subsequent projects must identify and create opportunities for achieving carbon reductions, energy efficiency savings and/or renewable energy deployment while enhancing job creation, economic investment and development consistent with a region’s sustainability and REDC strategic plan.

http://cnyenergychallenge.org/2013/06/1811/

Energy Alliance to tour biomass power plant at Fort Drum:

Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com By Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com 

on August 02, 2013 at 3:51 PM

Watertown, NY -- The New York Biomass Energy Alliance will tour the ReEnergy Black River biopower facility at the Fort Drum Army base in Watertown on Thursday.

New York Biomass Energy Alliance Executive Administrator Alice Brumbach said he expects the tour to draw industrial and economic development specialists, biomass power and thermal producers, feedstock producers, appliance manufacturers, municipal leaders, educators and consumers.

The Fort Drum facility converts woody biomass into 60 megawatts of low-cost energy.

After the tour, a buffet lunch will be served during a cruise of the 1000 Islands from Alexandria Bay aboard a double-decker tour boat.

The Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency and ReEnergy Holdings are co-sponsoring the event.

The event is open to the public. The $30 per person charge can be paid online at www.newyorkbiomass.org, by check to Biomass Alliance, 159 Dwight Park Circle, Suite 104, Syracuse, NY 13209, or on site on Thursday. Those interested in participating must register by Monday with Alice Brumbach at abrumbach@newyorkbiomass.org or (607) 316-3437, . 

The Biomass Energy Alliance is a coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations who promote the use of sustainably produced farm and forest biomass as a source of renewable energy. 

Pollution Prevention Institute awards Potsdam Specialty Paper for ‘green’ initiatives:

Paper mill recognized for significant reductions in waste and energy

---

Cindy Bowen

At an Aug. 1 ceremony, the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) recognized Potsdam Specialty Paper Inc. (PSPI) for innovative environmental efforts that have resulted in significant reductions in the plant’s waste and energy usage. From left to right, Dr. Anthony Collins, president of Clarkson University; Anahita Williamson, NYSP2I director; Ron Charette, general manager of PSPI; Assemblywoman Addie Russell; and Ron Bacon, president of CITEC’s board of directors.

Aug. 2, 2013 
by Rich Kiley 
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3

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) has recognized Potsdam Specialty Paper Inc. (PSPI) for innovative environmental efforts that have resulted in significant reductions in the plant’s waste and energy usage.

NYSP2I, which is managed and operated at Rochester Institute of Technology, presented the award to PSPI during a ceremony at the paper mill on Aug. 1.

The paper mill earned NYSP2I’s Advancement in Cleaner Production Award for making significant investments in projects that have considerably reduced the plant’s environmental footprint. These include:

• Nearly eliminating the plant’s overall landfill waste, employing a fiber recovery and landfill reduction project using equipment investments totaling nearly $700,000.
• Several conservation projects that have contributed to decreasing electricity consumption by nearly 4 million kilowatt-hours annually, along with increased heat recovery, resulting in an annual savings of nearly $200,000.
• Considerable investment in the plant’s rail infrastructure—including an extension of the service line—that has enabled the paper mill to receive and ship materials that were formerly limited to trucking exclusively. The change has resulted in the annual reduction of nearly 4.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Potsdam Specialty Paper received the environmental award after successfully implementing the recommendations of CITEC Business Solutions, which assessed and recommended the three-tiered strategy for the paper mill to address its waste-management and power-consumption challenges. CITEC is a not-for-profit economic development organization that receives financial support from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, which works to facilitate the integration of innovation and technology throughout New York’s economic development efforts; and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

“The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is pleased to recognize Potsdam Specialty Paper for its leadership in environmental and sustainability initiatives,” says Anahita Williamson, NYSP2I’s director. “PSPI is a great example of how proactive New York businesses can leverage available support to directly tie improved environmental performance with economic benefits for a win-win.”

“Potsdam Specialty Paper Mill is proud to be recognized by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute for our environmental efforts,” says Ronald F. Charette, general manager, Potsdam Specialty Paper. “We believe the paper industry needs to be stewards of our environment. While we have always demonstrated this strong commitment, our recent investments have significantly reduced our plant’s environmental footprint even further.”

“We see Potsdam Specialty Paper’s efforts as a model for paper mill’s facing similar environmental issues,” says William P. Murray, CITEC’s executive director. “Mills that can invest in energy efficiency will increase their competitiveness, thereby boosting production, while reducing energy costs.”

State Sen. Joseph A. Griffo (R/C/I-Rome, Oneida County) believes the paper mill’s award is well earned.

“PSPI empowers its management and employees to reduce its carbon footprint and implement practices that will allow the company to preserve the environment, produce quality products and propel their workforce,” says Griffo. “I commend the Pollution Prevention Institute for recognizing PSPI and I salute the owners, management, and staff of PSPI for being an environmentally conscious part of our North Country community.”

Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell (D-Theresa, Jefferson County) noted that the award is yet another example of the paper mill’s ongoing commitment to the environment.

“Potsdam Specialty Paper is not only the cornerstone of this local economy but it is a conscientious member of our community. They understand corporate responsibility does not end with their bottom line,” says Russell. “They deserve this recognition for making these investments in conservation measures. I applaud their sense of responsibility to this community and to the global environment as well.”

NYSP2I provides comprehensive and integrated programming in technology research, development, training and education aimed at promoting sustainability across New York state. Partners include Clarkson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University at Buffalo, and New York’s 10 Regional Technology Development Centers. The institute is funded through the Environmental Protection Fund and managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

NYSP2I promotes cost-effective pollution-prevention techniques that aid businesses in reducing manufacturing costs, reducing energy and water usage, decreasing toxics and hazardous substances and decreasing overall waste streams—allowing companies to remain competitive in today’s challenging global economy.

Go to http://www.nysp2i.rit.edu to learn more about NYSP2I.