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Engineers garner DoD award

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover Air Force Base was recently named the winner of the 2006 Secretary of Defense Environmental Restoration Award.

The 436th Civil Engineer Squadron garnered the recognition at Department of Defense level for managing the best Environmental Restoration Program in the DoD.

"Earlier this year, Dover Air Force Base won the Air Force General Thomas D. White Environmental Restoration Award, placing Dover in the Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards competition against the winners from the other DoD components," said Jo Ann Deramo, 436th CES Environmental Flight manager.

In the end, the flight was judged to be the "best of the best," within the DoD, she said.
The purpose of the DoD Environmental Restoration Program is to clean up contamination that was released into the environment from historical waste- handling practices and industrial processes.

"Today's waste-handling practices and processes are environmentally friendly," said Mrs. Deramo. "In the past, industrial wastes were disposed of in open pits, unlined landfills, and other ways that caused chemicals to contaminate soil and groundwater."
The objective of the ERP is to support the warfighting mission by restoring contaminated sites for base use as quickly and cost effectively as possible, while protecting human health and the environment.

Dover AFB is listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List, also known as the "Superfund," due to the presence of contamination from 59 historical contaminant release sites located on the base. In 2006, Dover's restoration team completed cleanup remedies at all 59 sites, making Dover AFB one of only six Air Force NPL facilities to achieve this milestone.

Mrs. Deramo did not complete the task alone. Her technical team included Robert Wikso, an environmental specialist also with the flight, and scientists and technical experts from several other state- and national-level environmental agencies.

Team Dover representatives will travel to Washington, D.C., June 7 to be presented with the award during a ceremony at the Pentagon.