CHICAGO, IL, Apr. 6, 2010 -- Out of a field of more than 300 water and wastewater projects, six have been awarded Operational Excellence (OpEx) Awards by Veolia Water North America, the nation's leading provider of comprehensive water and wastewater partnership services to municipal and industrial customers.
Each year, Veolia Water North America's OpEx awards recognize municipal and industrial Veolia Water facilities that demonstrate overall excellence in key areas including employee safety, environmental compliance, operations, human resources, community involvement and client relations.
"The teams at these projects exemplify a commitment to excellence, the environment and their client communities by the way they manage the day-to-day operations and provide services to our clients and client communities," said Laurent Auguste, president and CEO, Veolia Water Americas.
Now in place for the past 10 years, the OpEx Awards program emphasizes environmental compliance and employee and public safety -- approximately 40% of the grading scale is based on safety and compliance. Three municipal and three industrial projects were selected. The 2009 OpEx selection committee was comprised of company leaders and project managers from previous year's winners.
The municipal winners are:
• Vancouver Water Reclamation Facilities, Wash. -- With a perfect safety and environmental compliance record, a more than 30-year partnership with the city, and low employee turnover, the Veolia Water-managed Vancouver facilities won the OpEx Award for the "Large Project or System" category. In Vancouver, Veolia Water manages two wastewater activated sludge treatment plants, a wastewater collection system, and pump/lift stations. The project was also recognized by the Washington Department of Ecology as "Exceptional Plant of the Year" in 2009.
• Woonsocket Wastewater Treatment Plant, Woonsocket, R.I. -- With a strong safety training program and environmental compliance, this wastewater facility exemplified the standard of excellence in the "Medium Project or System" category. In a commendation letter, Woonsocket Mayor Leo Fontaine concurred, writing that the team is "always very receptive to the concerns of the Woonsocket community and addresses all issues presented to them with the same enthusiasm and professionalism."
• Cle Elum Wastewater Treatment Facility, Cle Elum, Wash. -- This facility remained 100% in environmental and safety compliance, despite a challenging year in which a significant snow storm blasted six and a half feet of snow into the area, followed by severe rainstorms and flash flooding. It was chosen the winner of the "Small Project or System" category.
The industrial winners are:
• Citgo Lake Charles Refinery, Lake Charles, La -- Veolia Water employees operating an oil and solids recovery process at a large industrial facility won their first national "Large Project" OpEx Award, in part for having one of the top safety records in Veolia Water's industrial sector. At the facility, Veolia Water processes a concentrated mixture of oil, wastewater, and solids for separation. This process yields upgraded products which are further processed in the client's facility.
• 3M Tonawanda, Tonawanda, N.Y. -- Veolia Water operates the Central Utilities Complex at this 3M facility in Tonawanda, as well as industrial wastewater neutralization, which discharges to the municipal treatment plant. Among the highlights of this winning entry was a perfect safety record going back seven years, and ten years of better-than-industry performance on employee retention. In addition to winning the national "Medium Project National OpEx Award," the project received the "3M Platinum Energy Award" in 2009, the highest level achievable in the 3M organization
• Dyneon By-Product Recovery Facility, Decatur, Ala. -- With full environmental compliance in 2009, this facility has operated for ten years without any lost-time accidents. This facility won the national "Small Project OpEx Award."
Based in Chicago, Veolia Water North America is the leading provider of comprehensive water and wastewater partnership services to municipal and industrial customers, providing services to more than 14 million people in approximately 650 North American communities. The company is part of the Veolia Environnement companies in North America, with 30,000 North American employees providing sustainable environmental solutions in water management, waste services, energy management, and passenger transportation.
Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services and technological solutions. Its parent company, Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE and Paris Euronext: VIE), is the worldwide reference in environmental services. With more than 336,000 employees, Veolia Environnement recorded annual revenues of $50 billion in 2009. Veolia Environnement is in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index (DJSI STOXX). Visit the company's Web sites at www.veolianorthamerica.com and www.veoliawaterna.com.
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