ACI North America announces the winners of its 2008 Environmental Achievement Awards

ACI North America announces the winners of its 2008 Environmental Achievement Awards | Boston Logan, Minneapolis-St Paul, Seattle-Tacoma, ACI North America, Jessica Steinhilber

Artist rendering of new third runway at Seattle-Tacoma
Thu 14 Aug 2008 – Boston Logan International, Seattle-Tacoma International and Minneapolis-St Paul International airports have each won an Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) Environmental Achievement Award for 2008. The awards are given for projects based on environmental benefits, innovation, effective implementation, widespread applicability and cost-effectiveness.
 
The Environmental Management Award went to Boston Logan for its Airport Emissions Reduction programme. The airport’s environmental programme began in 1982 with the implementation of the country’s first nitrogen dioxide (NO2) monitoring programme. In 2001, it developed an innovative Air Quality Initiative (AQI) designed to maintain annual nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at or below a 1999 benchmark. A component of the AQI is the current development of a centrefield taxiway that, when completed in 2009, will reduce airfield emissions by allowing aircraft a more efficient means of getting to and from the terminals. Additional AQI projects include an aggressive ground-access programme, a fuel hydrant system, and power and air provided at gates to reduce aircraft emissions.
 
Minneapolis-St Paul earned the Outreach, Education and Community Involvement Award for its Stewards of Tomorrow’s Airport Resources (STAR) programme. The STAR Outreach programme was developed to promote the newly-created STAR programme, which manages the airport’s sustainable efforts, including an aggressive energy conservation programme. A promotional brochure was developed in accordance with the airport’s sustainability policy, with the majority of the brochures being transmitted electronically as a PDF file. The STAR programme was also highlighted on the airport’s website.
 
The Mitigation Award was won by Seattle-Tacoma for its Comprehensive Stormwater Management programme that addressed stormwater issues facing the airport’s large expansion project, which included a new runway. The programme prioritized the concerns of an environmentally sensitive community by focusing on surface-water runoff quality, flooding and endangered salmon. According to the airport, it overcame challenges such as adhering to a four-year timeline, using regional basin planning, optimizing systems and value engineering. The airport was able to reduce the required flow-control storage volume, enable the use of ponds rather than expensive vaults and achieve a cost saving of $250 million.
 
“Airports have many innovative programmes designed to alleviate the environmental impact of their operations,” said Jessica Steinhilber, ACI-NA’s Senior Director of Environmental Affairs. “The awards recognize those airports that set an example for the industry by going above and beyond regulatory compliance standards to protect and preserve the environment.”
 
ACI-NA said the Environmental Achievement Awards programme, created in 1997, had generated “tremendous interest throughout the industry and had been the springboard for numerous environmental programmes at airports.”
 
The awards will be presented to the three airports on September 24 during the 2008 ACI World/North America Conference and Exhibition.
 
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) Airport and Ground Environment (AGE) Group has just announced Boston Logan International Airport as its 2008 Airport of the Year.
 
 
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