EDITOR’S
NOTE: This may be the last time the EPA will recognize scientists and
environmental professionals for their service to the community. As most of you
know, the Trump budget trashes the EPA budget. Trump’s pick to head the EPA is Oklahoma’s
Scott Pruitt, an anti-environmental advocate of the fossil fuel industry. And
in general, under Trump, science has become the enemy. Nonetheless,
congratulations to all of those honored. – Will Collette
The Environmental Protection Agency recognized the late
Scott W. Nixon, an oceanographer at the University of Rhode Island, for his
work keeping Boston Harbor clean.
Robert D. Kenney, a marine research scientist emeritus at
URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, was also recognized. Nixon, who died
four years ago, was a professor at GSO for more than four decades.
The Outfall Monitoring Science Advisory Panel was critical
to the success of the Boston Harbor cleanup and recovery. Established in 1998,
the panel works to ensure that the Massachusetts Water Resources Recovery
Authority meets permit requirements and that the recovery of Boston Harbor is
not accomplished at the expense of Massachusetts Bay.
The independent group of marine scientists advises the EPA
on the effects of the discharge of about 320 million gallons per day from the
authority’s Deer Island sewage treatment plant. The discharge is sent nine
miles offshore into Massachusetts Bay.
The panel’s most important work is evaluating revisions in the monitoring program, used as a model for overseeing wastewater discharges in other coastal ecosystems.
Nixon was internationally renowned for his work involving
coastal and estuarine ecosystems. The research of Kenney, a Narragansett resident, focused on
the ecology and conservation biology of marine vertebrates, particularly seals,
whales, dolphins, sea turtles and sharks.
The former GSO professors are among a notable group.
Other members of the panel are Andrew Solow, retired chair
of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Robert Beardsley, of the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution; Judith Pederson, interim chair of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant; Michael Shiaris and Juanita
Urban-Rich, both of the University of Massachusetts, Boston; Jim Shine of the
Harvard School of Public Health; Geoffrey Trussell of Northeastern University;
and Norb Jaworski, retired member of the EPA’s Office of Research and
Development.
Every year, EPA’s New England office recognizes individuals
and groups in the six New England states who have worked to protect or improve
the region’s environment. The award recognizes extraordinary ingenuity and
commitment.
“Citizens, businesses and organizations are going above and
beyond to help protect people’s health and preserve our region’s environment,”
said Deb Szaro, acting regional administrator of the EPA’s New England office. “Today
we applaud these award winners who make our towns, cities and countryside
healthy, more vibrant places with clean air, land and water. Many of these
winners have shown us that good business and a clean environment go hand in
hand.”