IECA announces Winners of 2009 Awards of Environmental Excellence

DENVER – On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, at the 41st conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), the Awards of Environmental Excellence presentation ceremony was held. For the past 19 years, IECA has recognized the industry’s best by awarding persons and projects epitomizing the principles of environmental excellence. Awards are only given to the highest quality projects and innovations. Annually, IECA members submit nominations of worthy individuals and projects. After careful review and consideration, the IECA Awards Committee selects each year’s winners.

Grant Witheridge and Mark Hunter, PE, MPA, were both recognized with the Sustained Contributor Award. This award recognizes those who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the erosion and sediment control industry. Witheridge has been a member of IECA for 15 years and has 27 years of experience in investigation, modeling and design of hydraulic structures, including 7 years at the University of New South Wales’ Water Research Laboratory operating physical models. Grant wrote the Soil and Sediment Control-Engineering Guidelines for Queensland Construction Sites in 1996 and also Best Practices of Erosion and Sediment Control in 2008 by the IECA Australasian Chapter.

Hunter currently is the Manager for the Design, Construction and Maintenance Program for the Urban Drainage & Flood Control District in Metro Denver & Boulder in Colorado. He has been an IECA member since 1984 and was a founding member of the Mountain States Chapter. Since 1996, he has served IECA in many roles including: Standards & Practices Committee member, Proceedings Review Committee member, Technical Review Committee member, Conference Planning Committee member, Awards Committee member, Technology Section Committee member (TS-2 – Stream Restoration), Finance Committee member and was a founder and Co-Chair of the Soil Fund Committee. Hunter most recently served as Treasurer and a member of the IECA Board of Directors.

Gustavo Salerno, CPESC, was recognized with the Industry Professional of the Year Award. This award recognizes those who have made significant and recognizable contributions to the erosion and sediment control profession through the successful application of an effective erosion and sediment control practice. Salerno, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been a member of IECA since 1994. In 1995, he co-founded the contracting firm INMAC S.A. He has served as the President of IECA’s Iberoamerican Chapter and created Erosion and Sediment Control Magazine Iberoamerican, which reaches 16 countries. Salerno also established the first regional award for best technical work by a young professional. From 1989 to 2004, he was a professor of general hydraulics for the faculty of engineering at the University of Buenos Aires and has authored numerous papers on the subject of erosion and sediment control.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Roadside Environmental Unit was recognized with the Organization of the Year Award. This award recognizes an organization that is involved with and supports the erosion and sediment control profession. As part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the Roadside Environmental Unit (REU) has taken a proactive and diligent approach to improving erosion and sediment control efforts in North Carolina. In 2005, the REU, in conjunction with North Carolina State University, developed a certificate program to ensure compliance with erosion and sediment control and stormwater provisions on NCDOT projects. Currently 5,000 contractors, consultants and transportation engineering technicians and engineers have completed the program. The REU also has incorporated the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) desktop application into its design for linear transportation projects. They have trained approximately 500 engineers and advanced level technicians in the use of this important tool.

Brent Hallock, PhD, CPESC, CPSS, was recognized with the Presenter of the Year Award for his course Principles and Practices for Using Vegetation to Prevent Erosion at EC09 in Reno. This award recognizes an outstanding presenter that demonstrates excellence in presentation skills, educational delivery and content preparation. This award is given to a presenter from the previous year’s conference so that conference evaluations may be reviewed and considered. Dr. Hallock has been a professor at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, since 1979. He teaches an undergraduate course in Soil Erosion and Water Conservation, an upper division course in Rangeland Resources, and a graduate course in Environmental Assessment for Erosion Control. He has taught more than 35 seminars and short courses on site analysis, erosion control and selection of management measures. His research grants with Caltrans, Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and EPA total over three million dollars in the past 8 years. Hallock had this to say of the honor, “To be recognized by IECA and my peers is an honor. I truly enjoy working with the IECA team. Whether presenting a training course or technical paper, the Cal Poly students are a part of this award, and I will be sure that they all know I would not be as effective without their help.”

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