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Department of Ecology News Release - Dec. 12, 2000
MEDIA ADVISORY
00-237
OLYMPIA - Reporters are invited to attend a special Vice Presidential "Hammer" award ceremony tomorrow when the National Partnership for Reinventing Government honors Department of Ecology and U.S. Navy staff for striking a blow against hazardous waste and oil spills while saving taxpayers $43 million.
The Dec. 13 event begins at 3 p.m. in the State Reception Room, located on the second floor of the state capitol building in Olympia. The event will feature Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons, Navy Rear Admiral Vinson E. Smith, Commander Navy Region Northwest, and Partnership Press Officer Susan Blumenthal. Kurt Beckett, District Director for U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks, will emcee the event.
Personnel from Ecology and Navy facilities operating within Puget Sound earned Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award due to a unique, 10-year partnership that has reduced dangerous wastes by 20,000 tons since 1990 at Washington's three largest Navy facilities. Working with Ecology, the Navy also reduced the volume of oil spills in the Pacific Northwest by 98 percent since 1998. Together, these measures have saved the Navy $43 million over the last decade.
The Hammer Award, administered by the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, recognizes federal and local government agencies for initiatives that work better and cost less.
The award is presented to teams that have made significant contributions to reinvent government principles. Since 1994, more than 1,200 Hammer Awards have been presented to teams comprising federal employees, state and local employees, and citizens who are working to build a better government.
Media contact: Curt Hart, Public Information Manager, 425-649-7009; pager, 206-663-1785
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
