IECA Names Environmental Achievement, Sustained Contributor And Presenter Of The Year Awards

International Erosion Control Association Region One (IECA) recently named its 2013 winners for the Environmental Achievement and Sustained Contributor awards. In addition, IECA announces the Environmental Connection 2014 Presenter of the Year award to Barry Fagan, PE/PLS, CPESC and Jesse Poore, AICP, CFM for their collaborative presentation Leadership Through Collaboration: It’s Not My Way or the Highway.

Frank Kneib is named the winner of the Environmental Achievement Award. This is IECA’s premier award and it recognizes an outstanding erosion and sediment control project, program or system that demonstrates excellence in natural resource conservation and environmental protection.

Kneib’s project, which began in 2011, involved the construction and operation of tunneling systems for the controlled use of diverted river water in the generation of hydroelectric power lead to large-scale disturbance of underground rock and soil and the production of huge volumes of turbid waste water streams. Kneib successfully implemented an innovative and environmentally‐friendly approach to the removal of suspended solids prior to the discharge of safe, clear and treated water to the surface in a remote area of a tropical rain forest in central Costa Rica. The environmental benefits accruing from the project intervention have been quantifiable and concrete. There has been a sound basis by this project and its effecter, Kneib, for future expansion of the use of eco‐friendly water treatment technologies in a wider variety of circumstances than the special, but exceptionally emotive ones illustrated by this tropical rain forest construction site.

IECA names David. T. Williams, Ph.D., PE, CPESC, PH winner of the 2013 Sustained Contributor Award. This award recognizes an IECA member who has provided distinguished service to the IECA and has made outstanding contributions to improve the erosion and sediment control industry for a sustained period of time. Winners of this award will have demonstrated leadership by example through a significant and long‐term contribution to the erosion and sediment control industry and to the IECA through one or more of the following: education, government involvement, research, establishment of standards or policies or the development of technology. The recipient must be an active member of the IECA and have held membership for at least 10 years. Always ready to assist others, Williams has conducted many short courses for IECA at its annual conferences since the late 1970s and has been a technical resource to numerous other IECA members.

Williams served two terms as President of IECA served two terms as technical vice president of IECA and nine years on the IECA Board of Directors overseeing the development of Erosion Control Standards. He was also an integral mediator in the formation of the Erosion Control Technology Council.

Both 2013 winners were recognized this year at IECA’s annual Environmental Connection Conference in Nashville, Tenn. These awards are selected on criteria that reflect quality, skill and environmental benefits. Winners were selected from responses to a “Call for Entries” process.

IECA also recognizes Barry Fagan, PE/PLS, CPESC and Jesse Poore, AICP, CFM as the Presenters of the Year award winners for their presentation titled Leadership Through Collaboration: It’s Not My Way or the Highway offered at Environmental Connection 2014. This presentation taught that influence is the essence of leadership and that influence is critical to our industry’s future. Fagan and Poore taught efforts to engage and collaborate with unlikely partners can benefit the team, profession and water quality.

Fagan leads the ALDOT environmental program as its environmental program engineer. He serves as promoter, coordinator, educator, and problem solver within and outside of ALDOT. He aims to spark innovation and promote a culture of continual improvement. Fagan has over 23 years of road and bridge construction experience, with over half of that being in areas related to environmental protection and regulatory compliance. Barry was twice named the Presenter of the Year by IECA. Barry maintains the StormwaterTools.com blog where he regularly discusses water quality, leadership and the occasional random thought.

Poore is an environmental planner with Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is an industry leader in creating value out of the planning process conducted by municipalities, counties, state agencies and watershed associations required to manage stormwater runoff. He is the trusted advisor for clients that need policy planning and practice assistance for watershed and stormwater management.

About IECA
Founded in 1972, the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is a non‐profit organization devoted to serving as the premier global resource for the prevention and control of erosion and sediment related problems. IECA is the world’s oldest and largest association devoted to helping members’ solve erosion and sediment control problems. To sustain its mission, IECA hosts an annual conference for industry professionals, which includes continuing education on the latest technologies and findings, and the industry’s largest exhibit of related materials, products and equipment. In 2012, IECA formed Region One and Region Two. Region One consists of North America, South America and Europe; Region Two consisting of Africa, Asia and Australia. For more information about IECA, visit www.ieca.org.