New Bedford, Massachusetts, Industrial Pretreatment Program wins EPA regional excellence award

The Environmental Protection Agency recently recognized the inspection, monitoring and reporting excellence of the New Bedford Industrial Pretreatment Program, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, with a 2016 Regional Industrial Pretreatment Program Excellence Award.

"The professionals implementing the industrial pretreatment program, as well as the state environmental agencies that support them, are key to keeping our environment healthy," EPA New England Office Regional Administrator Curt Spalding said. "EPA is proud to give them the credit they deserve."

Over the course of fiscal year 2015, the New Bedford program’s staff, under the leadership of Industrial Pretreatment Program Engineer Wayne Perry and Wastewater Superintendent Jamie Ponte, inspected all 24 dental facilities under their jurisdiction. In doing so, they confirmed that all the area’s dentists were properly discharging dental amalgam waste into the sewer system. The EPA also recognized the program for its monitoring of the 24 septage haulers, wherein it monitors 100 percent of the loads for pH and oil and grease. Finally, the New Bedford program was also selected for the 2016 award based on its longstanding history of outstanding annual reports.

The Regional Industrial Pretreatment Program Excellence Awards were developed to honor employees of programs that display outstanding commitment to preserving their area’s water quality.