Above L - R : Andy Fisk-MEDEP, Gary Levesque-Fort
Fairfield Utility District, Andre Gendreau-Grand Isle Sanitary District,
Gorman Chamberlain of Sinclair Sanitary District, and Senator Jon Martin.
Environmentalists Honored at Annual
North Country Convention
On November 2, 2007 three of Northern Maine’s Wastewater Operators were
recognized by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for
outstanding achievements and excellence in their profession.
After 27 years as an operator at Fort Fairfield Utility District,
Gary
Levesque was presented with a Maine DEP Certificate of Achievement just
prior to his scheduled retirement on November 30, 2007. Not only has Mr.
Levesque maintained the distinction of having the longest tenure since the
formation of Fort Fairfield Utility District in 1950, he also worked there
for 27 years without ever taking a sick day! Congratulations to Mr.
Levesque for his exemplary career and his dedication.
Andre Gendreau, Chief Operator of the Grand Isle Wastewater Treatment
Facility, and
Gorman Chamberlain of Sinclair Sanitary District were also
awarded Maine DEP Certificates of Achievement for their outstanding
teamwork in the town of St. Agatha. After a long history of compliance
issues and near-violations with the St. Agatha Wastewater Treatment
Facility, Mr. Gendreau and Mr. Gorman worked together to determine the
causes of multiple compliance issues, and solved many problems by
developing a process control plan and a set of SOPs for the St. Agatha
Wastewater Treatment Facility. Due to the work of these dedicated
operators the St Agatha facility has been in continuous compliance since
April 2005!
The Certificates of Achievement were presented by Maine DEP Bureau of Land
and Water Quality Director, Andrew Fisk at JETCC’s North Country
Convention in Presque Isle. The Awards were announced before an audience
of 134 water and wastewater operators, Maine State Senator John Martin,
and three Maine Wastewater Control Association Executive Committee
members.
The North Country Convention takes place every other year in Presque Isle,
Maine. It is organized and presented by the
Maine Joint Environmental
Training coordinating committee (JETCC), in cooperation with
Maine
Wastewater Control Association (MWWCA), and
New England Interstate Water
Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC). The North Country Convention is
offered as a northern Maine compliment to similar events offered by MWWCA
in other regions of the state while it provides a setting for personnel
working in water pollution control to meet, network and enjoy variety of
training opportunities.
