North American Employee Environmental Excellence Award

Washington Court Hotel
Washington, DC April 14, 2000
Remarks by Edward Hamberger
President & Chief Operating Officer
Association of American Railroads

Good afternoon. I am extremely pleased to be here with you today. This is one of those joyous occasions where we have the opportunity to honor some of our own... people in our industry who have made a difference in the environment.

Railroads, I am proud to say, have a strong environmental record. We are fuel efficient - and becoming even more so. Just since 1980, we have improved our fuel efficiency by an amazing 63 percent.

Our new locomotives are not just more fuel efficient; they also produce fewer emissions than the older models. What's more, we have committed ourselves to a further sharp reduction in emissions of NOx - some 60 percent beginning with locomotives manufactured in 2005.

We also help reduce highway congestion and maintenance costs as a result of partnerships with trucking companies, logistics providers and steamship lines. Those partnerships have produced a three-fold growth in intermodal traffic since 1980. That reduces fuel consumption, improves the atmosphere and eases highway congestion all at the same time.

Railroads are endowed with certain environmental advantages. But beyond that, we are blessed with workers who believe fervently in preserving and improving the environment... workers who demonstrate this dedication every day at their jobs and every day in the ways they live their lives.

Next Saturday is "Earth Day." But for the people we honor today, every day is "Earth Day", and I am proud to call them colleagues in the railroad industry.

The first person I would like to tell you about is Jay Schultz who is a road manager in field operations with Canadian Pacific Railway.

Jay leads CPR's safety and environmental effort in the Thief River Falls, Minnesota, area.

Last year, Jay organized a particularly detailed simulated hazmat accident that tested the response capabilities of both the city and the railroad. That drill involved a simulated accident between a train and a semi-truck that resulted in damage to tank car and release of anhydrous ammonia. The truck leaked diesel fuel that threatened to contaminate an adjacent river and the city's water supply.

Jay put in many hours on his own time in setting up the drill, coordinating train, crew and track availability with Network Management Centers in Calgary and Minneapolis . During the drill, he monitored the train crew response, provided performance feedback and worked as liaison to on-site Canadian Pacific Railway hazmat managers and emergency responders from the community.

In addition to organizing the drill, Jay helped Canadian Pacific Railway negotiate a low cost resolution to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's demands that the railroad provide protection for the city's water intake valve.

Jay also works within the community on his own time. Last year, he worked with other community leaders to organize a two-day Kids Safety Camp for second and third graders. It included information on bicycle, fire prevention, pedestrian, seat belt and train safety. As part of the train safety segment, Jay arranged for Operation Lifesaver presentations and a train ride on a special Canadian Pacific Railway train.

Jay, it is a privilege to recognize your accomplishments.

Our second honoree is Wes England, who is a sheet metal work with Burlington Northern Santa Fe at the Argentine Yard in Kansas City Kansas .

Everyone at the Argentine Yard thinks of Wes as something more, however. They think of him as "The Environmental Representative." Wes operates BNSF's waste water facility there. With the efficiency and improvements he has built into the plant, however, he has been able to branch out and spend considerable time inspecting environmental issues at all of the railroad facilities and yards in the area and also instructing other employees and contractors in recycling and reducing both energy use and hazardous waste.

He personally organized a recycling program for aerosol cans at the facility. He unplugs, sorts, reuses and recycles about 4,000 to 5,000 cans per year. He also coordinated battery recycling and storage for all batteries, even including small, dry cell batteries.

Wes saved BNSF over $75,000 per year in energy costs by recommending portable steam machines for use during summer months, allowing the facility to shut off large shop boilers, thereby proving that taking care of the environment is also good for business.

Here are a few other examples of what Wes has done:

• took oil that had been rejected for use in hump operations and instead of disposing of it, he had it analyzed and reblended with other oil so it could serve its original purpose.
• convinced management to install a backup system to prevent overfills into used oil tank cars.
• even had a sound system installed at a wastewater treatment clarifier. The sound system mimics birds of prey, keeping birds a safe distance away from the system.

For these and other reasons, the AAR today is pleased to honor Wes England for his environmental accomplishments.

Audrey Butler is a material supervisor for Union Pacific in Pocatello , Idaho . She is also a first class environmentalist.

As part of her job, she keeps the people in Supply Operations up to date on the latest hazardous waste regulations and prepares reports for Idaho 's annual hazmat report. She established Pocatello Terminal's hazardous waste contingency and evacuation plan and keeps that plan up to date.

As a result of her initiative, she joined several employees on a trip to the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory's Fleet Management Facility. As a result of ideas spawned by that trip, Pocatello 's Environmental Risk Index has seen a 20 percent improvement. She also began a paper goods recycling program in Supply Operations.

Audrey maintains a complete file of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all materials stocked by Materials Supply. This has significantly reduced the time required to access this information in the event of an emergency. She has also worked with several short line railroads, offering them assistance with MSDS product information. She has also worked with some of the shortlines on environmental compliance issues and concerns.

Audrey understands the importance of training and invests considerable time and effort by instructing her fellow workers in hazardous waste and hazardous materials training. She also devotes considerable time to research and communicates outside environmental information that is pertinent to her fellow employees.

As you might expect, she doesn't leave her environmental awareness at the door when she goes home in the evening. No, she has taught environmental awareness to the children at her church - not to mention to her own seven children and ten grand children.

Audrey Butler is one of those railroaders who show respect for the environment every single day and it is a pleasure to honor her today.

Our final nominee is Michael C. Bethge, who is a proud fourth generation railroader and engineer for CSX Transportation in Erie , New York .

Although the demand and lifestyle of a locomotive engineer would consume most people's lives, Mike always finds time and energy to work on environmental projects that protect both his fellow employees and the people in the surrounding community.

Certain railroad employees have been selected to serve as Hazardous Materials Sentinels. Mike had the honor of being the first contract employee to be selected. As Sentinel he provides direct support to CSX's Hazmat regional manager. He has managed six separate emergency response incidents involving hydrochloric acid, coordinating emergency response personnel and securing the areas to prevent injuries to company personnel and the surrounding community. As part of the Environmental Emergency Response Preparedness Evacuation Team, he has developed evacuation plans for CSX yards in the Albany Division. Mike also created a program designed to guide individuals through the first 15 minutes of an emergency.

The company routinely calls on Mike to provide supervision during yard environmental emergencies and training exercises. During one such exercise, he coordinated a hazmat drill for the Cortland , N.Y. , area and assembled a response team that included seven fire departments and the Binghamton and Ithaca hazmat teams. His work there resulted in letters of commendation from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, politicians and local fire chiefs. He hasn't confined his activities just to his own railroad. He has also provided hazmat training for the New York , Susquehannah and Western Railroad in Cortland .

Mike takes his environmentalism seriously off the job as well. For the last five years, he has been a member of the Erie County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He has been a volunteer fireman for 21 years and is former chief of the Spring Brook Fire Company. Throughout his career, he has earned numerous citations and certifications.

As railroaders, we can all be proud of Mike Bethge's record.

As far as I am concerned, each of the four people we have honored here today is an environmentalist and deserving of an award. It's the nature of the North American Railroad Employee Environmental Excellence Award that one person be named the winner.

The choice was indeed difficult. The judges have decided to name Mike Bethge, locomotive engineer and environmentalist for CSX Transportation, to receive the 1999 North American Railroad Employee Environmental Excellence Award.

Finally I would like to call upon Ken Richardson, Senior Director of Environmental Remediation for CSX Transportation to come up to accept this plaque to recognize their candidate winning this year's North American Railroad Employee Environmental Excellence Award.