Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821

October 4, 2002 UNM GROUNDS AND LANDSCAPING CREW RECEIVES POLLUTION PREVENTION AWARD FROM CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE A University of New Mexico Grounds and Landscape crew recently received a Pollution Prevention Award from the City of Albuquerque’s Wastewater Utility Division for following “Best Management Practices” according to city, state and federal guidelines. Employees David Trujillo and Felix Vallejos, each of whom have been with the UNM Physical Plant Department for about 19 years, accepted the award on behalf of the department. “What UNM has done is followed the best management practices for pollution prevention in Albuquerque’s wastewater ordinance that protects the Rio Grande,” said Douglas Dailey, Wastewater Utility Division manager for the city. “It’s a volunteer program and we’re happy to give UNM the recognition of the award in the area of pollution prevention. An organization that achieves this accomplishment keep us from having to regulate them, which means we don’t have to monitor the organization. It’s quite an accomplishment from the standpoint of regulatory control.” The practices recognized include: recycling cooler tower blow down water from Ford Utilities, minimized number and types of pesticides uses, reduction of fertilizer and pesticides applied annually, proper storage of chemicals; maintaining records of recycled materials and waste disposal; having a written spill control and chemical hygiene plan, practicing good housekeeping and conserving water and or energy resources. “I am particularly safety conscious,” said Trujillo. “It is one of the priorities I’ve set for myself. People’s welfare is my number one priority. It’s a big part of my work ethic.” “Safety is a big factor in our job,” said Vallejos. “We are very safety conscious concerning chemical use. We always use the safest methods when it comes to toxic chemical use. It is one of our priorities. We are also very concerned with water conservation. I’m in charge of irrigation and one thing I am proud of is minimizing the amount of water we use. By that I mean xeriscaping, using plants that require less water and cutting down on turf areas around campus.” The City of Albuquerque’s Pollution Prevention Program is a free technical assistance program. The program’s primary focus is on wastewater discharges that may harm the Southside Reclamation Plant and the Rio Grande. Pollution prevention is the reduction of wastes through source control including process changes, technologies, good operating practices, material substitutions and recycling. Results typically include reduction of waste, improved waste management and pollution prevention certification, which UNM attained. “We’ve had a safety awareness and chemical storage program for 18 years,” said Trujillo. We’ve always kept our shop clean and we constantly monitor chemical use including herbicides and insecticides. The City was pretty impressed with how organized we are overall as a department.” “The award doesn’t belong to the two of us,” said Vallejos. “It belongs to entire department. The department is updated regularly on new safety information. Each employee has a folder that we disseminate the most up to date information. We make sure everyone is informed and it is up to them to follow the proper procedures. It’s a very strict rule we follow within the department.” # # #

The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981