FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2011
CONTACT: Robbie Wilbur
601/961-5277
MDEQ ACCEPTS THE CITY OF RIDGELAND INTO enHANCE PROGRAM
(Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) recently accepted the City of Ridgeland as a Steward in its enHance program. Ridgeland is the first city to be named enHance member, and MDEQ is working to implement a pilot program to add other cities this year.
enHance is a voluntary stewardship program that recognizes committed environmental leaders who accomplish goals beyond their legal requirements. enHance is open to facilities, cities, counties, and other entities who are interested in the program, and applicants can choose from three tiers: Associate, Steward, or Leader.
“We are pleased that Ridgeland has joined the enHance program, and they should be commended for their commitment to doing good work and their leadership. MDEQ is developing a track within enHance for municipalities to recognize their environmental stewardship efforts and to provide a forum for promoting sustainable practices to all cities,” said Trudy Fisher, MDEQ Executive Director.
“The City of Ridgeland is proud of being accepted into MDEQ’s enHance program,” said Gene McGee, Mayor of Ridgeland. “Ridgeland strives to be the best steward that we can be, and we constantly seek ways to do more. We want to ensure that our current and future generations will enjoy our environment and natural resources.”
enHance’s 2011 class:
Leaders
14th Flying Training Wing/Columbus Air Force Base (Columbus)
The Cooper Tire Company (Tupelo)
Custom Engineered Wheels (Tupelo)
Flexsteel Commercial Seating Division (Starkville)
Nissan North America, Inc. Canton Manufacturing Plant (Canton)
Southern Natural Gas Company - Onward Compressor Station (Cary)
Membership Level Change (from Steward to Leader)
Leaf River Cellulose, LLC (New Augusta)
Stewards
The City of Ridgeland
Zeon Chemicals Mississippi Plant (Hattiesburg)
Associate
U.S. Government Printing Office (Stennis Space Center)
Current enHance members:
Leaders --Baxter International (Cleveland), Caterpillar High Performance Extrusions (Oxford), Eka Chemicals (Columbus), Haworth (Bruce), Hunter Douglas (Tupelo), International Paper (Redwood), Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) (Gulfport), Nucor/General Recycling (Flowood), and Southern Natural Gas - Pickens Station (Pickens).
Stewards -- Columbus Brick (Columbus), DTE Petcoke (Vicksburg), Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (Gulfport), Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Ocean Springs), and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (Pascagoula).
Associates -- GDF Suez Choctaw Gas Generation (Ackerman), GDF Suez Red Hills Power Plant (Ackerman), and Gulf States Manufacturers - a Nucor Company (Starkville).
Information about the program is available at: http://www.deq.state.ms.us/enhance.
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