From The Community Dispatch.Com
& Cal/EPA

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Governor Schwarzenegger Names Recipients of State's Top Environmental Leadership Awards 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today honored 18 individuals, organizations and businesses for making extraordinary contributions to California's natural resources and environment. The honorees, recipients of the 2005 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards, will be announced this evening at a ceremony at the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters building in Sacramento.

"Californians take very seriously their commitment to preserving the beauty and health of the state we call home. I commend this year's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award recipients for their efforts in making California's air, land and water cleaner and safer," said Governor Schwarzenegger.

The award program recognizes Californians and California-based organizations and businesses that demonstrate outstanding environmental leadership by voluntarily working to conserve precious resources or improve the environment. Recipients of the 2005 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards, listed by category, are:

Sustainable Practices or Facilities:
Johnson and Johnson California Companies - Statewide
BP Shipping U.S.A. - Statewide
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Chico
Earthbound Farm - San Juan Bautista
Pardee Homes - Statewide
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. - Burbank

Children's Environmental Education:
SF Environment - City and County of San Francisco
Sacramento Splash - Sacramento
Pacific Unified School District - Big Sur
Easy Bay Regional Park District - Danville
Desert Sands Unified School District - Palm Desert

Ecosystem and Watershed Stewardship:
Orange County Water and Sanitation Districts - Santa Ana
Marin Resource Conservation District - Pt. Reyes Station
Agriculture Water Quality Alliance - Monterey
The Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust - Irvine

Environmental and Economic Partnerships:
East Bay Municipal Utility District and Foster Farms - Alameda County
Interior Removal Specialist, Inc. - South Gate
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital - Red Bluff

The Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards program was established in 1993. Recipients are selected from dozens of public nominations by a panel of evaluators and the Secretaries of Cal/EPA, the Resources Agency, Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, and the Department of Food and Agriculture.

To learn more about the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards program, and for information about this year's award recipients, visit the Cal/EPA Web site.