JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CSX Director of Construction Engineering Michael Hoey was presented with the Association of American Railroads’ John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award on Tuesday evening for his career contributions to elevating environmental standards in rail construction and design processes.
Throughout his 42 years of industry experience, Hoey has been at the forefront of incorporating environmental considerations into rail construction projects – from developing control processes in the 1980s to meeting today’s extensive permitting requirements, enforcing rigorous compliance standards, and implementing thoughtful remediation plans. In his current role, Hoey is the project manager for expanding freight clearances through the National Gateway initiative, a public-private partnership that is creating a more efficient route for double-stacked intermodal containers traveling via rail between mid-Atlantic ports and major consumer markets in the Midwest.
“Over four decades with the railroad, Mike has embodied CSX’s dedication to finding innovative and efficient ways to incorporate environmentally sustainable solutions into the company’s operations,” said Carl Gerhardstein, assistant vice president, public safety, health and environment. “He has created a culture of proactively identifying and anticipating potential environmental impacts during construction projects, and engaging colleagues and the community to find mutually beneficial solutions.”
Notably, Hoey established a company process for creating Excess Material Placement Areas (EMPAs), where excess soil and other natural debris can be built into an elevated area on or near the project site, vegetated for beautification and stabilization, and permanently left in place. To date, the EMPAs incorporated into the National Gateway projects have eliminated the need to landfill more than 1.3 million cubic yards of excess soil and stone, and avoided more than 112,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The Chafee Environmental Excellence Award is an annual recognition named after the late Rhode Island senator, who was a strong advocate of environmental efforts. Hoey is the fourth CSX employee in a row to be recognized with this honor.