FHWA Official Receives National Environmental Award |
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Topics: Eugene Cleckley
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Federal Highway Administration
September 7, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 7, 1999
Contact: Lori Irving
Tel.: 202-366-0660
FHWA 59-99
A top Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) official has been named the recipient of a national environmental award for his pioneering efforts to integrate the environmental review process of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) into transportation decision-making.
Eugene Cleckley, the director of the FHWA’s Southern Resource Center in Atlanta, will receive the 1999 National Environmental Quality Award from the Natural Resource Council of America at its 15th Annual Conservation Community Awards ceremony Sept. 8 in Washington.
"Gene’s award is a great honor, and we are proud to have him as a member of our team," FHWA Administrator Kenneth Wykle said. "His work and his dedication are in line with the Clinton Administration’s goal of making communities more livable and protecting the natural environment affected by transportation."
Cleckley was cited for initiating a conference to develop a "Blueprint for Transportation Decision Making." The blueprint integrates all planning and decision-making into the NEPA process. He also developed the "Red Book," used by the FHWA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the NEPA process and other environmental reviews for highway projects that require permits under the Clean Water Act.
Cleckley, who has been with the FHWA for 26 years, was named director of the resource center in Atlanta in 1998. Before that, he was chief of the agency’s environmental operations division in Washington, DC. Cleckley is a member of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standing committee on environment and the World Road Association’s environmental committee.
The Natural Resource Council of America is a non-advocacy membership organization of environmental and conservation groups. It provides a forum for the exchange of information and ideas to foster efforts among its members to promote, protect and responsibly manage the environment.
Others honored this year include Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, who will receive the Public Service Award, and J. Michael McCloskey, the former head of the Sierra Club, who will receive the Award of Honor.