The United States Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the Village of Johnson Wastewater Treatment Facility has been awarded a Regional Operations and Maintenance Excellence Award for 2002. The Village Trustees wish to extend their thanks and congratulations to Chief Operator Donald Garrett for his part in receiving this prestigious award. Donnie's 30 years of dedicated service has made the award possible.

This award recognizes high degree of treatment to the waste water (without chlorination) which is discharged into the river, which greatly contributes to water quality.

The trustees are also pleased to announce the recent hiring of Tom Elwood as the assistant Operator. Originally from the Essex area, Tom has been living and working as an operator in Wisconsin. The village was fortunate to be able to attract Tom back to Vermont. Tom recently received his Grade IV DM Operators Certificate from the Agency of Natural Resources.

The nomination for the EPA award was made by Marilyn Davis, P.E. Director of Wastewater Management Division of the State of Vermont. In her nomination letter Ms. Davis stated:
"It is with pride and pleasure that the Vermont Department of Environmental Conversation nominates the Johnson Waste-water Treatment Facility for the EPA Excellence Award in the category of small tertiary facility. The facility has a spotless compliance record for the past two years with BOD and TSS effluent values averaging in the low single digits, and total phosphorous levels consistently below 0.6 mg/L. It was Vermont's first municipal Sequencing Batch Reactor facility, upgraded in 1995 from an extended aeration facility. Don Garrett has been the plant's chief operator since the original plant went on line in 1974. The facility produces an outstanding effluent. The facility's maintenance is meticulous and the plant always appears to be brand new. It receives more than half of its flow from a local college with loadings that dramatically increase in September and decrease in May. Nevertheless, the dedicated staff is able to meet this and other challenges in operating an excellent facility."