Affairs

Posts Tagged ‘Affairs’

Navy, DoD, Developer Announce Wind Farm Agreement to Preserve Training Mission in South Texas By Kenneth Hess, Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division Public Affairs

Posted by admin on November 28th, 2012

NAVAL AIR STATION (NAS) KINGSVILLE, Texas (NNS) – Today, officials from the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of the Navy (Navy), E.ON Climate & Renewables North America, LLC (ECRNA), and Petronila Wind Farm, LLC, owned by ECRNA (Petronila Wind), announced a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to allow the developer to build and operate new wind turbines in Nueces County, Texas while working to protect the Navy’s ability to continue its training mission at NAS Kingsville and NAS Corpus Christi. Representatives from each organization participated in a ceremony and base tour to commemorate the agreement.

Signatories to the agreement include John Conger, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment; Joseph Ludovici, Principal Deputy (Acting) Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment; John Quinn, Deputy Director, Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division; VADM William French, Commander, Navy Installations Command; Rear Adm. Jack Scorby, Commander, Navy Region Southeast; Capt. David Edgecomb, Commanding Officer, NAS Corpus Christi; Capt. Mark McLaughlin, Commanding Officer, NAS Kingsville; Paul Bowman, Vice President of Petronila Wind; and Steve Trenholm, Chief Executive Officer, ECRNA.

Under the MOA, ECRNA will install and operate up to 100 wind turbines at the Petronila Wind Farm site.

“The Navy is at the forefront of alternative energy use and production, and the Navy supports such projects when they are compatible with our mission,” said Rear Adm. Scorby. “The agreement will enable this wind turbine project to move forward while putting measures in place that work to preserve vital pilot training capability at NAS Kingsville and NAS Corpus Christi.”

Under the agreement, ECRNA will provide $ 750,000 in funding to DoD for researching, testing and implementing solutions to mitigate potential impacts. Mitigation efforts could include upgrades that allow the Navy radars to more accurately detect aircraft; optimizing radars to “ignore” signals received from wind turbines, incorporating new systems that fill in radar gaps, and other technical modifications. To reduce the potential of radar interference, the new turbines will be limited to 500 feet in height and will be confined to one 5 by 7 mile site within the existing Petronila Wind Farm project boundary.

The agreement establishes a specific set of procedures the Navy and ECRNA will use to safely curtail wind turbines when and if needed, and to document and address emerging concerns. In addition, Navy, DoD, and Petronilla Wind will form a joint working group to study the effectiveness of the mitigation measures implemented

“This agreement is a collaborative effort that proves the military and the wind industry can find solutions that protect bases and still allow responsible development,” said Steve Trenholm, CEO, ECRNA.

The Navy and the Department of Defense will continue working closely with renewable energy developers and local communities in South Texas to ensure local wind turbine projects can coexist with the Navy mission.

For additional information about the MOA signing, please contact

Kenneth Hess at 703-695-5077 or by email at [email protected], or

Jon Gagné, NAS Kingsville Public Affairs, at 361-516-6500 or by email at [email protected].

To learn more about the Navy’s energy, environment, and climate change initiatives, visit http://www.greenfleet.dodlive.mil

Contact Info: Kenneth Hess at 703-695-5077 or by email at [email protected]

Jon Gagné, NAS Kingsville Public Affairs, at 361-516-6500 or by email at [email protected]

Website : Department of the Navy

ENN Network News – ENN

Future of Dairy Farming – Deputy Minister provides evidence to Welsh Affairs Committee

Posted by admin on November 12th, 2012

Speaking at the Welsh Affairs Committee in Aberystwyth on Thursday (8 November), Mr Davies said more needed to be done to secure the long-term future for the industry.

The Deputy Minister provided evidence on the measures being considered and being delivered by the Welsh Government to support the Dairy sector in Wales.

The measures aim to help the sector meet future challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented in an increasingly volatile and globalised economy.

Mr Davies said:

“The dairy sector is a key part of our food and farming industry in Wales, and the Welsh Government is working to ensure it has a prosperous and sustainable future.

“I am creating a Dairy Forum to ensure that I have direct and regular access to expert advice from those working in the sector. I have also launched a Plan for Milk which demonstrates that I am taking both a practical and long-term approach to ensuring that the Welsh dairy industry emerges from its current difficulties in a strong position.”

Mr Davies stressed that the voluntary code of practice between suppliers and processors had to be given time to work. Mr Davies confirmed that draft legislation regarding written contracts between processors and dairy farmers had been prepared by his officials and would be enacted if necessary.

The Deputy Minister spoke to the Committee about the importance of the Welsh Dairy summit which was held in June of this year.

Mr Davies also stressed that the legislation currently before the UK Parliament to establish a Groceries Code Adjudicator to monitor the operation of large retailers needed to be strengthened.

Environment and countryside

EPA and Department of Veterans Affairs to Connect Veterans with Jobs in Water Sectors (HQ)

Posted by admin on May 29th, 2012

Release Date: 05/29/2012
Contact Information: Enesta Jones (News Media Only), [email protected], 202-564-7873, 202-564-4355 / Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs, Media Relations, 202-461-7600

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program announced today a memorandum of understanding to connect veterans with disabilities to career opportunities in the water and wastewater sectors — such as at wastewater plants and drinking water facilities — as part of EPA’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative. This effort will be beneficial to both the environment and economy as clean water and job placement for veterans are top priorities of the Obama Administration.

The agreement allows EPA and VA to connect qualified veteran employees with staffing needs at water and wastewater utilities. EPA and the VA will work with water utilities, states and local VA counselors to promote water sector careers and resources for finding water jobs for veterans as well as educational programs to help veterans transition into careers in water industries.

“This agreement comes at the perfect time to address the predicted workforce shortages in the water and wastewater industries and the need for transitioning veterans into civilian jobs,” said Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “EPA believes that well-trained and experienced water sector professionals are vital to ensuring sustainable, properly operated systems.”

“VA has cultivated relationships with both public and private industry to ensure disabled veterans have opportunities to find and maintain meaningful employment,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “We are thrilled to forge this relationship with EPA to assist them with hiring veterans through our Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program.”

More than one-third of all current water operators are eligible to retire within seven years and, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment for water and wastewater operators is expected to grow by 20 percent between 2008 and 2018, faster than the national average for all other occupations. EPA sees the need to invest now in creating a pipeline of future water sector professionals to fill these essential water sector careers.

VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program assists more than 100,000 disabled veterans annually prepare for, find, and maintain meaningful careers. Veterans are an important target group for water and wastewater utility jobs because many veterans already possess training and technical skills that are directly transferable to careers in the water sector. There is a wide spectrum of water sector careers that veterans could be qualified for, including engineering, laboratory and water science, operations and maintenance, management and administration, communications, and public education. The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program further supports veterans for the water workforce by providing necessary accommodations and additional training as needed.

More on EPA’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/ws_workforce.cfm

More about VA connecting qualified veterans with employer needs: http://www.vetsuccess.gov/

U.S. EPA News

Veterans Affairs Awards Contract to Green Building Initiative for Green Globes(R) Certification

Posted by admin on December 6th, 2011

SOURCE: Green Building Initiative

US-Based Nonprofit to Certify 189 Hospital Facilities for Sustainability on 11 Campuses

WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwire – Dec 6, 2011) – The Green Building Initiative (GBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the acceleration of sustainable building practices, was recently awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to certify 189 hospitals, long term care facilities, outpatient clinics and medical offices on eleven campuses across the country using the Green Globes® Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (CIEB) environmental rating and assessment tool.

GBI staff previously provided training to VA facilities management personnel to conduct web-enabled, on-line environmental surveys on 175 buildings. The self-evaluations resulted in fairly significant scores; therefore, the VA expanded their contract to include Green Globe certifications on eleven campuses across the country. This represents the largest coordinated deployment of the certifications in the federal sector. Green Globe Assessors are currently evaluating the buildings and should complete the process by January 2012.

The Green Globes CIEB and hospital-specific CIEB Healthcare certification programs help facility managers establish performance baselines, best practices and certification for operations and maintenance of a building in the environmental assessment areas of energy, water, resource management and emissions and pollution. The fully interactive, web-enabled tool also allows facility personnel to measure, document, and improve the sustainability of a building over time. Read more about CIEB Healthcare.

“We continue to take steps to assess and reduce our environmental impact,” said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. “Ensuring the sustainability of our facilities across the country gives us energy efficient buildings to accomplish our primary mission – serving Veterans with the best care.”

This ambitious certification follows a 2009 pilot project by the VA in which 21 hospitals across the US were assessed and certified using the Green Globes system. After completion, it became apparent that complexities, regulations and demand for services associated to healthcare facilities, Green Globes CIEB needed to encompass an assessment questionnaire that was related specifically to healthcare buildings. To assist in this necessary requirement the Green Globes CIEB Healthcare system used on this current program was launched.

Erin Schaffer, Vice President of the Green Building Initiative for Federal Outreach, says, “Third party assessment and certification with Green Globes illustrates the VA’s commitment to measure and reduce the impact of their buildings on the environment, while saving staff time and money because Green Globes is one of the most practical and expedient certifications systems available in the market.”

For more information about the prior certification of 21 VA hospitals around the country please access the case study: The Portland VA Achieves 3 Green Globes (http://www.thegbi.org/assets/case_study/VA-Case-Study.pdf).

THE GREEN BUILDING INITIATIVE (GBI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches for residential and commercial construction. GBI is the exclusive U.S. licensee of Green Globes®, a revolutionary green building guidance and assessment program that offers an effective, practical and affordable way to advance the overall environmental performance and sustainability of commercial buildings. www.thegbi.org

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Marketwire – Environment

Veterans Affairs Blog

Posted by admin on November 23rd, 2011

There’s a lot going and you might not catch all the news each day that’s important to you. So we thought an intelligence dump would be a good way to wrap-up the news of the week. If you find this helpful, we’ll likely continue posting it each week.

Tough economy hurts veterans looking for work (NPR) For Veterans Day last week, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki spoke with NPR’s Morning Edition about the tough economic environment Veterans face when they leave the military.

Wounded veterans to duel on diamond with local cops, firefighters (Miami Herald) The Wounded Warrior Softball Team, profiled by VAntage Point in September, continues its national play.

VA touts research department’s newest efforts (Stars and Stripes) Among VA’s 2,100 research projects: A prosthetic arm controlled by thoughts.

VA reveals plans for additional 1,000 units to fight homelessness (Citybiz) VA announced 1,000 residential units at medical centers for homeless Veterans across the country. The news comes on the heels of an announcement made last week, which called for 3,000 units at 25 medical centers nationwide.

Passage of vet jobs bill doesn’t mean immediate changes (Stars and Stripes) “The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday offering a host of new job training programs for veterans and offering employers up to $ 9,600 for hiring them. But it could take months before Veterans see any benefits.”

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USA.gov Updates: News and Features

Public Affairs News Awards 2011 and the winners are…

Posted by admin on November 17th, 2011

Immediate release

The seventh annual Public Affairs News Awards were hosted by ITV Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg.

The awards were presented on 16 November in central London. The winners of the first 14 awards were decided by a 24-strong judging panel.

Consultancy of the Year – Hanover
In-House Team of the Year – The MS Society
Specialist Consultancy of the Year – Cicero Consulting
Outstanding Contribution – Kevin Bell
Consultant of the Year – Kevin Craig, PLMR
Rising Star – Individual (Agency) – Chris Bose, Lansons Communications
Rising Star – Individual (In-House) – Emma Boon, TaxPayers’ Alliance
Freelancer of the Year – Rhoda Macdonald
Best Agency to Work For – Open Road
Trade Body of the Year – EEF, the manufacturers’ association
Innovative Campaign of the Year – RSPCA for the Fairer Fillings campaign
Campaign of the Year – Private Sector – ‘A Fair Tax on Flying’ campaign
Campaign of the Year – Voluntary Sector – Royal British Legion for Write the Principles of the Military Covenant into Law campaign
Campaign of the Year – Devolved Administrations – Placing the Voice of the Child at the Heart of Children’s Hearings campaign

Two further award winners were decided interactively by the audience via personal keypads.

Whizz-Kids received the most votes for the award Party Conference Innovation 2011 and the audience members also opted for John Rentoul as the Political Tweeter of the Year.

PAN publisher, Dods, has embraced moving from the print publication of Who’s Who in Public Affairs to the digital launch of Dods People Public Affairs – the comprehensive online directory which contains more than 3,500 public affairs organisations with contact details. The website is growing in recognition within the sector and more organisations are listing their key contacts’ biographies.

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. Dods won the overall category of Digital Publisher of the Year at the DPPA awards 2011.
2. Dods is a political information, publishing, events and communications business operating in both the UK and Europe.
Dods specialises in services designed for organisations wishing to understand and engage with Parliament, the Civil Service, the wider public sector and the public affairs community. Dods delivers a range of services including information, training, events, and integrated communications.
3. Public Affairs News is a monthly print magazine with a website, social media presence, annual industry awards ceremony and events programme.

For more information or to ensure your organisation’s details are available on the site please contact Helen Haxell, Editor, Dods People Public Affairs – 020 7593 5673; [email protected].

Custom Release Wire

Key priorities protected in rural affairs draft budget

Posted by admin on October 13th, 2011

Mae yna broblem ar y dudalen yr ydych yn ceisio’i chyrraedd ac nid oes modd ei dangos.

Naill ai:

dewch nôl cyn hir i weld gwefan Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru, neu
anfonwch fanylion am y broblem i’r [email protected]

There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.

Please either:

return shortly to access the Welsh Assembly Government website
report this problem to [email protected]

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Environment and countryside

Statement of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. on Post-Irene Utility Repairs

Posted by admin on August 30th, 2011

BOSTON – Tuesday, August 30, 2011 – The Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and our Department of Public Utilities (DPU) are closely monitoring the power outage response by utilities, reviewing hourly reports on power restoration efforts. As of 11 a.m. today, there are 249,922 outages, and Western Massachusetts Electric Company and Unitil have restored power to all of their customers. This is down from 9 p.m. on Sunday when the utilities reported a total of 643,734 outages (NSTAR 248,390; National Grid 386,962; WMECO 5,395; and Unitil 2,887).

While the outage numbers were cut in half overnight and the utilities are making progress, we are mindful of the ice storm of 2008, which left many without power for two weeks, and we expect that utility companies will heed lessons learned from that incident to protect their ratepayers from similar hardship.

Public Safety Secretary Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz, and I have fully briefed Governor Patrick this morning regarding the status of power outages and flooding statewide, and the Governor has contacted the CEOs of both NSTAR and National Grid regarding the status of the outages. The Patrick-Murray Administration has conveyed its expectation that the utility companies with outstanding outages will restore all power as expeditiously as possible and – just as important – communicate clearly with their customers regarding expected repair times, including regular updates, so that people are not left wondering and can make appropriate plans. We will continue to monitor restoration efforts over the coming days.

The DPU has the authority to levy fines and investigate any utility it deems has been unresponsive to outages.

The Administration fully understands the enormity of the task at hand for utilities. The number of outages is unprecedented, with the size and intensity of the storm and the fact that it was slow moving accounting for widespread outages. Companies rank outages that interrupt service for 15 percent or more of their customers as “high.” In this event, we estimate the service interruptions to be at about 25 percent, making it one of the worst events experienced for both NSTAR and National Grid. Grid alone reported 20 transmission lines down as a result of the storm.

My office has received a number of complaints from customers awaiting restoration of service and we are directing residents and business owners to visit NSTAR and National Grid’s web pages.

http://www1.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/stormcenter/

http://www.nstar.com/residential/

On behalf of the Administration, I thank the public for its patience and resourcefulness during this challenging time, and thank the Commonwealth’s utilities for their efforts to restore power statewide as quickly as possible.

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News & Updates, Energy and Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

San Francisco Chronicle Environmental Reporter Kelly Zito Appointed to lead EPA’s Office of Public Affairs (CA)

Posted by admin on August 29th, 2011

Release date: 08/29/2011

Contact Information: Mary Simms, [email protected] (415) 947-4270

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Jared Blumenfeld today announced Kelly Zito as the agency’s new Director of the Office of Public Affairs in the Pacific Southwest. EPA’s Pacific Southwest office serves Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and 147 Tribes.

Zito will oversee the management of the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest internal and external communication programs, including congressional affairs, media relations, social media, public engagement, the EPA’s library operations, and the Freedom of Information Act program.

Zito has worked for the San Francisco Chronicle for almost 12 years covering the environment, real estate and technology beats. Kelly had a particular focus on water, energy, climate change, and air quality. Zito has a Communications Degree from Cornell University and served as a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.