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Environmental Commissioner of Ontario to tour environmental initiatives in Kingston - Environmental Communication Options/Huff Strategy

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario to tour environmental initiatives in Kingston

May 28th, 2012 5:02 AM

Interview and photo opportunity The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Gord Miller, will visit the newly LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant – Administration Building where he will help the City of Kingston and Utilities Kingston unveil the plaque celebrating this achievement. Commissioner Miller will be in Kingston with his multi-stakeholder advisory committee fromTuesday, May 29 to Thursday, May 31. During their stay, they will take time out from business meetings to visit several environmental initiatives in Kingston. The Commissioner will be available for media interviews after the ceremony. LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It provides building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. What: Unveiling the LEED Silver certification at Kingston's Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant Who: • Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario • Mark Gerretsen, Mayor of Kingston • Jim Keech, President and CEO of Utilities Kingston When: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. Where: Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant 947 Highway 2 East, Kingston, Ontario
For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact: Maria Leung, Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, at 416-325-3371 (office), 416-819-1673 (cell) or at maria.leung@eco.on.ca Cindie Ashton, Communications Officer, City of Kingston, 613-546-4291 ext. 3116 or 613-329-3462 (cell)
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The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is the province's independent environmental watchdog, appointed by the Ontario legislature. The ECO reports on the government’s compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, its progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and its actions towards achieving greater energy conservation in Ontario.Each year, Commissioner Miller meets with his advisory committee in different regions around the province to discuss business and to view local environmental initiatives. Past destinations have included Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort Francis, Sarnia, Sudbury, and Algonquin Park. Other areas that the ECO will visit on this trip include Kingston's remediated landfill site and renewable energy projects near the city, as well as meet with the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority. Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant was upgraded in 2009 to increase capacity and provide advanced secondary biological treatment. Construction and renovation to the plant’s eight major areas were undertaken to modernize and improve the operation while reducing overall environmental impact. While the LEED program was directly applicable to the Administration Building, the LEED principles were applied across the entire construction project including the other seven buildings and site works. The most significant addition was construction of the biological aerated filters (BAF), which provide the secondary treatment for removal of dissolved contaminants and ammonia. Utilities Kingston is wholly-owned by the City of Kingston. Utilities Kingston provides asset management, billing, and operational services to utilities in the water and wastewater, natural gas, and electricity industries. It also owns and operates appliance rental and fibre optic network businesses. Utilities Kingston’s ability to build economies of scale by providing integrated utility services generates significant cost savings for Kingston area utility customers.