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.
About CSX
CSX (Nasdaq: CSX ), based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a premier transportation company. It provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services and solutions to customers across a broad array of markets, including energy, industrial, construction, agricultural, and consumer products. For more than 190 years, CSX has played a critical role in the nation's economic expansion and industrial development. Its network connects every major metropolitan area in the eastern United States, where nearly two-thirds of the nation's population resides. It also links more than 240 short-line railroads and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports with major population centers and small farming towns alike. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com . Like us on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCSX ) and follow us on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/CSX ).
Contact: Kaitlyn Barrett (904) 359-1037
