Department Receives National Environmental Award

An initiative that saves time and money while restoring the environment, has earned the Department of Transportation and Public Works an environmental award from the Transportation Association of Canada.

The 2007 Environmental Achievement Award, presented at the association's annual meeting Monday, Oct. 15 in Saskatoon, recognized the department's habitat restoration and banking initiative which, the association said, has "significant environmental, economic and community benefits."

Road construction and maintenance can sometimes cause damage to streams, lakes, waterways and coastlines. Environmental regulations require such damage be offset with other improvements.

With its "habitat banking" approach, the department typically restores more habitat than regulations require. The extra restored area is "banked" and can be credited toward future projects where restoration is required.

"This system of carrying over credits saves time and money, as it simplifies environmental permit needs and maximizes the environmental, economic and community benefits," said Bob Pett of the department's environmental section. "By installing larger culverts under our roads or breaching obsolete dykes, we've already restored several complex marsh environments and helped wildlife thrive in areas it had abandoned."