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News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: April 22, 2008
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402
Stephanie Powell 222-4700 ext. 4418

NOMINATED BY DEM, FORMER REP. GINAITT HONORED BY EPA

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that former State Representative Peter T. Ginaitt has been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency's 2008 Lifetime Achievement Merit Award. DEM nominated Rep. Ginaitt for the award based on his stature and record in the field of environmental protection during his 16 years in the General Assembly.

DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan, Ph.D., said of Ginaitt, who left his position with the General Assembly last fall to pursue other opportunities, "Simply put, he will be greatly missed by DEM and Rhode Island's entire environmental community as a leader and champion for the preservation and protection of Rhode Island's abundant natural resources."

For more than a decade, Rep. Ginaitt served as chairman of the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Environment and Energy and later the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. In its letter of nomination, DEM said that while at the helm of those committees, Ginaitt "demonstrated not only effective leadership skills, but also a deep personal commitment to the issues at hand."

Those issues included reducing mercury, curbing diesel pollution, protecting open space, restoring Narragansett Bay, managing the coastal zone, treating septic waste, protecting wetlands, phasing out MTBE in gasoline, promoting Brownfields redevelopment, addressing threats from underground storage tanks, and providing for environmentally sound dredging in Narragansett Bay.

"In meeting after meeting, hearing after hearing, Rep. Ginaitt was always quick to understand, thoughtful in his exploration, and sensible in seeking resolution," DEM said in its letter of nomination. "His leadership paved the way for passage of good strong environmental legislation and that impressive body of work continues to guide and propel many of Rhode Island's major environmental programs."

EPA is honoring Ginaitt and others at an awards ceremony in Boston today.

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