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Region 1 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which serves six northeastern states and ten tribal nations, recently recognized two wastewater professionals for excellence in their respective fields.

Wayne Graham of the Vermont Rural Water Association received the 2019 Regional Wastewater Trainer of the Year Excellence Award, and Paul Desrosiers, a Providence, Rhode Island-based facility operator, earned the 2019 Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator of the Year Excellence Award.

Both honorees are members of the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) and the New England Water Environment Association.

Wayne Graham Trains the Future

Graham was commended for improving water quality through the next generation of operators by training rookie wastewater professionals in Vermont.

“The professionals operating wastewater treatment plants, as well as the municipalities and the state environmental agencies that support them, play a very important role in keeping our communities and environment healthy by protecting water quality,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel in a release. “We are proud to acknowledge Mr. Graham’s outstanding contributions to help protect public health and water quality.”

Graham is a staple of the Vermont wastewater community, the agency said, providing hands-on classroom and individual training throughout the state for many years. He is the primary instructor of an intensive, 10-day wastewater operations course as well as other specialized training sessions on such topics as collection systems, plant operations and maintenance, and asset management. His work has brought him to the majority of Vermont’s municipal water resource recovery facilities, EPA described in its citation.

Graham, nominated by the Vermont Department of Environment Conservation, received his award during the 2020 New England Water Environment Association Conference earlier this year in Boston.

Learn more about Graham’s career at the Vermont Rural Water Association website.

Paul Desrosiers Makes It Work In Rhode Island

EPA recognized Desrosiers for his work maintaining the Narragansett Bay Commission’s water resource recovery facilities and for his general commitment to improving water quality in his community for over 35 years in the sector.

According to the Rhode Island Clean Water Association, of which Desrosiers is also a long-time member, Desrosiers recently became the technical advisor of operations for the Narragansett Bay Commission, which operates the two largest water resource recovery facilities in Rhode Island. He previously served in management roles at the Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility, which serves Providence and surrounding towns.

Under Desrosiers’ leadership, the facility earned an EPA Wastewater Treatment Plant Excellence Award in 2017.

“We are proud to acknowledge Mr. Desrosiers’ outstanding contributions to help protect public health and water quality for so many years and to give him the credit he deserves,” Deziel said.

Desrosiers also received his award from EPA during the annual New England Water Environment Association Conference in January. He was nominated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Learn more about Desrosiers at the Rhode Island Clean Water Association website.

—Will Fowler, WEF Highlights