PWEA Awards

Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Annual Awards

Submissions for nominations to the Awards Committee
must be made by December 31st.

The Arthur Sidney Bedell Award was established by the Water Environment Federation to acknowledge extraordinary personal service to the Member Association, which may be based on organizational leadership, administrative service, membership activity, stimulation of technical functions, or similar participation. The Award is named for the second President of the Federation, who exemplified its purpose by his long devotion and service to the New York Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association, now the New York Water Environment Association.

Individual must be a member of the WEF and have demonstrated organizational leadership, administrative service, membership activity, and simulation of technical functions or similar participation. Traditionally, this is given as a PWEA past president award.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

This award was established in honor of Dr. David A. Long in recognition of his lifelong service and dedication toward the education and training of wastewater and water treatment plant operators and environmental professionals. This award is presented to individuals who distinguish themselves through their efforts and contributions to the education of water quality professionals.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The PWEA Safety Committee awards these plaques to the facilities or collection system that have the highest score based on information obtained from the Wastewater Collection System Safety Award Application process. The facilities must have won the Safety Award in an individual Section the previous year before being reviewed by the PWEA. The Awards are given to Class I Facility Safety (less than nine employees), Class II Facility Safety (more than nine employees), Class II Facility Safety - Honorable Mention (more than nine employees and scoring one point less than the winning score), and Collection System Safety.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

This award was established in 1982 in honor of George W. Burke, Jr., for his many years of service to both the water environment field and the Federation as staff member of technical services. Mr. Burke was instrumental in developing the Federation's annual safety survey and assisting in the production of several safety training aids and promotional packets.

The purpose of this award is to encourage an active and effective safety program in municipal and industrial wastewater facilities. Nominated facilities must demonstrate and illustrate an active and effective safety program and a facility safety record for the preceding calendar year.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The PWEA Golden Manhole Society Award was established by the PWEA Collection System Committee to acknowledge extraordinary personal service to the Association while working to promote wastewater collection system understanding, operation and maintenance, training and continuing education. The award will be presented to an individual for contributions to the advancement of the state of the art of wastewater collection. The annual honoree(s) will be presented with the coveted PWEA Golden Manhole Society lapel pin at the PWEA Annual Awards Banquet.

Recipients should be active members who have distinguished themselves through their efforts, contributions, and promotion of the Association and its programs, relative to wastewater collection systems. Individuals should also have outstanding efforts in the area of wastewater collection system evaluation and rehabilitation.

The individual recipient should be a member of PWEA.

Nominees (including contact information and pertinent accomplishments) should be forwarded to the PWEA Collection System Committee for evaluation.
Click here for the Nomination Form (PDF)

This award is to recognize outstanding performance by industry in the area of industrial waste management in Pennsylvania. This award is given in consideration of wastewater or hazardous/solid waste facility design, research and/or operations as they relate to protection of surface and groundwater within Pennsylvania.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award is presented by the Water Environment Federation to recognize individuals for outstanding performance, professionalism and contributions to the water quality analysis profession.

Individual must be a member of WEF and employed at an educational facility laboratory, commercial, or municipal laboratory, which performs wastewater, related analyses and must have direct analytical responsibilities. Individual must also have outstanding efforts in the area of wastewater and environmental aquatic analyses, involvement in community activities or public relations; presentations at professional conferences relevant to water quality analysis; and contributions that have been beneficial to the nominees facility.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The Life Membership category is established in Section 6.1.3 of the WEF Constitution and Bylaws.

A person who has been an Active Member, Professional Wastewater Operations Division Member, or a representative of a Corporate or Associate Member in one or more Member Associations for a combined total of at least thirty-five years and who has reached the age of 65 years at the time of application for transferring to Life Member. Transfer to Life Membership may be requested in the form of a written or telephone application to the Water Environment Federations Member Services Center. The applicant must provide both the Member Association membership dates and date of birth. Applications made directly to the Member Association Secretary will only be accepted in writing.

In order to be considered for transfer to Life Membership, the following qualifications must be met:

Shall receive, without cost, those publications of the Federation that the Board designates for the member class to which the member belonged at the time of transferring to Life Member, Federation Life Members shall not, however, by virtue of such membership, be relieved of paying dues to Member Associations to which they may belong unless such dues are waived by such Member Associations.

The granting of Federation Life Membership to a representative of a Corporate Member or Associate Member shall not relieve the Corporate or Associate Member from paying dues.

Life Membership in the Federation may not relieve members of paying dues to the Member Association.

If you have further questions, please call the WEF Membership Department at (800) 666-0206 or (703) 684-2452.

This award was established in 1991 and is presented for excellence in new member recruitment. Individual must be a member of PWEA who has recruited the most new PWEA members for a one-year period.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

This award is to recognize those Pennsylvania wastewater treatment facilities that have outstanding operations & maintenance performance. There are two divisions for the PWEA awards; < 2.0 mgd and > 2.0 mgd design capacity. The award winners in each division will be submitted to the U.S. EPA for Regional and National competition. Additional facilities may be submitted to EPA at the discretion of the Awards Committee provided they do not compete in the same EPA categories as the PWEA – selected winning facilities.
(There are six EPA divisions)

Facilities shall be publicly owned treatment works (POTW's) that have demonstrated outstanding performance in permit compliance, process control, maintenance management, financial management, innovated practices, laboratory management, personnel training programs, pretreatment and industrial waste management, solids handling and disposal, safety, and public relations.

Qualifying facilities shall have at least one active PWEA member on staff. Facilities that can not meet this requirement may submit an application directly to EPA using the same application.

An application must be submitted by the facility. A member of the Awards Committee will visit the site. A score sheet will be used to generate a uniform numerical score. The results are presented to the Awards Committee for final selection.

Applications may be submitted in written form or electronically. They must be received no later than October 1st.

Winners of the PWEA Plant O&M Excellence Awards are eligible to compete in the EPA Region 3 program. Facilities receiving this award must wait five years before reapplying, even if they change categories.

Jim Kern
Operator Outreach Program
US EPA (3WP50)
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029

You may direct all questions concerning this award to Jim at 215-814-5788 or via e-mail.

The Quarter Century Operators' Club Award is presented to an individual who has been a member of the Water Environment Federation and who has been a significant, full time participant in the water environment industry for a period of 25 years, 10 years of which have been actively involved in the day-to-day collections, maintenance, operations, laboratory, or management of a wastewater transportation or treatment facility.

Individual must be a member of WEF and have been a significant, full time participant in the water environment industry for a period of 25 years, 10 years of which must have been actively involved in the day-to-day collections, maintenance, operations, laboratory, or management of a wastewater transportation or treatment facility. An application must be submitted to WEF by August 1 and be accompanied by a complete and detailed resume of experience.

The Roy F. Weston Award was established in 1985 by the PWEA to acknowledge significant individual contributions to the field of industrial waste management. From a broadly based perspective, it recognizes the professional achievements of Awardees whose activities may have been conducted in the public or private sectors, in government service, or in academia.The Roy. F. Weston Award is given to an individual residing in Pennsylvania involved in industrial waste management thtat has demonstrated leadership, significant achievement, and substantial contribution to the field of industrial waste management. The PWEA Industrial Waste Committee makes this award based on the following criteria:

Individual must be a member of PWEA and demonstrated significant individual contributions to the field of industrial wastes.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

Theodore R. Haseltine (1901-1968), civil engineer, was a civil engineering graduate of Stanford University in 1925. Ted completed graduate studies in 1927 at the University of Illinois. He operated wastewater treatment facilities in the following cities: Topeka, Kansas; Grove City, Pennsylvania; and Butler, Pennsylvania. Following his operational experiences, he joined the consulting firm of Chester Engineers and became a Partner in the firm. Ted's specialty was to put theory into practical operation. He truly was a pioneer in the design of the activated sludge wastewater treatment facilities and step aeration process. Ted was Past President of the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association (153-1954), a Past President of the California Water Pollution Control Association, and a highly respected wastewater facilities designer. The Pennsylvania Water Environment Association is very proud to present the following award in honor of this exceptional person.

The PWEA Ted Haseltine Award is presented to a PWEA member who has made significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in Pennsylvania's water quality management field through design or operational work with the wastewater treatment processes.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The High Hat Award is given by the PWEA in honor of Ted Moses, the first Secretary of the Association. This is a service award given to members who have distinguished themselves while working to promote the Association and its programs. The original High Hat, purchased in a Philadelphia pawnshop in 1935, is the Association's most prized and priceless possession. The names of past recipients are lettered upon the hat, and the annual ceremony accompanying the presentation of this award has become a tradition at the PWEA Annual Awards Banquet. Because the original high hat had no additional space for award recipient's names, Ned and Marti Sams purchased another high hat. The Sams' have graciously donated this second hat to the Association so that the names of future award recipients will also appear on a High Hat.

Recipients should be PWEA member who have distinguished themselves through the promotion of the Association and its programs. Typically, 4 (four) High Hats are awarded. One from each of the three sections and one at large. A WEF Representative attending the Awards Banquet should generally also be awarded as the Awards Committee deems appropriate. The Section awards Committees shall provide two nominees. One for their section and one for the at-large award.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The PWEA Walter A. Lyon Purity of Water Award was established by the PWEA in 2006 to acknowledge extraordinary personal service and commitment to the Association and protection of waters of this Commonwealth. The award will be presented to an individual for their contribution to the advancement of PWEA and water quality protection.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

The William D. Hatfield Award is presented by the Water Environment Federation to recognize outstanding treatment plant operation. The Award is presented to operators of wastewater treatment plants who, through their outstanding performance and professionalism, deserve commendation. The Awards criteria includes a successful system of reports; a forum for suggestions for improvement; financial acumen; a good public relations program; and dissemination of information in the field of water pollution control.

This award is presented to operators of wastewater treatment plants for outstanding performance and professionalism. The recipient individual must be a member of the WEF and have developed a successful system of reports from the operator to their superior that fulfill the information requirements and provide the operator with a forum for suggestions for improvements. The nominee should have used a good public relations program and contributed to the dissemination of information concerning advancements in the field.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)

In 1995, the PWEA Meritorious Award was renamed the Yenchko Meritorious Service Award and is presented by the PWEA in honor of John and Sue Yenchko and their decades of tireless service.

This Award is presented to an individual (or couple) who has given tireless contributions of their time in any type of service to the Association.
Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)




home member benefits bylaws committees contact us continuing education opportunities legislative news magazine/ad contract reference library pwea awards links		Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Annual Awards Submissions for nominations to the Awards Committee must be made by December 31st. Arthur Sydney Bedell Award The Arthur Sidney Bedell Award was established by the Water Environment Federation to acknowledge extraordinary personal service to the Member Association, which may be based on organizational leadership, administrative service, membership activity, stimulation of technical functions, or similar participation. The Award is named for the second President of the Federation, who exemplified its purpose by his long devotion and service to the New York Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association, now the New York Water Environment Association. Individual must be a member of the WEF and have demonstrated organizational leadership, administrative service, membership activity, and simulation of technical functions or similar participation. Traditionally, this is given as a PWEA past president award. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Collection Systems Safety Award This award is presented by the PWEA Safety Committee. Click here for the Nomination Form (PDF) David A. Long Memorial Educational Service Award This award was established in honor of Dr. David A. Long in recognition of his lifelong service and dedication toward the education and training of wastewater and water treatment plant operators and environmental professionals. This award is presented to individuals who distinguish themselves through their efforts and contributions to the education of water quality professionals. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Facility Safety Award The PWEA Safety Committee awards these plaques to the facilities or collection system that have the highest score based on information obtained from the Wastewater Collection System Safety Award Application process. The facilities must have won the Safety Award in an individual Section the previous year before being reviewed by the PWEA. The Awards are given to Class I Facility Safety (less than nine employees), Class II Facility Safety (more than nine employees), Class II Facility Safety - Honorable Mention (more than nine employees and scoring one point less than the winning score), and Collection System Safety. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) George W. Burke, Jr., Facility Safety This award was established in 1982 in honor of George W. Burke, Jr., for his many years of service to both the water environment field and the Federation as staff member of technical services. Mr. Burke was instrumental in developing the Federation's annual safety survey and assisting in the production of several safety training aids and promotional packets. The purpose of this award is to encourage an active and effective safety program in municipal and industrial wastewater facilities. Nominated facilities must demonstrate and illustrate an active and effective safety program and a facility safety record for the preceding calendar year. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Golden Manhole Society Award The PWEA Golden Manhole Society Award was established by the PWEA Collection System Committee to acknowledge extraordinary personal service to the Association while working to promote wastewater collection system understanding, operation and maintenance, training and continuing education. The award will be presented to an individual for contributions to the advancement of the state of the art of wastewater collection. The annual honoree(s) will be presented with the coveted PWEA Golden Manhole Society lapel pin at the PWEA Annual Awards Banquet. Recipients should be active members who have distinguished themselves through their efforts, contributions, and promotion of the Association and its programs, relative to wastewater collection systems. Individuals should also have outstanding efforts in the area of wastewater collection system evaluation and rehabilitation. The individual recipient should be a member of PWEA. Nominees (including contact information and pertinent accomplishments) should be forwarded to the PWEA Collection System Committee for evaluation. Click here for the Nomination Form (PDF) Industrial Waste Excellence Award This award is to recognize outstanding performance by industry in the area of industrial waste management in Pennsylvania. This award is given in consideration of wastewater or hazardous/solid waste facility design, research and/or operations as they relate to protection of surface and groundwater within Pennsylvania. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award The Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award is presented by the Water Environment Federation to recognize individuals for outstanding performance, professionalism and contributions to the water quality analysis profession. Individual must be a member of WEF and employed at an educational facility laboratory, commercial, or municipal laboratory, which performs wastewater, related analyses and must have direct analytical responsibilities. Individual must also have outstanding efforts in the area of wastewater and environmental aquatic analyses, involvement in community activities or public relations; presentations at professional conferences relevant to water quality analysis; and contributions that have been beneficial to the nominees facility. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Lifetime Membership Award The Life Membership category is established in Section 6.1.3 of the WEF Constitution and Bylaws. A person who has been an Active Member, Professional Wastewater Operations Division Member, or a representative of a Corporate or Associate Member in one or more Member Associations for a combined total of at least thirty-five years and who has reached the age of 65 years at the time of application for transferring to Life Member. Transfer to Life Membership may be requested in the form of a written or telephone application to the Water Environment Federations Member Services Center. The applicant must provide both the Member Association membership dates and date of birth. Applications made directly to the Member Association Secretary will only be accepted in writing. In order to be considered for transfer to Life Membership, the following qualifications must be met: Shall be a person who has been an Active Member, Professional Wastewater Operations Member, or representative of a Corporate or Associate Member in one or more Member Associates for a combined total of at least thirty-five years. Shall have all the rights and privileges of an Active or Professional Wastewater Operations Member. Shall pay Federation pay Federation dues as indicated below: 35 years of membership/less than age 65—½ dues 35 years of membership and age 65—no dues Shall receive, without cost, those publications of the Federation that the Board designates for the member class to which the member belonged at the time of transferring to Life Member, Federation Life Members shall not, however, by virtue of such membership, be relieved of paying dues to Member Associations to which they may belong unless such dues are waived by such Member Associations. The granting of Federation Life Membership to a representative of a Corporate Member or Associate Member shall not relieve the Corporate or Associate Member from paying dues. Life Membership in the Federation may not relieve members of paying dues to the Member Association. If you have further questions, please call the WEF Membership Department at (800) 666-0206 or (703) 684-2452. Membership Recruitment Award This award was established in 1991 and is presented for excellence in new member recruitment. Individual must be a member of PWEA who has recruited the most new PWEA members for a one-year period. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Plant Operations and Maintenance Excellence Award This award is to recognize those Pennsylvania wastewater treatment facilities that have outstanding operations & maintenance performance. There are two divisions for the PWEA awards; < 2.0 mgd and > 2.0 mgd design capacity. The award winners in each division will be submitted to the U.S. EPA for Regional and National competition. Additional facilities may be submitted to EPA at the discretion of the Awards Committee provided they do not compete in the same EPA categories as the PWEA – selected winning facilities. (There are six EPA divisions) Facilities shall be publicly owned treatment works (POTW's) that have demonstrated outstanding performance in permit compliance, process control, maintenance management, financial management, innovated practices, laboratory management, personnel training programs, pretreatment and industrial waste management, solids handling and disposal, safety, and public relations. Qualifying facilities shall have at least one active PWEA member on staff. Facilities that can not meet this requirement may submit an application directly to EPA using the same application. An application must be submitted by the facility. A member of the Awards Committee will visit the site. A score sheet will be used to generate a uniform numerical score. The results are presented to the Awards Committee for final selection. Applications may be submitted in written form or electronically. They must be received no later than October 1st. Click here for the application. Winners of the PWEA Plant O&M Excellence Awards are eligible to compete in the EPA Region 3 program. Facilities receiving this award must wait five years before reapplying, even if they change categories. Written forms for the PWEA awards must be sent to: Jim Kern Operator Outreach Program US EPA (3WP50) 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 Electronic submissions can be sent to: jimkern@comcast.net You may direct all questions concerning this award to Jim at 215-814-5788 or via e-mail. Professional Research Award This award is presented by the PWEA Research Committee. Click here for the Nomination Form (PDF) Quarter Century Operator's Club The Quarter Century Operators' Club Award is presented to an individual who has been a member of the Water Environment Federation and who has been a significant, full time participant in the water environment industry for a period of 25 years, 10 years of which have been actively involved in the day-to-day collections, maintenance, operations, laboratory, or management of a wastewater transportation or treatment facility. Individual must be a member of WEF and have been a significant, full time participant in the water environment industry for a period of 25 years, 10 years of which must have been actively involved in the day-to-day collections, maintenance, operations, laboratory, or management of a wastewater transportation or treatment facility. An application must be submitted to WEF by August 1 and be accompanied by a complete and detailed resume of experience. Click here for the WEF application. Roy F. Weston Award The Roy F. Weston Award was established in 1985 by the PWEA to acknowledge significant individual contributions to the field of industrial waste management. From a broadly based perspective, it recognizes the professional achievements of Awardees whose activities may have been conducted in the public or private sectors, in government service, or in academia.The Roy. F. Weston Award is given to an individual residing in Pennsylvania involved in industrial waste management thtat has demonstrated leadership, significant achievement, and substantial contribution to the field of industrial waste management. The PWEA Industrial Waste Committee makes this award based on the following criteria: Importance of the individual's contribution to the field of industrial waste management. Significance of the individual's contribution to the industrial waste management industry as a whole. Length and continuity of the individual's service. Individual's contribution to the professional development of others. Other relevant factors. Individual must be a member of PWEA and demonstrated significant individual contributions to the field of industrial wastes. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Student Research Award This award is presented by the PWEA Research Committee. Click here for the Nomination Form (PDF) Ted Haseltine Award Theodore R. Haseltine (1901-1968), civil engineer, was a civil engineering graduate of Stanford University in 1925. Ted completed graduate studies in 1927 at the University of Illinois. He operated wastewater treatment facilities in the following cities: Topeka, Kansas; Grove City, Pennsylvania; and Butler, Pennsylvania. Following his operational experiences, he joined the consulting firm of Chester Engineers and became a Partner in the firm. Ted's specialty was to put theory into practical operation. He truly was a pioneer in the design of the activated sludge wastewater treatment facilities and step aeration process. Ted was Past President of the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association (153-1954), a Past President of the California Water Pollution Control Association, and a highly respected wastewater facilities designer. The Pennsylvania Water Environment Association is very proud to present the following award in honor of this exceptional person. The PWEA Ted Haseltine Award is presented to a PWEA member who has made significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in Pennsylvania's water quality management field through design or operational work with the wastewater treatment processes. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Ted Moses High Hat Award The High Hat Award is given by the PWEA in honor of Ted Moses, the first Secretary of the Association. This is a service award given to members who have distinguished themselves while working to promote the Association and its programs. The original High Hat, purchased in a Philadelphia pawnshop in 1935, is the Association's most prized and priceless possession. The names of past recipients are lettered upon the hat, and the annual ceremony accompanying the presentation of this award has become a tradition at the PWEA Annual Awards Banquet. Because the original high hat had no additional space for award recipient's names, Ned and Marti Sams purchased another high hat. The Sams' have graciously donated this second hat to the Association so that the names of future award recipients will also appear on a High Hat. Recipients should be PWEA member who have distinguished themselves through the promotion of the Association and its programs. Typically, 4 (four) High Hats are awarded. One from each of the three sections and one at large. A WEF Representative attending the Awards Banquet should generally also be awarded as the Awards Committee deems appropriate. The Section awards Committees shall provide two nominees. One for their section and one for the at-large award. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) The Operator Research Award This award is presented by the PWEA Research Committee. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Walter A. Lyon Purity of Water Award The PWEA Walter A. Lyon Purity of Water Award was established by the PWEA in 2006 to acknowledge extraordinary personal service and commitment to the Association and protection of waters of this Commonwealth. The award will be presented to an individual for their contribution to the advancement of PWEA and water quality protection. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) William D. Hatfield Award The William D. Hatfield Award is presented by the Water Environment Federation to recognize outstanding treatment plant operation. The Award is presented to operators of wastewater treatment plants who, through their outstanding performance and professionalism, deserve commendation. The Awards criteria includes a successful system of reports; a forum for suggestions for improvement; financial acumen; a good public relations program; and dissemination of information in the field of water pollution control. This award is presented to operators of wastewater treatment plants for outstanding performance and professionalism. The recipient individual must be a member of the WEF and have developed a successful system of reports from the operator to their superior that fulfill the information requirements and provide the operator with a forum for suggestions for improvements. The nominee should have used a good public relations program and contributed to the dissemination of information concerning advancements in the field. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF) Yenchko Meritorious Service Award In 1995, the PWEA Meritorious Award was renamed the Yenchko Meritorious Service Award and is presented by the PWEA in honor of John and Sue Yenchko and their decades of tireless service. This Award is presented to an individual (or couple) who has given tireless contributions of their time in any type of service to the Association. Click here for Nomination Form (PDF)