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 White Plains, NY - All seven of Westchester County’s wastewater treatment plants have achieved certification to a prestigious international environmental performance standard–earning the county additional recognition for its increasingly green practices.
Yonkers was the first such plant in the state to obtain the prestigious certification to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard when it was certified in 2006. County plants in Peekskill, Ossining, Port Chester, City of Rye (Blind Brook), Mamaroneck and New Rochelle have now received the same recognition. All plants are now independently certified to ISO 14001.
In recognition of the significance of ISO 14001 certification, US EPA Region 2 awarded an Environmental Quality Award to the County’s Yonkers plant for the implementation and successful certification of its environmental management system in April 2008.
The ISO 14001 certification by an independent auditor means that the DEF Environmental Management System for each plant meets internationally recognized standards. This includes activities such as hazardous waste generation, stormwater management, spill prevention and control and air pollution, among others.
The county expects that the entire Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF), which operates all seven wastewater treatments plants, pumping stations, trunk sewers, the solid waste district and three water districts, will be certified as well. (Previously, the Westchester County Airport became one of just a few airports in the country to be so certified.)
ISO -- or the International Organization for Standardization -- is a non-governmental organization, with representatives from 157 countries. ISO develops standards for both quality and environmental management systems.
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