FROM STAFF REPORTS

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – The Council for Sustainable Florida has announced that PCS Phosphate in White Springs, a fertilizer company, has won the top award in its field for Best Practices in the business category of the 2003 “Sustainable Florida Awards” competition.



The annual awards competition recognizes governmental and non-governmental organizations, businesses and universities that have demonstrated a commitment to Florida’s long-term prosperity and overall environmental health.



“We are proud of the system that we have created, which meets and even exceeds environmental requirements,” said Paul Barrett, general manager of PCS Phosphate, White Springs. “We are glad that we can help protect the Suwannee River and do our part to be a good neighbor in Hamilton County.”



The presentation of the “Sustainable Florida Awards” was held at the Broward County Main Library in the auditorium on Thursday, July 17, 2003 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Frank Brogan, former Lieutenant Governor and President of Florida Atlantic University, served as the keynote speaker at the event.



The awards ceremony is the opening event for the weekend-long BELL (Business, Environment, Learning and Leadership) Conference.



PCS Phosphate’s winning initiative is an innovative water management system for its Suwannee River chemical manufacturing facility, located in Hamilton County. The initiative demonstrates how manufacturers can go above and beyond what is required to fulfill environmental obligations.

It combines new spray irrigation technology with existing standard treatment methods to affect nutrient removal through crop application and final “polishing” through on-site constructed wetlands.



Land was reclaimed for the irrigation system with the assistance of the FDEP’s Non-mandatory Reclamation Program.



At the request of Hamilton County, PCS Phosphate worked to create areas that would produce inactive clay settling areas to be economically and environmentally productive. Therefore, the company’s initiative called for the transferring of water to a 900-acre clay settling area for storage to remove phosphorous and fluoride. Following intermediate storage, the water was moved to the 350-acre irrigation system.



The sand beneath the irrigation system was planted with Sudan Sorghum grass as a cover crop and Winter Rye for an intermediate cover. Coastal Bermuda was also planted to produce an economic crop as well as maximizing the removal of nitrogen and phosphorous.

The final overall outcome of the irrigation project is to produce water quality suitable for direct discharge into a tributary of the Suwannee River.



PCS Phosphate in White Springs, a subsidiary of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc., produces nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers. The company occupies approximately 100,000 acres of land in Hamilton County. More than 5,000 acres of the cultivated land are open for public use for outdoor sporting activities such as hunting, fishing and hiking and 4,000 acres have become Wildlife Management areas.



An expert panel of leaders from government, business, civic and environmental groups evaluated the nominees and selected the winners based on their program’s contribution to a sustainable future for Florida, its accomplishments, economic benefits and ease at which the program can be replicated by other organizations.



The Council for Sustainable Florida is a statewide, non-profit organization created as a dynamic forum on innovative policies and practices that link economic development, environmental stewardship and healthy, livable communities.



Its “Sustainable Florida Award” Program documents and promotes outstanding leadership in management, technical and scientific innovations and collaborative partnerships. The Council’s board of directors and partners represent leaders from both the public and private sectors.

For more information about the awards program, the BELL Conference, or about the Council for Sustainable Florida, call CSF Executive Director Sharon Cooper at (850) 539-5093 or visit their website at www.sustainableflorida.org.