Chesterfield County, VA Wins Two Awards

In June, The National Association of Counties (NACo) awarded Chesterfield County, VA two 2014 Achievement Awards for its programs, "Managing Fleet Environmental Wastes to Mitigate Our Impacts" and "Sustainable Fleet Vehicle Replacement Program," in the category of Environmental Protection and Energy. NAFA Treasurer and Trustee Jeffrey Jeter accepted the awards on behalf of Chesterfield County.

The NACo Achievement Award Program is a non-competitive awards program which seeks to recognize innovative county government programs. Only county government and state associations of counties are eligible to submit applications.

For the Sustainable Fleet Vehicle Replacement Program, Chesterfield County stated, "The purpose of this program is to prioritize the need to right size the vehicle fleet belonging to the permanent lease program and ultimately county-wide. Fleet Management recognizes the importance of right sizing the vehicles that are currently active, by offering one-on-one meetings with departments and their representatives, in which mission needs, vehicle types, cost saving analysis and specifications are discussed."

In Fiscal Year 2014, the Fleet Management Division (FMD) has successfully right sized 13 of the 36 (39.39 percent) vehicles replaced during this fiscal year. Although the capital cost to replace these units increased by $42,395.23, environmental impacts decreased significantly. Out of these 13 units, an average of 31,206 total life gallons of fuel will be saved, resulting in an average of $85,193.79 in life fuel cost savings to the county. Total life cost will also be reduced with a projected savings of $44,510.52. Also, by right sizing those 13 units, we will reduce our carbon footprint by 622,024 lbs. (277 metric tons) over the total life of these vehicles.

For the program, "Managing Fleet Environmental Wastes to Mitigate Our Impacts," FMD identified waste streams in an endeavor to mitigate the negative impact of these wastes by tracking and making a conscious effort to reduce the environmental footprint. "Due to the nature of our business there are three wastes streams that are inevitable: used oil, used tires, and scrap metal. Our program goal is to reduce the impact of these three wastes by managing, tracking, and recycling," said Chesterfield County in their documentation.

The success of waste stream management has resulted in significant landfill diversion, prevention of contaminated stormwater run-off, the recycling of non-renewable resources, overall carbon footprint reduction, a reduction in an estimated $20,000 heating bill, and revenue from scrap metal recycling.

"This program is an excellent example of sustainability in local government. It uses and protects the resources that we have today, without compromising our resources in the future," said the Chesterfield County submission. "We are dedicated to protecting our environment and doing the right thing when it comes to managing our wastes. By identifying these three waste streams as critical environmental aspects, we are taking responsibility for resources that are no longer needed by us but can be used by other entities. This program strengthens our bonds to the commitment of being responsible protectors of the environment."

NAFA extends congratulations to Chesterfield County on their honors.

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