Retired Wareham teacher earns kudos from Buzzards Bay Coalition.
Held in the Chart Room restaurant at Cataumet on Cape Cod, the event featured a review of the coalition’s strides toward stemming nitrogen pollution across the South Coast.
After accepting the award, Whittle said that volunteers should, “believe with all of your heart in an organization’s mission.
And I believe [the Buzzards Bay Coalition] is doing good work.
Otherwise, why would you volunteer?” After Whittle’s presentation, David Pincumbe, recently retired from the Environmental Protection Agency, was given the Buzzards Bay Guardian Award.
He received it in part for helping spearhead an overhaul at the Wareham Water Pollution Control Facility.
Korrin Petersen, the coalition’s senior attorney, described the upgrade as hugely successful, noting it reduced the amount of nitrogen entering the bay by 90 percent, which is “close to the limit technologically of what New England wastewater treatment plants are capable of.” Pincumbe joined the federal agency in 1983 and retired last month.
In accepting the award, Pincumbe said he appreciated the recognition and urged the crowd to keep working towards its mission.
“We need to keep fighting for better water quality,” he said.
For more information on the Buzzards Bay Coalition, click here.