EPA Pacific Southwest Region Emergency Response Team Earns Prestigious Public Service Award
According to the EPA, the Partnership for Public Service announced it had awarded the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal in Safety, Security, and International Affairs to Steve Calanog, Tara Fitzgerald, and Pete Guria from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Region 9 office, covering the Pacific Southwest. Calanog, Fitzgerald, and Guria – representing the hundreds of EPA employees nationwide who were part of the Maui wildfires response – earned this honor for their work to remove tons of hazardous materials from homes and businesses affected by the Maui wildfires while respecting local cultural norms, setting new standards for federal response teams that followed. EPA’s Clean School Bus Team, led by Karl Simon, Christine Koester, and Matt Lakin from EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation and Region 9, were also honored as finalists in the Science, Technology, and Environment award category.
“We are so proud of the Maui Wildfire Team for winning a 2024 Samuel J. Heyman Medal and the Clean School Bus Team for being a finalist. These teams represent every corner of our agency and highlight the critical role we play in helping communities recover from natural disasters and protecting public health and the environment,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “Both EPA teams are in company with incredible civil servants from across the federal government whose accomplishments represent the pinnacle of public service, innovation, and commitment to saving lives and improving public health and wellbeing.”
The Maui Wildfires Emergency Response Team was recognized for directing more than 300 EPA personnel to remove hazardous material, provide water infrastructure assistance, and – in an effort that is continuing at present – offer sustainability advice during the recovery process. On Aug. 8, 2023, high winds and dry weather caused wildfires to develop in Lāhainā, Upper Kula, Upper Makawao and Olinda on the island of Maui. These wildfires affected approximately 1,550 parcels, 2,200 structures and were among the deadliest U.S. wildfires in at least the past 100 years. EPA personnel worked with federal, state, and local government partners, as well as the community, on response and recovery efforts. EPA crews removed more than 200 tons of hazardous materials from 1,400-plus properties in fire-impacted areas. They provided on-the-ground guidance and technical assistance for stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water for the County of Maui. And they gathered – and acted on – guidance and advice from local communities on how to undertake response activities in a sensitive manner, in acknowledgement of Lāhainā’s historical and cultural importance.
The EPA Clean School Bus Team was recognized as a finalist for their work in designing and implementing a program that funds new electric and cleaner-energy school buses, reducing pollution and improving air quality for children in schools across the nation. With $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the EPA’s Clean School Bus team has worked with school districts across the country and many public and private entities to design and implement a successful funding program that has issued almost 1,000 awards to more than 1,200 school districts, totaling more than $2.7 billion in investments.
The Sammies are awarded annually by the Partnership for Public Service. They are designed to highlight excellence in our federal workforce and inspire other talented and dedicated individuals to go into public service. The achievements of the 2024 winners span many critical areas of our government’s work, including removing tons of hazardous materials from the Maui wildfires, developing new AI tools for patent and trademark systems, and creating the world’s first tornado-resistant building codes. This year’s honorees also pioneered policies to improve government services and the customer experience, revolutionized bee disease diagnosis and treatment, and helped prevent fatalities from roof falls and underground mining disasters.
