October 27, 2010

2 Min Read
Railroad Industry Awards 2010 Professional Environmental Excellence Award to David C. Clark

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has awarded the 2010 Professional Environmental Excellence Award to BNSF Railway director of environmental remediation, David C. Clark. Based in Topeka, KS, Clark has 35 years of environmental experience all within the rail industry. The award was presented at the annual Railroad Environmental Conference at University of Illinois, Urbana.

“The concept of environmental excellence is vitally important to railroads – it not only helps our companies with efficiency and sustainability, but also benefits the communities we serve and move through every day,” said AAR president and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “David Clark is a wonderful example for all rail employees in his dedication to BNSF and the industry’s overall progress in achieving environmental excellence.”

Clark is a professional engineer and for the past 16 years has been focused on directing the remediation activities for the BNSF system. Today, he oversees a staff of nine environmental professionals who handle all historical site cleanups, serve as primary contacts with environmental emergency response and oversees the environmental aspects of property transactions. Over the past several years, he has established several critical company programs, such as:

- a program to help track expenditures and cost projections for the company’s $75 million annual remediation program with nearly 400 sites system wide

- a central laboratory management program that has cut $15 million in lab-related expenses over the past eight years and includes regular audits to ensure only the highest quality data

- a preferred consultant program that has reduced the number of consultants working on remediation sites from 35 to 6, saving $3 million annually and ensuring more uniform project oversight

In addition to the many ways he has helped BNSF, Clark also has been an active an influential leader among environmental professionals within the railroad industry. He has served on committees at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AREa Committee 13, as well as the AAR Environmental Affairs and Tank Car committees.
Clark was one of five railroad industry professionals nominated for the award which recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding performance in environmental awareness and responsibility during the year.

For more information, visit www.aar.org.

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