Meyers receive ABA environment award

Tina Meyers of Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper has received the American Bar Association’s Distinguished Environmental Advocates Award. The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources honored twelve lawyers nationwide with its “rising star” award during its 42nd Spring Conference last month in Salt Lake City.

The Distinguished Environmental Advocates Award recognizes lawyers under the age of 36 or in practice fewer than five years whose accomplishments and contributions to the development of law, policy and programs in the areas of energy and the environment are above and beyond those of their peers. Recipients hold a juris doctorate, are leaders whose contributions to NGOs, communities, neighborhoods, the government, academia and the practice of law are significant and belie their years and experience.

Since becoming the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, Meyers has helped launch a major new web resource — http://bacteria.bluewaterbaltimore.org — that tracks bacteria and alerts residents to the public health risks of water contact at 30 different locations in the Baltimore Harbor and the Middle Branch of the Patapsco.

Meyers and her staff also monitor pollution for the annual Harbor report card through a partnership with the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, EcoCheck and the Abell Foundation and they manage a website tool that makes it easier for residents to report pollution directly to local agencies and the Waterkeeper.

Recently, Meyers has worked to strengthen Baltimore City’s stormwater permit by providing technical comments and information about chronic sources of water pollution to the Maryland Department of the Environment as well as the EPA.