Frank Condon Award for Environmental Excellence
In 1999, EFO initiated a program to honor outstanding environmental programs and/or projects by establishing the first Award for Environmental Excellence. The next year EFO’s Board renamed the award after long-time Board member Frank Condon. The Frank Condon Award for Environmental Excellence recognizes member companies or associates which have implemented innovative, voluntary, and effective environmental programs. Phillips Petroleum Company was the 2000 award winner, and we have celebrated and honored the memory of Frank Condon with this prestigious award to worthy companies every year.
Has your company initiated or completed a noteworthy environmental project this year? If so, why not obtain the recognition its environmental stewardship deserves by applying for this year’s Frank Condon Award? Just complete the application available below and return it by the deadline noted. And, remember, previous winners retain their eligibility!
An independent committee appointed by the EFO Board of Directors will judge the applications. The winner will be honored at our Annual Meeting and Trade Show. All members submitting applications will be recognized at the conference, and the winning company will be afforded an opportunity to discuss its project at lunch on the first day of the conference.
Oklahoma has abundant natural resources and a wonderfully diverse landscape, which the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma (EFO) is committed to conserving, enhancing and protecting. Good environmental stewardship will undoubtedly further EFO’s goal of an enhanced environment and improved quality of life for all Oklahomans!
We look forward to seeing your company’s application. If you have any questions or need further information, please call Bud Ground at at (405) 509-1135 or email bud@envirofdok.org.
The current year’s application is available via the current EFO News Update from early June through the submission deadline in late August of each year.
Past Frank Condon Award Winners
2024: ONEOK Maysville Packing Vent Emissions Reduction
The Maysville Plant is a 1948 vintage facility that had significant additions in the 1980s. The current inlet and residue compression in service was installed in the 1980s and all the packing vents were vented to atmosphere. Packing on compression was monitored annually for emissions and could vary significantly due to the condition of the packing. To minimize site greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, forty-three atmospheric packing vents on eleven compressors were routed to flare. Historically, packing vents for these units have vented to atmosphere. It was found that this allows for GHG emissions of variable quantities based on several conditional factors to be emitted. To proactively reduce our emissions the site team found that these packing vents could be safely routed to the site flare which has an approximate 98% combustion efficiency. This resulted in a 99,257 metric TPY CO2e reduction in GHG emissions. This project falls in line with the ONEOK company core value of safety and environmental as well as our corporately published 2.2 MMT/CO2e absolute emissions reduction target by 2030. This project was creative. The team was able to use existing infrastructure to significantly reduce and eliminate current and future emissions. This solution can be transferred to other legacy assets within ONEOK, Inc. as well as other midstream companies externally. Direct benefit on the environment by a reduction of 99,257 metric TPY CO2e reduction in GHG emissions not going to atmosphere based upon ONEOK’s absolute target goal of 2.2MMT based on our 2019 baseline.
2023: Grand River Dam Authority – Developing a Fecal Pollution Monitoring Program to Protect Human Health and Reduce Nutrient Loading in Oklahoma Water
In 2017, we started developing a molecular source tracking program for identifying sources of fecal pollution in waterbodies so we could make informed management decisions to protect human health and mitigate nutrient loading in Northeast Oklahoma watersheds. In May 2023, we published our first peer-reviewed study in the international journal: Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, validating the scientific legitimacy of this program. We have been using this program to assist sister agencies with illegal and accidental human waste discharges into streams and lakes, as well as, to make informed watershed management decisions for mitigating agricultural fecal pollution in rural areas.
2022: Public Service Company of Oklahoma Oil and Gas Energy Efficiency Program
PSO initiated (2019– present) an energy efficiency program for the oil and gas industry to support a vital and hard-to-reach business sector important to the Oklahoma economy. The program provided rebates and engineering consulting services to improve operations by installing electric energy conservation measures and other non-energy environmental benefits. The program aims to target owners and operators of active oil and gas production wells in PSO’s service territory. To date PSO has provided these customers with $600,601 in rebates.
The program provided rebates up to 75% of the cost for measures listed above. During the 2019-2021 cycle PSO provided $600,601 in rebates to customers and saved $420,000 on annual electric bills for the reduction of 5.3 million kWh and 583 kW per year.
PSO’s energy efficiency program must be approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission every 3 years. The OCC has approved the oil and gas program for the current portfolio (2022-2024) based on the success achieved in the previous portfolio; therefore, the program is financially self-sustaining. As the industry continues to face challenges post-pandemic, PSO has an offering to help control costs. PSO will continue to reach new customers and build on the relationship we have established with service provides to continue transforming the market.
2021: OG&E Vegetative Management Browse Delivery for Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens
OG&E has partnered with Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden to provide browse material from vegetation management activities as supplemental feed and enhance social activities of zoo animals. The browse program began with elephants and quickly expanded to bears, apes and hoof-stock. The partnership has expanded to providing “furniture” in the form of tree trunks and large branches for large avian species, as well as wire spools for goats. This partnership was initiated in April 2020 as a means to reduce the amount of vegetation waste going into the landfills while providing food for zoo animals.
2020: ONEOK Lindsay Booster Emission Reductions
The natural gas gathering and processing segment recently completed a project to replace natural gas compressors, which pressurize natural gas and enable it to efficiently flow through pipelines, with electric equipment at ONEOK’s Lindsay Booster Station in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Since the new electric engines produce no combustion-related emissions, ONEOK expects to reduce emissions by approximately 42,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) annually. The initial project planning took place in 2018 with project completion in June 2019.
A direct result of the Lindsay Booster Station becoming more efficient led to modifications at ONEOK’s Maysville Gas Plant. Originally, natural gas-driven engines pushed gas upstream from Lindsay to Maysville where Maysville would then compress before processing. The new electric equipment at Lindsay allows for enough high-pressure compression to bypass the compressors at Maysville before processing. This change allowed for the opportunity to reduce emissions at both facilities.
Due to the complete switch to electric, Lindsay went from a Title V source to a minor source of emissions. These major change at Lindsay and the compressor bypass at Maysville greatly reduced ONEOK’s overall greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), as well. In fact, this project alone reduces ONEOK’s CO2e emissions by approximately 42,000 metric tons of CO2e annually. This is equivalent to removing the CO2e emissions associated from 9,000 cars each year. View Presentation
2019: American Environmental Landfill - A Waste to Energy Landfill
2018: AES Shady Point Derived Fuels Project
AES Shady Point (AESSP) located in LeFlore County conducted a test burn in 2017 of Tire Derived Fuels (TDF). With the involvement of DEQ and state tire processors AESSP purchased and utilized car tires from Oklahoma to replace some coal while reducing emissions, coal ash and reducing the amount of processed car tires going to state landfills or illegally dumped in streams.
2017: ONEOK Mustang Pipeline Project
ONEOK partnered with the Friends of Lake Overholser/Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge community organization for the 12th annual clean-up of Lake Overholser and Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge where 15 employees and family members of ONEOK paddled through water and combed through wooden areas to collect refuse and recyclable materials. Employees filled up dozens of trash bags with refuse, leaving public-use areas free of litter and hazards.
In addition, the Mustang Pipeline project team volunteered to construct fish habitat structures as part of a community outreach effort with the Oklahoma City Game and Fish Commission and through a partnership with the H.B. Parsons Fish Hatchery. A group of 15 employees from ONEOK and Enercon, the project’s environmental contractor, spent an afternoon building the habitats in late 2016. The habitats were delivered to the hatchery earlier this year (2017) and will be placed at multiple locations within local city lakes, such as Edwards Park Fishing Lake, Kitchen Lake and the Oklahoma River. These types of habitats are designed to stay in place longer than a natural brush pile and are made primarily of flexible pipe and weighted with concrete blocks or cement. The weights anchor the habitats to the bottom of the lake, and the “spider” arms formed by the pipe provide the cover for the fish.
2016: Coffeyville-Burbank Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration
Chaparral was recently awarded the Frank Condor Award for Environmental Excellence by the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma for demonstrating initiative and leadership in its pioneering efforts to capture man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) at Coffeyville and permanently sequester it in the company’s North Burbank enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project.
Since mid-2013, Chaparral has captured 25 to 45 million cubic feet of CO2 per day from the CVR Fertilizer Plant in Coffeyville, Kansas. That equates to more than 1.9 million tons of CO2 that would have been vented into the atmosphere. Instead it is being captured and permanently sequestered into the Burbank field near Shidler, Oklahoma. This is more CO2 than is released into the atmosphere by 440,000 cars each year.
2015: Williams (Access OA) – Environmental Restoration and Conservation Program
In 2013, the Vice President of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) for Access Midstream (Access) established a program to conduct voluntary restoration and conservation projects within the company’s operating areas to offset the effects of midstream oil and gas infrastructure development. Access was acquired by Williams in 2014; however, the program continues in the legacy Access Operating Area (Access OA). Since 2013, voluntary projects in OK, PA, OH, and WY have preserved and/or restored sensitive species habitat, improved water quality, reintroduced sensitive species, preserved native rangeland, and supported environmental education. None of the projects were required by regulations or permits.
2014: Waste Management Oklahoma – Moseley Road Sanitary Landfill Superfund Delisting Project
This project was innovated both from the aspect of conducting a Superfund remediation at a landfill while the landfill was operational and using a new technology not only to develop renewable fuel but to clean up air and groundwater. This technology can be transferred to other industries and applications. The key point to this technology is the ability to take dirty methane gas and economically produce renewable goods.
2024
Winner: ONEOK
Project Name: Maysville Packing Vent Emission Reduction
2023
Winner: Grand River Dam Authority
Project Name: Developing a Fecal Pollution Monitoring Program to Protect Human Health and Reduce Nutrient Loading in Oklahoma Water
Secondary Winners:
OG&E – Tire Derived Fuel at River Valley Power Plant
Georgia-Pacific – Paper Machine Cleaning Solvent Reduction Initiative
CVR Energy – Wynnewood Renewable Diesel Unit
2022
Winner: Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Project Name: Oil and Gas Efficiency Program
Secondary Winners:
GRDA – Developing Watershed Conservation Program to Improve Long term Water Quality
OG&E – Pollinator Habitats
Williams – Williams Greenhouse Gas QMRV & Next Gen Program
2021
Winner: OGE Energy Corp
Project Name: Vegetation Management Browse Delivery for Oklahoma City Zoo & Botanical Gardens
Secondary Winners:
Valero – Ardmore Monarch Butterfly Habitat
WFEC – Bottom Ash Closure & Repurpose Project (Hugo Power Plant)
2020
Winner: ONEOK
Project Name: The Lindsay Booster Station Project
Secondary Winners:
WFEC – Oklahoma Electric Vehicle Charging Network
2019
Winner: American Environmental Landfill
Project Name: Landfill’s Electricity Helps Keep Lights On at School for Next 50 Years
Secondary Winners:
ONEOK – Pollinator Habitat Projects, Remote Monitor Implementation in Cathodic Protection, Environmentally Friendly Cathodic Protection Ground Bed Fill
One Gas – Natural Gas Conversion & Utilization
2018
Winner: AES Shady Point
Project Name: Tire Derived Fuels
Secondary Winners:
Goodyear – Hazardous Waste Reduction – Acid
OGE Energy Corp – Mustang Energy Center Zero Emissions
One Gas – Methan Challenge
ONEOK – Single Stream Recycling Success
PSO – Small Business Energy Solutions
Williams – Arbuckle Springs WMA
2017
Winner: ONEOK
Project Name: Mustang Pipeline Project
Secondary Winners:
Waste Management of Oklahoma – CNG Facility and Fleet Conversion
2016
Winner: Chaparral Energy
Project Name: Enhanced Oil Recovery
Secondary Winners:
Holly Refining and Marketing – Integration Project
One Gas – Storm Water Runoff
OGE Energy Corp – Zero Harm
WFEC – Butterfly – Pollinator Project
ONEOK – Low Volume Wastewater Reuse
Valero Refinery – Waste Reduction Project
2015
Winner: Williams (Access OA)
Project Name: Environmental Restoration and Conservation Program
Secondary Winners:
Covanta Tulsa Renewable Energy, LLC – Oklahoma Mercury Thermostat Recycling Initiative
American Waste Control – Mr. Murph Recycling / Waste to Energy Program
2014
Winner: Waste Management of Oklahoma
Project Name: Moseley Road Sanitary Landfill Superfund Delisting Project
Secondary Winners:
OGE Energy Corp – Wood Pole and Wood Waste Repurposing
Holly Refining & Marketing & Covanta – Sustainable Energy from Waste
2013
Winner: The Bama Companies
Project Name: Bama Zero Waste Landfill Journey: From Trash to Cash
Secondary Winners:
Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC – Minimizing and Recapturing Anhydrous Ammonia Emissions
2012
Winner: Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.
Project Name: Positive Energy® Smart Grid Program
Secondary Winners:
Western Farmer Electric Cooperative – Oklahoma Carbon Pilot Program
2011
Winner: LaFarge
Project Name: Industrial Ecology for a Sustainable Future Project
Secondary Winners:
The Bama Companies – Bama Recycling Projects
Enogex Products LLC – Calumet Refurbishment Project
ONEOK Gas Storage LLC (OGS) – Depew TEG Dehydration Unit Control
2010
Winner: AEP Public Service Company
Project Name: Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge Carbon Sequestration Project
Secondary Winners:
LaFarge – Developing Industrial Ecology
Terra Nitrogen L.P. – Greenhouse Gas Abatement Project
Spirit Aerosystems – Zero Municipal Landfill
2009
Winner: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Project Name: Solvent and Landfill Elimination Program
Secondary Winners:
OG&E – Lesser Prairie Chick Conservation MOA with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
2008
Winner: Spirit Aerosystems Inc. Aerostructures
Project Name: Waste Minimization Project
Secondary Winners:
Sunoco, Inc. Tulsa Refinery – 2008 Well Redevelopment Project
BP America Production Company – Electrification of Red Oak Central Compressor Facility in Latimer County, OK
Holcim (USA), Inc. – Opt for Green…A Grass Roots Movement in Conservation
2007
Winner: Terra Nitrogen, LP – Verdigris Plant
Project Name: Air Emissions Condenser & Recovery Unit
Secondary Winners:
Enogex Products Corporation, Wetumka Gas Processing Plant – Wetumka Emissions Reduction Project
Terra Industries, Inc. – Ammonium Wastewater Nitrification Treatment Unit
2006
Winner: Weyerhauser Company – Valliant Facility
Project Name: Clean Condensate Alternative for HAP Emissions Reduction Project
Secondary Winners:
John Zink Company – Compact Low NOx Process Burner
Public Service Company of Oklahoma – The Tulsa Wave: A public, Private and Nature Partnership
Fort James Operating Company Muskogee Mill – Reducing Ammonia Releases
Holcim, Inc. – Bio-Diesel – Putting the Fat in the Fire!
2005
Winner: Georgia – Pacific Corporation
Project Name: Fuzzy Filter Effluent Recycle Project
Secondary Winners:
AEP/Public Service Company of Oklahoma – Wiind Power for PSO Customers
Bridgestone / Firestone North American Tire, LLC – HAP-Free in Three
John Zink Company – Ultra Low NOx Burners
Public Service Company of Oklahoma – PSO Northeastern Station 3 & 4 Reduction of Opacity Emissions
Weyerhaeuser Company – Alternative Cover for Solid Waste Disposal Facility
2004
Winner: Sinclair Oil Corporation
Secondary Winners:
BP America Production Company
NORIT Americas, Inc
Atlantic Richfield Company
2003
Winner: BP America Production Company
Project Name: Produced Water Project – Recycling and Reusing Water Produced from Wells for Irrigation
Secondary Winners:
Oklahoma Natural Gas Company – 2003 MTTA “Free Bus Ride” Sponsorship
ONEOK/RFS Consulting – ONEOK’s Implementation of RFS’s Environmental Management Information System (REMIS)
2002
Winner: Holcim (USA)
Project Name: When the Rubber Meets the Road
2001
Winner: Dayton Tire Company
Project Name: Wildlife Habitat Development Project
Secondary Winners:
BP America, Inc. – ISO 14001 Certification of Upstream Oil and Gas Projects in Oklahoma
Kerr-McGee Corporation – Eastern Oklahoma Environmental Excellence Program
2000
Winner: Phillips Petroleum Project
Secondary Winners:
Dayton Tire – Waste to Landfill Reduction
OGE Energy Corp – Green Team Initiatives