B-Line Trail wins state honor

Once again, Bloomington was recognized as one of the most environmentally concerned cities in Indiana.

This time, the city was awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for its work on the transformation of the B-Line Trail, selected by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The award is given to projects implementing environmental strategies to reduce waste, save money and protect the environment, according to a press release.

The B-Line Trail was honored in the land use category. Other categories included greening the environment, outreach and education and recycling and reuse.

The first phase of the trail began in 2009, extending 3.1 miles downtown from South Second to West Rogers streets.

Dave Williams, operations director of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, said the final phase was completed in summer 2011.

“With its completion, three trail systems are now connected with the B-Line,” Williams said. “The Bloomington Rail Trail has two miles, and the Clear Creek Trail added 2.3 miles, totaling 7.4 miles for the whole trail.”

The City of Bloomington turned an abandoned railroad corridor into the Rail Trail. Before construction, the trail had to be purged of arsenic, lead and other contaminants left in the soil after the railroad was decommissioned, according to a press release.

The project involved remediating the area by fixing concrete, asphalt and pavers and filtering clean soil.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management cooperated with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office of Energy Development, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Administration to recognize the B-Line trail with the award.

To be eligible for the award, the nominees have to be Indiana-located and have a significant environmental goal or topic.

Barry Sneed, public information officer of IDEM said the projects applied for the Governor’s Awards must demonstrate substantial and measurable results in all environmental areas.

“The B-Line trail was chosen for the award because the project fit the criteria,” Sneed said. “They turned an abandoned railroad into a linear park, which was very creative.”
The Governor’s awards have been given out to Indiana’s distinguished projects since 1994, Sneed said.

In addition to the 2012 accomplishment, Bloomington’s World Wide Automative Service was a winner of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention in 1997. Since then, Monroe County and the Bloomington area have had 10 other recipients and nominees for the award, Sneed said.

According to the IDEM website, the City of Bloomington was recognized in 1998 for its trash and recycling clean-up systems. In 2001, Bloomington’s Sabin Corporation was acknowledged for establishing an Environmental Management System that reduces energy in facilities.

“For the B-Line trail, the City of Bloomington used a unique approach to simultaneously cleanup and redevelop the area,” said Sneed. “It is was awarded because it benefits the health and welfare of Indina’s communities and state as a whole.”