NS Worker Receives AAR Environmental Award

A Norfolk Southern employee’s work to solve an environmental issue in Ohio has been honored by the Association of American Railroads.

Robert Scoble, engineer of environmental operations-safety and environmental, was named the recipient of AAR’s Professional Environmental Excellence Award.

In a news release, AAR said the honor is the highest in the industry for environmental professionals.

Scoble has worked at NS for seven years, with much of his work overseeing environmental conservation projects in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.

He surveys and inspects the facilities to ensure they comply with environmental laws and regulations as well as maintain best practices to improve in all areas.

A highlight of Scoble’s work involved resolving a problem with persistent storm water discharge violations at Moorman Yard in Bellevue.

The problem was that algae blooms were developing in the yard’s storm water ponds.

The solution created by Scoble was a sonification treatment system to kill the algae with sound. That enabled storm water ponds to return to their proper pH levels and enabled the carrier to avoid having to use algicides.

In the news release, AAR said this reduced by two-thirds NS’s expenses related to the storm water pond maintenance.

Tags: Association of American Railroads, environmental protection awards, Norfolk Southern