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Gary Kelman, who has spearheaded the Maryland Department of the Environment’s efforts to reduce pollution from large animal feeding operations, has been named the agency’s Employee of the Year.
Kelman was honored for implementing MDE’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) discharge permit program. In recent years he has educated the agricultural community on MDE’s regulatory approach through public meetings, the development of a webpage and online CAFO database, and through frequent individual communications with farmers.
In presenting the award at a ceremony May 5 at MDE’s Baltimore headquarters, MDE Secretary Robert M. Summers said Kelman’s work with the farm community, including poultry farmers, has played an important role in the implementation of a “critical new program.”
“Gary has personified the goals of government transparency, credibility, and competency in a highly visible and successful way,” Secretary Summers said.
“Working at MDE has been a great experience. It has allowed me to grow as an environmental professional. Of course, I could have not earned this award without the support of my colleagues here at MDE and my family,” Kelman said. “I want to specifically thank Secretary Summers, Land Management Administration Director Horacio Tablada, and Deputy Director Mitch McCalmon for their encouragement and advice during the development and implementation of the CAFO program.”
Kelman earned a bachelor’s of science degree in life sciences at Philadelphia University and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He began working for the State of Maryland in 1980 and spent the majority of his career in what became MDE’s Water Management Administration, writing industrial and municipal NPDES permits and heading the Pretreatment Program. In 2005, he was promoted to Director of Permits and Customer Service until that unit was discontinued through a reorganization in 2009. Since then, he has been the manager of the CAFO Program.
Since 1996, MDE has regulated CAFOs to reduce nutrient runoff. In 2009, new regulations and a permit took effect that for the first time implemented manure handling requirements on 85 percent of poultry litter generated from Maryland’s poultry operations. Maryland became the first state in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to implement an EPA-approved regulatory program to meet new federal requirements. In addition to the CAFO program, Maryland also went beyond federal requirements to protect surface waters and implemented a state permit for Maryland Animal Feeding Operations (MAFOs) to protect State groundwater as well.
The conditions in the CAFO General Permit require practices and controls that assure that CAFOs do not pollute surface waters or the groundwater. CAFO regulations and the General Discharge Permit are part of a comprehensive, statewide effort to address all sources of pollution that are impairing our waterways: wastewater treatment plants, industrial discharges, septic systems, urban/suburban stormwater runoff, and air emissions from power plants, vehicles, and trucks. For more information on the CAFO program go to MDE's website.
Kelman has served on the boards of several professional associations, and is the current president of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals. He was recently named a Fellow of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, one of only seven named in the 36-year history of that organization. Kelman lives in Millersville with his wife, Wendy. They have two grown children.
Kelman was one of four finalists for the Employee of the Year award. The others were:
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Kathy Brohawn, an Environmental Program Manager in the Public Health Section of MDE’s Science Services Administration, who worked with the Baltimore Harbor Keeper and the City of Baltimore to implement a bacterial monitoring partnership, in addition to her regular responsibilities in improving the health of Maryland’s beaches and shellfish harvesting waters.
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Lyn Poorman, an Environmental Program Manager in the Source Protection and Appropriation Division of MDE’s Water Management Administration, whose work in water conservation and reuse and the review of local government water supply planning has helped to ensure an adequate and safe supply of groundwater and drinking water for the State.
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Harry Smith, an IT Programmer Analyst Supervisor in the Office of Information Technology of MDE’s Administrative Services Administration, whose work to improve MDE’s business processes included the migration of critical data to a program used to track the status of permits.
More than 80 other MDE employees were recognized for reaching milestone years of service with State government.
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