Nine Mile Point Recognized For Environmental Stewardship With Gold Certification From Wildlife Habitat Council

OSWEGO, NY – Employees at Exelon Generation's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station led efforts to build habitats for blue birds, bats, pollinators and wood ducks over a period of several years, ultimately resulting in Gold Level Certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) for the station.

"We wanted to give back to the community not only by building more habitats but also by educating local children and giving them the opportunity to assist," said Jeanne Robideau, environmental chemist and chair of the station Environmental Stewardship Committee. "We're looking forward to expanding our efforts moving forward."

The employee committee first began the process in 2015, with a site visit from a WHC representative who provided habitat development recommendations based upon the site's ecosystems. The employees then partnered with local Boy Scouts to build six wood duck nest boxes and four bat houses. The group also constructed 10 blue bird houses at NMP and several others at two parks in the county.

The committee also enlisted the help of a local middle/high school environmental club when it expanded its pollinator garden to include a host of different native plant species and installed a bee hive near the garden.

"Wildlife Habitat Council congratulates Exelon's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station on achieving WHC Conservation Certification, with a designation of Gold Certified," said Thelma Redick, senior director, Conservation Content & Partnerships. "It has been a pleasure for all of us to interact with the dedicated Exelon team as they attend our annual WHC Conservation Conference and frequent Conservation Academy webinars, demonstrating their commitment to continuously learn and drive improvement of these excellent conservation projects that include a bat project and avian projects for bluebirds and wood ducks, along with an extensive pollinator project for a variety of pollinators including native bee species."

"Environmental stewardship is one of our core values at Exelon and we are very proud to have achieved the highest level of certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station," said Site Vice President Peter Orphanos. "Our employees seek to protect the environment in a number of ways, but most importantly through continued safe, reliable operation of carbon-free nuclear plants that contribute to clean air for all."

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station is located seven miles northeast of Oswego and 50 miles north of Syracuse. The station can produce more than 1,937 megawatts of carbon-free electricity – enough to power nearly two million homes. Join us on Twitter and YouTube.