BANGOR – The Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing was presented the 2006 U.S. Air Force Gen. Thomas D. White Environmental Quality Award on Thursday morning at the Pentagon.

The award recognized the Bangor Guard unit’s commitment to the environment, and in particular the installation of a control system that reduced plane de-icing fluid runoff into nearby Birch Stream by about 60,000 gallons over two years, said Lt. Col. Eric Johns, the unit’s environmental manager. The Guard unit also helped reduce the hazardous and solid waste streams by recycling efforts.

“This award helps the people out at the wing understand that all the hard work they are doing pays off,” Johns said. “They are setting a standard of environmental excellence that has been recognized by the Air Force.”

The environmental quality award is presented to three U.S. Air Force units annually. One is given to an active duty base within the U.S., one to an overseas unit, and one to a Guard or Reserve unit, he said. Recipients are honored for pollution prevention, recycling, environmental quality, restoration, and the conservation of natural and cultural resources.

In 2003 the Department of Environmental Protection began investigating the contamination of Birch Stream by the de-icing agent used by commercial and military aircraft at Bangor International Airport. Residents of nearby Griffin Park complained that the propylene glycol antifreeze in the agent caused headaches and other ailments.

“The environment is important to all of us,” said Johns, noting that the Guard is a charter member of the Bangor Area Storm Water Group Inc., a group which was awarded an Environmental Protection Agency award in 2006. The environment “connects all the people in the region because we all live here.”