Mayor Ras Baraka & Director Kareem Adeem Awarded Richard J. Sullivan Award

December 28, 2022

Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Department of Water and Sewer Utilities Director Kareem Adeem have won top recognition in the 23rd Annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards, as announced last week by Shawn M. LaTourette, the Commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

Mayor Baraka and Director Adeem are the recipients of the prestigious Richard J. Sullivan Award, named for the DEP’s first commissioner, and given to New Jersey residents who demonstrate exceptional leadership and outstanding accomplishment in safeguarding public health, protecting, and enhancing New Jersey’s diverse natural resources and creating vibrant, sustainable communities that provide economic opportunity for all.

The Newark leaders were lauded for the City’s lead service line replacement program, called a ‘national model’ by Vice President Kamala Harris, in which the city removed more than 23,000 lead service lines in less than three years at no cost to residents.

“This is a proud moment for the city”, Mayor Baraka said. “As soon as we began to understand why the trace lead amounts in our water exceeded EPA standards, we looked for ways to rid the City of all our lead lines. It was a team effort of City, state, county, and federal governments, our contractors— who put a few dozen Newark residents to work in high-paying union jobs— and our residents, who opened the doors for us to get the job done”.

“This is a great honor for the City of Newark, Newark Water and Sewer Utilities, but also for the residents of Newark”, Director Adeem said. “Without their cooperation and trust we would have never been able to complete the program as efficiently as we did, and with the least possible disruption to the City”.

The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards are awarded each year to individuals and organizations that demonstrate commitment and leadership on a variety of environmental issues, including environmental justice, climate change, sustainability, education, and protection of natural resources.