The agency also recognized Hackensack Riverkeeper as "the watersheds’ leading environmental organization" for its advocacy and River Cleanup program. Presenting the award was U.S. EPA Region Two Administrator Alan J. Steinberg.

"I was very honored to receive this award, especially because it recognizes the work we do to empower individuals and businesses to engage in active conservation," said Sheehan. "It was also great to see Alan again – and in much happier circumstances than in prior days."

No stranger to public service, the region’s environment or Sheehan, prior to being appointed to his current position by President Bush in 2001, Steinberg served as the executive director of the NJ Meadowlands Commission, formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (HMDC). During his tenure at the commission, Steinberg often sparred with Sheehan over the future of the region’s wetlands.

Both of us were doing our respective jobs at the time," recalled Sheehan. "Although I think I did mine just a little bit better."

The award also cites Riverkeeper’s work on behalf of the unglamorous but critical work of ending Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) into the Hackensack River and Newark Bay. According to the agency, "…by working with municipalities, NJ Department of Environmental Protection officials and citizen’s Advisory Committees, Hackensack Riverkeeper is working toward the ultimate eradication of combined sewer overflows."