The New London Day • 5/23/2011

Clean Up Sound and Harbors gave its annual Sea Star Awards on Sunday to Kathryn Burchenal of Stonington borough and Mike Logan of Charlestown, R.I. during the organization’s annual meeting.

The awards honor individuals who have made or are making significant contributions to improving local water quality. CUSH, a non-profit environmental group, works to clean up and protect Fishers Island Sound and its coves, inlets, bays, rivers, and harbors.

Burchenal, a microbiologist, was honored for her service to CUSH as a founding officer, scientific advisor and grant writer. She helped CUSH obtain an $11,096 water testing grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/LIS Fund and $43,000 for the new pumpout station at the Town Dock.

Logan has been instrumental in making Fisher’s Island Sound a no discharge zone for boats and has run pumpout boats that have prevented 250,000 gallons of raw, untreated effluent from entering local waters. Most recently Logan helped oversee the construction of the new $55,000 boat dock and pumpout station at the Town Dock.