Press Room

W.V. Governor Recognizes CLD for Environmental Stewardship

ROGERS, Ark. (May 18, 2007)
--Cooper Land Development’s (CLD) efforts to preserve greens spaces and control storm water runoff have earned the company an environmental stewardship award from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

Tom Oppenheim, CLD Project Director for Glade Springs Village, accepted the award Wednesday from West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III in ceremonies at the agency’s Charleston office. CLD was honored in the category of Land Use Development, according to Randy C. Huffman, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection.

CLD opened Glade Springs Village in Daniels, W.V. in 2001 and started work on a second phase in 2005. The company developed a master plan that lessened the impact of storm water runoff into Glade Creek. This included constructing diversion ditches and sediment traps prior to road construction, and site reclamation after completion of the roads.

During the awards ceremony, Jeremy Bandy, an inspector with the Department of Environmental Protection, praised CLD for using low-impact techniques to protect the environment and preserve green spaces. The full text of the presentation is as follows:

“Cooper Land Development, Inc. took on the challenge of developing nearly 3,000 acres surrounding Glade Springs Resort. Using a model developed in other states by Cooper for other planned communities, the developer used low-impact techniques to protect the environment and preserve green spaces.

“The West Virginia project demonstrated vast improvements in storm water management and compliance. The master development plan was created to minimize impacts to Glade Creek, and street construction and the installation of an 18-hole golf course have been completed without compromising the environment.

“Cooper Land Development, Inc. used its lessons from past construction projects in other states to reduce its environmental impact and focus on protection and compliance. By focusing its efforts on educating its contractors on the merits of environmental protection and careful development planning, the company has been successful in its mission.”

The environmental stewardship award is not the first time CLD or its parent company, Cooper Communities, Inc., has been recognized for its environmentally friendly approach to development. The company is a recipient of the Stockton Award from the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy has established the Cooper Family Conservation Award, which is presented annually to a business that makes outstanding contributions to conservation in Arkansas.

Founded in 1954, Cooper Communities, Inc. employs more than 600 people in projects across eight states. Through its subsidiaries the company develops timeshare resorts and planned communities, owns and manages more than 3.5 million square feet of commercial property and is one of Arkansas’ largest homebuilders. The company’s resorts and planned communities have attracted more than 130,000 owner families.