ATLANTA (September 7, 2011) — On September 15, the environmental advocacy organization, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR), will honor Smith, Gambrell & Russell with its prestigious “River Guardian Award.” The award celebrates the firm’s 10 years of pro bono legal support which resulted in precedent-setting victories for the preservation of the Chattahoochee River. The award presentation will take place at UCR’s 17th Annual Patron Appreciation Dinner in Atlanta.

“The Chattahoochee River is a critical natural resource for the region, and it has been our honor to support UCR’s legal program to help protect it,” said SGR environmental and sustainability attorneys Steve O’Day and Andy Thompson. They have led the firm’s work with UCR, most recently in the June revocation of a Forsyth County permit issued by the Georgia EPD to discharge six million gallons of treated wastewater daily into the Chattahoochee River. UCR called it ‘a major victory for clean water.’

The dinner, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at The Foundry at Puritan Mill in Atlanta, will also honor Tom Noonan, recipient of the River Benefactor Award; Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited, recipient of the River Advocate Award; Darryl Haddock with West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, recipient of the River Partner Award; and Gandy Glover in recognition of his legacy as one of the river’s most passionate protectors.

Established in 1994, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is an environmental advocacy organization based in Atlanta with more than 5,000 members dedicated solely to protecting and restoring the Chattahoochee River Basin, the drinking water source for 3.5 million people.