ALEXANDRIA, Va. ?EUR??,,????'???Seven aggregates producing operations from around the United States have received the prestigious Environmental Eagle Gold Award for Excellence from the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association in recognition of their superior performance as environmental stewards during the past year. Lafarge Construction Materials?EUR??,,????'??? Marblehead Quarry in Marblehead, Ohio; Martin Marietta Aggregates?EUR??,,????'??? Beckmann Quarry in San Antonio, Texas and Vulcan Materials Co.?EUR??,,????'???s Rockingham Quarry in Rockingham, N.C., carried away the top honors in the large operations category. Conco Quarries, Inc., Hedrick Industries, Rinker Materials Corp., and Vulcan Materials Co. received gold awards in the medium categories for their Willard Quarry, Grove Stone & Sand Quarry, 474 Sand Mine and Royal Stone Quarry, respectively. The Environmental Eagle awards program was created in 1992 to provide national recognition for aggregate producers that meet and exceed technical environmental and regulatory requirements. Awards are made in three categories: small-aggregates operations that produce less than 500,000 tons a year; medium-between 500,000 and 1.5 million tons annually and large-more than 1.5 million tons a year. There were 51 entries in the 2003 award program. ?EUR??,,????'??The Eagle Award continues to attract high quality entries each year,?EUR??,,????'?? said Environmental Committee Chairman Gerard Gregg, River Stone Group. ?EUR??,,????'??This year?EUR??,,????'???s applications demonstrate the aggregates industry?EUR??,,????'???s strong commitment to environmental improvements and overall compliance.?EUR??,,????'?? For a complete list of winners visit www.nssga.org.