AUBURN – The man behind the city’s clean storm water efforts has had a state water quality award named in his honor.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection awarded its first Stormwater Management Excellence Award on Wednesday. The award has been named in honor of the late Steve Ranney, Auburn’s former city engineer and a longtime advocate of clean water standards and government water quality programs.

“He had a tireless spirit about him, even as he got sick, he continued working,” said Kathy Hoppe of the Maine DEP.

Ranney joined Auburn’s engineering staff in 1974. He resigned from his municipal post late in 2006 due to complications from cancer. He died at Clover Health Care Center in Auburn in May. He was 60.

As city engineer, Ranney led Auburn’s efforts to comply with federal clean water guidelines. His work helped earn the city a merit award with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System and also helped design a statewide information campaign to help clean stormwater runoff.

The first Ranney award was given to Ken Locke of the city of Brewer for that city’s stormwater program.

“We wanted to find someone like Steve, who was committed to the program but not just willing to do the bare minimum,” Hoppe said. “We wanted someone really interested in making their community better.”