FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton will honor three environmental projects when he visits the Minnesota State Fair on opening day.

The ceremony is set for 1 p.m. Thursday at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Eco Experience Sustainability Stage. MPCA Commissioner Paul Aasen and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Susan Hedman will also be on hand.

The Governor’s Awards for Pollution Prevention date back to 1991.

This year’s winners include the city of St. Paul’s Public Pools Green Initiative, which reduces chemical use in public swimming pools; a partnership by Fairview Health Services and other nonprofits that has recycled more than 45 tons of “blue wrap,” which covers operating room supplies during sterilization; and another partnership that will recycle more than 150,000 tons of old roofing shingles into asphalt paving annually.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)