Blue Ribbon Environmental Products Inc., a Spokane company that originally specialized in selling products for cleaning up fuel spills, now is concentrating more on cleaning up entire bodies of water, says Gary Snyder, the company's environmental director.

A few years ago, Blue Ribbon's mainstay was its exclusive rights to manufacture and sell ProZorb, a fluffy material that absorbs liquids lighter than water, such as petroleum products, says Snyder, who co-owns the company with his brother, Larry.

Now, ProZorb, spill kits that contain it, and related products make up half the business, Snyder says. He sees larger growth opportunities in resuscitating waters choked by contamination and neglect.

"We're going into water clarification, since water is the No. 1 commodity on the planet," he says.

In that vein, the company sells technology, equipment, and consulting services for largely organic methods of reverting contaminated waters to their natural states.

BRE's process uses proprietary means to replenish depleted, dissolved oxygen in stagnant waters and to reintroduce tiny life forms, called microbes, that digest organic pollutants.

"When water is doing what it's supposed to do, beneficial microbes—Mother Nature's housekeepers—clean it up," Snyder says.

The process, which can take as little as a month depending on the body of water, removes algae, excess nutrients, and decaying waste matter to maintain water quality at levels that sustain fish and other aquatic life. It can be scaled to apply to most any body of water, Snyder adds. "We do it all—everything from golf course ponds to lakes to rivers."

Snyder says BRE is looking into solutions for pollution problems at Mirror Pond, in Manito Park, on the South Hill, although such a project isn't funded or contracted out yet.

He doesn't blame the murky, smelly condition of the pond entirely on the waterfowl there, he says, because the city water that replenishes the pond likely contributes to the problem. The same treatment that ensures safe drinking water for city residents also kills the microbes that would help counteract the pollution in the pond, he says.

BRE has used its technologies successfully in projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remediate stagnant, malodorous levee ponds in Pasco and Lewiston. The company also has completed similar projects rejuvenating ponds near Cheney and at golf courses in Walla Walla and British Columbia.

Snyder says the company's revenues took an alarming dip last year, but are looking more normal this year. In some years, annual revenue had been running at about $750,000, he says, adding, "I expect our revenues will exceed that this year."

He declines to discuss some of BRE's jobs because of nondisclosure agreements. Also, he says, he's holding details about certain active jobs in Canada and New Zealand close to the vest because of the competitive nature of the business.

Snyder says BRE currently is vying for two big jobs in California, one of which would involve improving water quality for fisheries and recreation in a partitioned portion of a larger lake where rising salinity is threatening aquatic life.

The total project could be worth $90 million, he says, adding, "I would love to have 10 percent of that project."

The other California project would involve clarifying water in a manmade lake within a residential development.

"In California they like to sell waterfront property," Snyder says. "Developers actually build a lake and build houses around it. Storm water and fertilizers run into it and turn it into soup."

That state now is telling developers they have to find solutions to water quality problems in the lakes they create, he says.

BRE occupies a 6,000-square-foot, single-story building at 6310 N. Pittsburg on Spokane's North Side, where it manufactures many of the products it sells.

Snyder, a freelance outdoor writer, former Northwest fly-fishing guide, and avid outdoorsman, founded BRE in 1991, with a mission to apply "positive and preventive approaches" toward maintaining and improving water quality.

He named the company for blue ribbon trout streams that are known for their pristine water supporting abundant aquatic life, including strong trout populations. Such waters include the Clearwater and St. Joe rivers in Idaho and the Gallatin and Madison rivers in Montana.

In addition to the two owners, Blue Ribbon has two permanent employees.

"For a while, we were doing a lot of work in British Columbia," he says. "You can bring supervisory people, but you can't bring other workers into Canada. So now, we hire help wherever we're at."

Snyder says most of BRE's new clients are referred to the company by other customers.

"Our clients hear about us through projects we've done, and they come and find us," he says.

Last year, during the three-month Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico, BRE fielded calls from several of its customers who were curious to know whether the company's products and services were in high demand there.

They weren't.

"They only used (cleanup) products that were derived from oil," Snyder asserts.

"We have a better way, but I'm glad I never got involved because some people are still waiting to be paid."

On the spill-prevention and cleanup side of the business, BRE sells many of its products through distributors and its website.

Its products include ProZorb mats and pads. BRE also sells a variety of containment berms and spill kits.

Customers won't find catalog-type listings with prices, though.

"I want people to call me so I can ask them what they are trying to clean up," Snyder says.

Each spill kit is designed for a customer's specific needs, he says.

"Most everyone builds generic kits and hope it fits," Snyder says. "We don't do that."

Typical consumer kits start at $100 to $400.