The Spill, a joint investigation by FRONTLINE and ProPublica into the trail of problems — deadly accidents, disastrous spills, countless safety violations — which long troubled the oil giant, BP, received a prestigious environmental journalism award this week.

The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) awarded ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten and FRONTLINE’s Martin Smith, Marcela Gaviria and Ryan Knutson the first place award for “Outstanding In-Depth Reporting, Large Market” for their reporting “The True Story behind the Oil Spill.”  Judges said “their powerful journalism could not be more prescient or important” and “stood out for its depth, clarity and fullness.”

Learn more about the 18 winners of the 2010-2011 Awards for Reporting on the Environment here.