The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering legislation that would direct the majority of penalties paid by those responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the Gulf Coast states. But some lawmakers, including committee Chairman John Mica, wonder if that approach is fair.The RESTORE Act, he said at a Dec. 6 hearing, "is crafted primarily to the benefit of the Gulf states that endured the primary damage." He added, "We want to be fair and equitable to all parties, including U.S. taxpayers."But the bill's chief sponsor, Steve Scalise (R-La.), countered, "It is critical to note that it is
Sue Bednarz Interior view of Portlands $464-million East Side Big Pipe project. For officials in Portland, Ore., the Big Pipe project is no longer a dream. The recently completed $1.4-billion, 20-year combined sewer overflow (CSO) control program was implemented in response to an Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality order to reduce significantly CSO events by December 2011. Thanks to large-diameter underground tunnels installed along the Columbia Slough and on both sides of the Willamette River, the city now meets the overflow frequency criteria set forth in 1991 by the DEQ. Annual CSO volume to the Columbia Slough and the Willamette
Images courtesy Stantec / Cause and Effect Evolutions Stantec architect Annette Zacherson designed the project to maximize natural light through clerestory windows. Images courtesy Stantec / Cause and Effect Evolutions Shaded light wells and outdoor screens are a major feature of the school design. An audacious plan is under way to build as many as 24 new schools in key markets across the U.S. solely through corporate funding, donated materials and volunteer labor.Dubbed the Green Schoolhouse Series, the idea sprung from father-and-son team Marshall and Jeff Zotara, co-founders of Cause and Effect Evolutions, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based firm acting as organizer,
Delhi International Airport Ltd. Indira Gandhi International Airport's $2-billion Terminal 3 has obtained LEED-Gold certification. Raintree Hotels The chain of Raintree business hotels in Chennai are the first eco-sensitive hotels in southern India. They use rubber, wood, bamboo and medium-density fiber for construction. Related Links: Indian Green Building Council India Plans Airport System Expansion (requires ENR login) Over the next five years, experts say, India's green building sector will outpace the growth of the country's overall construction sector. But with today's green infrastructure penetrating just 3% of all construction, India's green building boom may have only just begun.Evidence of this
Related Links: U.S. Stimulus Causing Rebound in Water Project Spending The overdue bill for water systems is reaching alarming size, with economic consequences that will weigh on U.S. businesses for years to come.An economic analysis on unmet public water and wastewater system needs commissioned by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) paints a grim future for the U.S. economy. The costs associated with unreliable delivery and inadequate treatment, the analysis shows, will combine to cut the nation’s gross domestic product by as much as $416 billion over the next decade if current spending levels remain unchanged.Failure to Act: The
Even though tablets and smart phones are spreading onto construction jobsites at a swift pace, chief financial officers from major A/E/C firms say technology purchases must come with solid returns on investment as part of that adoption. This was one of many technology issues highlighted during the two-day ENR FutureTech conference held by McGraw-Hill Construction in San Francisco this week. Two panel discussions, “Chief Information Officer Roundtable” and “IT from the CFO Perspective,” on Dec. 13 reinforced the industry-wide movement to bring information technology to the job site and free it from a jobsite’s trailer and home office. But how to
Related Links: Engineers Probe Why Wall Fell, Killing Two Plant Operators Collapsed Wall at Tenn. Treatment Plant Was Defective, OSHA Says NEO Corp., Canton, N.C., will start on Jan. 2 to demolish the equalization basin at the Gatlinburg, Tenn., wastewater treatment plant where two workers died after a wall collapse in April.The contract is for $96,100, and the work is to be completed within 45 days, according to a memo between the city of Gatlinburg and NEO.A date for requests for bids on the equalization-basin reconstruction has not been set, nor has a construction start, a city spokeswoman said.The NEO
Binghamton, N.Y., and Johnson City, N.Y., and their joint sewage board have gone back into court, detailing design and construction mismanagement problems at the sewage treatment plant where a 100-ft wall collapsed in May.Defendants now include 10 engineering or construction firms as well as four insurance firms, which are are involved in the $67-million, phase-three upgrade to meet state environmental standards for the outflow that feeds into the Susquehanna River.Leading the defendants are C&S Engineers Inc., and C&S Companies, Syracuse, N.Y., the engineer-of-record and construction manager for the expansion, and C.O. Falter Construction Corp., Syracuse, which did general construction for
Courtesy of Skanska/Facchina D.C. bridge reconstruction project is the largest in the local DOTs history. While Interstate 695 and I-295 are on either side of the Anacostia River, the two have never met. As a result, more than 100,000 daily vehicles must squeeze over the river across the pair of 11th Street bridges into the streets of District of Columbia neighborhoods.But a reconstruction project, including three new bridges and a complex new network of connecting ramps, is now under way to change that. With limited funds, the District Dept. of Transportation took a "design-build to budget" approach.Prequalified teams met with
courtesy of CDA Beehives are part of socially responsible activity in O'Hare modernization. courtesy of CDA Chicago O'Hare is undergoing a $6.6-billion modernization. Chicago's $6.6-billion O'Hare International Airport modernization program features three features not usually associated with aviation: bees, hydroponics and a graveyard.The O'Hare modernization program (OMP) cleared a major hurdle earlier this year when the Illinois Supreme Court denied an appeal filed by St. John's United Church of Christ, allowing the city to regain title and possession of St. Johannes Cemetery, located on airport property. Relocation is critical to the completion of a new 10,600-ft-long runway that will accommodate
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