President-Elect Barack Obama has tapped Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) for the top post at the Interior Dept. The nomination, announced Dec. 17, has been well received by both industry and environmental groups, who describe the candidate as a centrist consensus builder. “He’s a good pick,” says Steve Hall, vice president of government affairs for the American Council of Engineering Companies. “He’s built a good reputation in the Senate as a consensus builder who listens to both sides…We can work with him.” he says. Ralph Grossi, the immediate past president of the American Farmland Trust, says Salazar did “yeoman’s work” in
A federal appeals court’s decision has taken a step toward lifting a state ban on out-of-state water sales, opening a way for a proposed $3-billion project to pipe water from Oklahoma to Texas. The appeals court accepted a north Texas water district’s argument that Oklahoma’s ban could constitute illegal restraint of interstate commerce. Photo: Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau Fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth area wants water from Oklahoma watersheds. (Click to Enlarge Image) Growing Dallas-Fort Worth area wants to bolster supply with Oklahoma water. The Tarrant Regional Water District, a Fort Worth-based utility serving 1.6 million people in 11 counties, is
After nearly five months of negotiations, the board of the South Florida Water Management District on Dec. 16 voted to approve the purchase of 181,000 acres of land in the Everglades Agricultural Area for $1.34 billion. The board of United States Sugar Corp., the landowner, approved the sale agreement on Dec. 8. The water district ammended the offer, limiting its lability, before voting. But U.S. Sugar may insist that the district approve the deal without change and refuse to accept the counteroffer. Gov. Charlie Crist’s (R) June 24 announcement that Clewiston, Fla.-based U.S. Sugar had agreed to sell the state
Federal and congressional transportation proponents said on Dec. 15 they seek expressions of interest from firms to finance, design, build and operate high-speed passenger rail projects in 11 federally designated U.S. corridors. The solicitation is part of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, signed into law on Oct. 16. Respondents have until September 2009 to submit proposals. A planned Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington, set to cost up to $30 billion, would be first, with officials saying all routes could operate as early as 2012.
As a self-imposed 2009 deadline nears regarding whether to rebuild or raze the 55-year-old Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, a consensus seemss far off. In early December, a task force whittled down a list of eight design options to two: a six-lane boulevard or a reconfigured elevated highway. The former option, a six-lane waterfront boulevard resembling San Francisco’s Embarcadero, would cost $2.2 billion. With related Interstate 5 work, mass transit and other projects, that amount increases to $3.3 billion and would take 5.5 years to build. The other option, twin bridges, would cost $2.3 billion. After traffic mitigation and related
The nuclear industry is sprinting to build nuclear-enrichment plants in the U.S. before its supply of en-riched uranium dries up in 2013. Bethesda, Md.-based USEC Inc. is building a $3.5-billion enrichment plant at the site of its shuttered plant in Piketon, Ohio. Louisiana Energy Services (LES), a subsidiary of U.K.-based Urenco Ltd., is building a $3-billion enrichment plant at a greenfield site in Eunice, N.M., and Paris-based Areva is seeking approval to build an enrichment facility at a greenfield site near Idaho Falls at cost of more than $2 billion. Photo: USEC Inc. March 2008 saw first concrete placed for
The California Air Resources Board on Dec. 11 voted to adopt the nation’s first comprehensive state global warming plan. The goal: reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The “scoping plan” implements the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act. The measure is intended as a blueprint for achieving target emission reductions. The plan takes a multi-pronged approach to cutting state greenhouse gases. There are provisions to create more energy efficiency in buildings, more reliance on renewable energy sources, statewide standards for capturing methane at landfills and more efficiency in the state’s water system. According to Patrick Sullivan, senior vice president of
The Charles Pankow Foundation has a small pile of gold it hopes to spin into building design and construction improvements. The private foundation, which funds about six new research projects annually, expects to give out $1 million in the next year to support new and ongoing projects. “We fund research that moves innovative [nonproprietary] solutions to problems from the red zone to the end zone,” says Robert K. Tener, the foundation’s Claremont, Calif.-based executive director. Builder Charles Pankow started the foundation in 2002 to “inspire new and better ways to build.” Pankow, who died in 2004, left much of his
President-Elect Barack Obama (D) has selected a veteran team of regulators and administrators to fill the nation’s top energy and environmental posts, a team that sources say will be focused on climate change and developing renewable energy sources. He formally announced his picks for energy secretary, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and a new advisory position to coordinate policies on climate change and energy across all federal agencies Dec. 15. Environmental groups say they like what they see in the nominees. Obama has asked former EPA Administrator Carol Browner to serve as
After seven years, a public vote and countless discussions, the Washington State Dept. of Transportation, City of Seattle and King County narrowed the options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct to two: a six-lane boulevard or a reconfigured elevated highway. Photo: WSDOT At-grade boulevard would mimic Embarcadero Photo: WSDOT Elevated highway would have twin spans State and local officials are racing against the clock to meet a self-imposed 2009 deadline for selecting a plan to replace the 55-year-old highway, which was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) says the current structure is “a literal threat
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