After nearly four years of high-octane growth, the petroleum industry has abruptly reversed course as the collapse of the global financial crisis has driven down crude-oil prices and consumer demand, causing oil producers to hit the brakes on a bevy of pipeline, refinery, exploration and storage-facility projects. Photo:Fluor Fluor is executing a $2.2-billion heavy-oil upgrade and expansion project for Marathon Oil Corp. to add considerable processing capacity at its Detroit refinery. Photo: CB&I CB&I is fabricating more than 120 modules for an Illinois refinery expansion that will double the refinery’s capacity to 240,000 bpd. The modules will be shipped and
Although the power market has taken a hit over the past year, not all the news is bad. The Obama administration’s stimulus plan encourages the development of renewable resources and the rebuilding, expansion and modernization of the nation’s power-delivery network. Photo:AEP Wind and other renewable-energy projects gain traction. Photo: SHAW Coal-fired plants face permit obstacles. Related Links: The Top 500 Design Firms: How Long Will the Recession Last? The Top 500 Design Firms Rankings Optimism in Transportation Sector As Stimulus Provides Stability Design Firms Brace as Bottom Falls Out of Building Market Telecommunications Picks Up While Manufacturing Flounders Global Financial
An unstable and weak slime-like foundation was the primary factor behind the Dec. 22, 2008, catastrophic failure of a coal-ash pond at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston plant near Knoxville, Tenn., says a root-cause analysis released last week by AECOM Technology Corp. TVA hired the firm after the accident to determine why dikes holding coal-waste slurry failed, flooding 300 acres around the plant and the Emory River with 5.4 million cu yd of coal ash. Photo: TVA Spill cleanup could cost $1 billion. Los Angeles-based AECOM’s analysis determined the dikes’ angle and setbacks, increased loads because of recent high fill and
Despite sagging revenue at state and local levels, numerous environmental projects in the U.S. are moving ahead, driven by continued regulatory demands and a growing interest in sustainability. In the water and wastewater market, funding sources began to stabilize this spring as money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped prop up some plans and financing started to flow through the bond market again. Photo: CH2M Hill CH2M Hill has a $110-million contract for Superfund work in the western U.S., which includes the Iron Mountain site in Redding, Calif. Related Links: The Top 500 Design Firms: How Long Will
The International Code Council will hold the first public meeting focused on developing a model green-construction code, outside of Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., on July 28-30. In launching the multiyear initiative to create the International Green Construction Code, ICC says it expects a final draft of the code to be available “as a resource document” in 2010. The code, to be written under the guidance of ICC’s Sustainable Building Technology Committee, will address design and performance of new and existing commercial buildings. The American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Testing and Materials are participating in the development.
T here is a movement afoot called landscape urbanism, and it is quietly pulling the rug out from under the traditional design hierarchy. Proponents of the notion argue that principles of ecological landscape design, rather than architecture or urban planning, are more capable of organizing and enhancing the city. Related Links: Landscape Architecture Rising “Landscape is usurping architecture’s historical role as the basic building block of city- making,” says Charles Waldheim, chairman of landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the coiner of “landscape urbanism.” As a result, cities are starting to hire landscape architects to lead
If a new professional designation catches on, designers and contractors involved in sustainable buildings could soon be seeking still another set of initials to put after their names. Early last month, Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities launched a green-roof professional accreditation exam. The 100-question, multiple-choice test was offered on June 5 for the first time at the group’s annual International Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conference, in Atlanta. The exam focuses on knowledge areas such as green-roof design, contract management and maintenance. These topics are covered in four full-day workshops offered by the sponsoring group. Though completion of the
A new study from the National Academy of Sciences predicts that the growing use of so-called “green” refrigerants being phased in to replace ozone-depleting ones could contribute to the global equivalent of up to 45% in carbon-dioxide emissions by 2050. > Photo: Tudor Van Hampton Engineers prep for R-22 ban at recent HVAC conference. Related Links: View the National Academy of Sciences Study The use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), such as R-404a, R-410a and HFC-134a, are set to grow exponentially as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), such as R-22, continue phasing out under the Montreal Protocol. In the 1990s, HCFCs replaced more-damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Need to stop flooding or reduce stormwater runoff and sewer overflows? Looking to ease demand on treatment plants and avoid the cost of expansion? Seeking cleaner air or water? Interested in recharging an aquifer, rebuilding a shoreline or remediating a brownfield? Trying to stem highway pollution? Need to rebalance a watershed or ecosystem? Slide Show Photo: SWA Group Houston’s buffalo bayou transformation turns derelict channel into urban paradise Photo: SWA Group The city’s Buffalo Bayou project involves re-engineering banks, stabilizing soil, anchoring rock and more. The park is designed to withstand natural periodic flooding. Related Links: Landscape Architects Invade Big
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority on June 25 awarded a $4.9-million contract to the Boston office of Stantec for engineering services on the 45-year old, 60-mgd West Roxbury Wastewater Tunnel. The 12-in thick cast-in-place concrete lining in the 12,500-ft long, 84-in dia. rock tunnel, which serves about 125,000 homes and businesses, is eroded due to hydrogen sulfide corrosion. J.F. White, Framingham, Mass., will inspect the tunnel, which has two portals and a 220-ft deep shaft, this fall to help determine the extent of the problem and the relining solution. "The 12-in liner is structural and as of a decade ago
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