More environmental cleanup work may be on the horizon for remediation contractors as a result of a $773-million settlement that will set up a trust fund—the largest of its kind—to clean up and repurpose numerous former General Motor sites across the country. The settlement, filed Oct. 20 in the Manhattan court overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings, is between the United States, along with 14 states and a tribal government, and the liquidation company that now owns the assets of the old General Motors Corp. (Old GM). Under the agreement, Old GM will commit $773 million for the cleanup of 89 property
The Obama Administration has filed a lawsuit against 10 companies and two municipalities to ensure the continued cleanup of Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River and Green Bay Superfund site. The lawsuit, filed jointly by the U.S. government and the state of Wisconsin on Oct. 14, also seeks payment of associated government costs and for damages to natural resources. Total cleanup costs and damages could exceed $1 billion. Work has been ongoing at the site, which was contaminated with approximately 250,000 lbs of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were released by manufacturers of “carbonless” copy paper from the late 1950s to the early
A 30-year-old construction worker from Collins, Mo., remains in critical condition at a Kansas City, Mo., hospital more than a week after he was accidentally swept 1.5 miles through a sanitary sewer pipeline in Raymore, Mo. Daniel Collins was working about 12 ft below ground in a sanitary sewer shortly after 8:00 a.m. on Oct. 12, when a torrent of raw sewage flowing at a rate estimated at up to 3,500 gal per min swept him more than 7,900 ft through the 27-in-dia sewer pipe. It is still unclear how Collins’ safety harness separated from its attached safety line when
Photo: Courtesy of ALP Transit The first of two record-breaking tunnels on Switzerland’s twin-bore, 57-kilometer-long Gotthard Alpine rail crossing broke through on Oct. 15. The breakthrough finishes the east drive of the Gotthard twin tunnels, which are among several being built through the Alps. The west tunnel’s breakthrough is scheduled for next spring. The joint-venture Tunnel AlpTransit Ticino (TAT) made the breakthrough at the tunnel’s midpoint, connecting to the awaiting “Sedrun” stretch. The tunnel is expected to start rail operations in late 2017 at an estimated cost of $10.3 billion.
The Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against 10 companies and two municipalities to ensure the continued cleanup of Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River and Green Bay Superfund site. The lawsuit, filed jointly by the U.S. government and the state of Wisconsin on Oct. 14, also seeks payment of associated government costs and natural resources damages. All told, the total cleanup costs and damages are expected to exceed $1 billion. Related Links: Veteran Waste-Cleanup Expert Applies Just-In-Time Methods to World’s Largest PCB Project to Date Work continues at the Lower Fox River/Green Bay Site,, which was contaminated with approximately 250,000 lbs
The U.S. Energy Dept., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Dept. of Ecology on Oct. 6 asked a federal district court in Spokane, Wash., to approve a 2009 agreement that would give DOE many more years to clean up 53 million gallons of radioactive waste still in 149 leaking single-shell tanks at the Hanford nuclear-waste site near Richland. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the pact “represents an important milestone in the ongoing cleanup efforts” there, but environmentalists urged the court to reject it, saying the agreement would delay cleanup. The agreement would extend some tank-waste cleanup deadlines
Preliminary investigation points to unsuitable dam foundations as a potential cause of Hungary’s Oct. 4 tailings dam collapse. Seven people died, 150 were injured, and approximately 1,000 hectares of land were polluted heavily by caustic “red mud” surging from an alumina plant at Ajka, say Interior Ministry officials. Phot: AP/WideWorld Hungarian emergency teams appear to have saved the Raba, Moson-Danube and Danube rivers from the caustic pollution. But heightened pH levels caused by the sludge devastated fish populations in the Marcal River, according to government officials. Hungary’s other tailings dams are under investigation. Interior Ministry officials estimate that more than
Like the London Bridge of the nursery rhyme, the Willamette Bridge is coming down. Under its $140-million general contract, Hamilton Construction Co., Springfield, Ore., orchestrated a complex and eco-friendly demolition for the Oregon Dept. of Transportation’s fair lady. The 2,000-ft-long box-girder bridge, built in 1962, was a key Interstate 5 link between Eugene and Springfield until shear cracks were found in 2002. Truck traffic had to be diverted by 200 miles until a temporary structure could be built in 2004. Eugene-based subcontractor Staton Cos. earlier this year completed demolition of the old bridge, starting with construction of a 120-ft-wide wood-and-steel
The Dept. of Interior on Oct. 12 lifted a July 12 moratorium on deepwater drilling for offshore operators that can comply with new and existing offshore regulations and demonstrate the availability of adequate blowout containment resources. “The oil and gas industry will be operating under tighter rules, stronger oversight, and in a regulatory environment that will remain dynamic as we continue to build on the reforms we have already implemented,” said Interior Dept. Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday. Deepwater drilling was banned following the April 20 explosion on BP’s Mancondo well that left 11 dead and millions of gallons of
The Associated General Contractors of America and the California Air Resources Board have reached an official agreement to postpone the beginning of compliance of the state’s off-road diesel emission rules until 2014. NICHOLS In a joint announcement, Mary Nichols, CARB chairman, and Michael Kennedy, AGC’s general counsel, agreed that they would continue to work together to resolve the technical details attached with a complex set of regulations that CARB put into motion in 2007. “Stretching out the timelines and reporting requirements will make the path to compliance a lot easier while the construction industry recovers from severe financial hardships,” says