Workers are making good progress dismantling and cleaning up the U.S. Energy Dept.’s Oak Ridge former nuclear-weapon factory complex in Tennessee, says a report released last week by site contractor Bechtel Jacobs. But the contractor and DOE acknowledge that some work at its massive K-25 building are behind schedule. Bechtel Jacobs says it removed a bridge structure connecting two sections of the 1.6-million-sq-ft building, which houses uranium-enrichment equipment dating back to the Manhattan Project era and was the world’s largest structure when erected. Cleanup work at the adjacent Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and other parts
The Washington State Dept. off Ecology has proposed a fine of $147,000 against Hanson Pipe and Precast, Tacoma, Wash. for alleged violations of its sand and gravel permit and failure to treat contaminated stormwater. Ecology inspectors cited the company for 27 violations of the pollutant levels specified in its sand and gravel permit from the second quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2008. “We will continue our efforts toward and will cooperate fully with Washington State’s Department of Ecology to rectify this situation," says Clifford Hahne, senior vice president of Hanson Building Products’ West region in a written
A standard for the design of green residential buildings, from single-family to high-rises, was approved late last month as an American National Standard. The standard, know as ICC-700, includes a rating system that lets builders, designers and communities choose the levels of performance. ICC-700 is the first and only green standard consistent and coordinated with the International Code Council’s group of I-Codes and standards, says ICC. Among its many provisions, the standard covers land conservation and rainwater collection. It even has provisions for construction of smaller homes to conserve resources. ICC is finalizing a green-building technologies certification program for building
Bechtel Power Corp., Frederick, Md., has received limited notice to proceed and could break ground toward the end of this year on a 1,000-MW coal-fired powerplant in southern Meigs County, Ohio, for American Municipal Power Ohio Inc., Columbus. The AMP Generating Station, to be built under a $3.25-billion engineer-procure-construct contract, will employ ECO-SO2 multipollutant emission control from Powerspan Corp., Portsmouth, N.H., making the plant one of the cleanest coal-fired plants in the country.
Buoyed by the state of Florida’s decision to buy 181,000 acres of land in the Everglades Agricultural Area to reconnect Lake Okeechobee with the lower Everglades, the 300 people attending the Everglades Coalition Conference in Miami on Jan. 8-11 found reasons for optimism in the decades-long battle to protect and revitalize southern Florida’s vast wetland ecosystem despite the gloomy economic climate. Gov. Charlie Crist (R) negotiated to buy the land from United States Sugar Corp., Clewiston, Fla., and announced the deal on June 24. Despite its $1.34-billion cost and the floundering economy, he insisted in a speech to the conference
As the recession grinds on, some consultants are finding an emerging outlet by updating older buildings from power hogs into green stewards. The trend is attracting a fresh round of eco-savvy tenants. Chicago is home to two large projects, examples of advancing efforts to green up existing buildings. In early December, 172 buildings nationwide were certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System, a program created in 2004. More than 2,000 other buildings are seeking to obtain such certification, according to the Washington, D.C.-based group. Photo: Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. The 79-year-old Mart’s green makeover
The Tennessee Valley Authority has had a second leak at an impoundment at a coal-fired powerplant, this time from a gypsum pond at its Widows Creek Fossil Plant in northeast Alabama. The incident prompted Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to announce on Jan. 13 that she plans to seek federal regulation of coal-ash ponds across the U.S. Shifting gypsum dislodged the cap covering a 30-in. pipe once used to drain water from the gypsum pond into an adjacent settling pond, says John Moulton, a TVA spokesman. Once the cap came off, water in the gypsum pond flowed into the settling pond,
Every fall, during low-water time on the Mississippi River, a crew of about 300 men and women turns out to resume one of the longest-running and most important construction projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—the placement of articulated concrete mattresses along the levees to prevent scour and protect communities. Slide Show Photo: Angelle Bergeron / ENR The operation requires a river of cable, fed up from below decks. Related Links: Mat Sinking on the Mississippi Photo: Angelle Bergeron / ENR With most new placement done, the casting yards have dwindled from five to three and the specialized units
A public-private partnership in the San Francisco Bay Area plans to build a $1-billion network of electric-car charging stations, while in Portland, Ore., a utility and two private firms already are erecting electric vehicle battery-charging stations in a cluster of nearby cities. Photo: Better Place Recharging takes one minute per mile driven, or drivers can swap out batteries. In Oregon, Nissan Motors and Renault SA have signed a memorandum of understanding with Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) to supply electric vehicles to the state’s fleet in 2010. Nissan also committed to work with the state, in partnership with utility Portland General
Dropping demand for gasoline has taken a chunk out of last year’s super-high prices, and refiners are shifting capital expenditures accordingly. Prices for gasoline rose 7.1¢ on Jan. 5 to $1.68 per gallon but were still down 46% overall since a year ago, reports the federal Energy Information Administration. On-highway diesel prices fell 3.6¢, to $2.29, a 32% drop since 2008 and the lowest in years. Despite the winter price rollback for both fuels, diesel is “the growth fuel, globally,” says Allen Schaeffer, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Diesel Technology Forum. As such, ExxonMobil Corp. and others are boosting output
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