For the most part, contractors have not yet been engaged in cleanup or remediation efforts to combat the flow of oil encroaching on the Gulf Coast. Photo: Courtesy of La. Dept. of Natural Resources Permits have been approved for closing two breaches opened by hurricanes at Elmers Island, La. HNTB Corporation, Kansas City, Mo. has contracts in place with both the State of Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, that would allow either the state or the Corps to hire HNTB immediately. However, HNTB is currently engaged only
As oil company and government task-force teams struggled futilely for another week to control an offshore oil leak spewing an estimated 5,000 barrels per day into the Gulf of Mexico, forces on land prepared to mitigate the damage when the toxic spill comes ashore. On May 11, Congress commenced hearings on the disaster. On the same day, the federal government began to apply lessons learned from the April 20 disaster. The Obama administration tasked the National Academy of Engineering with running a technical, independent investigation. The U.S. Dept. of the Interior froze offshore drilling permits and announced a restructuring of
While environmental groups are cheering a May 4 Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate fly ash, utilities are concerned that potential designation of the material as a hazardous waste could prove costly. Photo: AP/Wideworld Liners would be required in coal-ash ponds to avert accidents like the disaster in 2008. The draft proposal would regulate for the first time coal ash under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the proposal, coal plants would be required to retrofit existing impoundments, which typically store the ash in liquid form, with composite liners. Enforcing the Regulation The more than 500-page proposal outlines
Some industry groups are concerned the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of the fiscal 2010 law appropriating funds for the drinking- and clean-water State Revolving Loan Fund programs could jeopardize attempts to pass a long-awaited five-year SRF reauthorization bill in the Senate. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a five-year reauthorization bill in May 2009. The bill, known as the Water Infrastructure Financing Act of 2009, would authorize $20 billion through 2014 for the clean-water SRF and $15 billion for the drinking-water SRF. In March 2009, the House authorized $13.8 billion for the clean-water SRF over five years. But
After nearly a decade of review, the Dept. of the Interior gave the go-ahead on April 28 for the nation’s first offshore wind farm—the $1 billion Cape Wind project, located off the coast of Nantucket. Construction on the project could begin as early as this year, says the project’s developer. But the project is highly controversial, and a broad coalition of historic-preservation and environmental groups, along with Indian tribes, say they will file a lawsuit to attempt to block the project. In response to critics, the Interior Dept. says it will require Cape Wind Associates LLC, the Boston-based developer of
A new report from the U.S. Green Building Council highlights more than 30 existing federal programs worth $72 billion that could enhance efficiency in commercial buildings and multifamily housing. Released on April 29, the report concludes the federal government is not fully taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the programs. The report authors note that, as of 2009, green buildings represented only 2% of new residential and commercial construction in the United States. USGBC officials speaking at a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., said they hoped to use the document as a tool to educate policy-makers and building industry
The Environmental Protection Agency on May 4 unveiled a draft rule to regulate for the first time coal ash under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the proposal, coal plants would be required to retrofit existing impoundments, which typically store the ash in liquid form, with composite liners. The proposal also would provide strong incentives for utilities to eventually close the surface impoundments and shift to dry storage in landfills, EPA says. The potential regulation of coal ash has been highly anticipated by environmental groups, who say that contaminants in coal ash—such as mercury cadmium and arsenic—can leach
GRAHAM KERRY Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden April 24 departure from talks to develop a compromise climate-change measure has left some observers wondering whether a bill will pass this year. But John Kerry (D-Mass.), who for months had been negotiating the shape of the proposal with Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), insists the bill is not dead. Kerry says, “We’re still pushing, we’re still talking, we’re still fighting—it’s very much alive.” The three lawmakers had not unveiled their proposal, but it was expected to spur nuclear development by tripling to $54 billion Dept. of Energy funds for nuclear-project loan guarantees.
After nearly a decade of review, the Dept. of Interior gave the go-ahead for the nation’s first offshore wind farm the $1 billion Cape Wind project off the coast of Nantucket on April 28. The facility could be operational by as soon as 2012. But the Interior Dept. says it will require the developer of the controversial project, Cape Wind Associates, LLC to modify its proposal to minimize potential adverse environmental and aesthetic impacts of construction and operation of the facility. Cape Wind Associates is a joint business venture between Boston-based firms Energy Management Inc. and Wind Management LLP. The
The U.S Army Corps unveiled a $1.7-billion, 10-year plan this week to restore the ailing Anacostia River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to health. The plan, two years in the making, identifies 3,000 projects to help restore the severely polluted river and watershed spanning 176 sq miles of land through a combination of stormwater controls, stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, fish blockage removal, reforestation and controlling trash and chemical contamination. “Now we can begin even more aggressive action to clean up the Anacostia River,” said U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who has championed the development of
