Related Links: Second URS Employee Links Firing To Nuclear Site Whistleblowing URS Corp. and its unit, Washington River Protection Solutions, have until Sept. 19 to address the U.S. Labor Dept's ruling of “reasonable cause” to believe the firms violated federal whistle-blower rules by wrongfully terminating an employee at the Hanford federal nuclear-waste cleanup site in Washington state who had filed a whistle-blower complaint.The agency on Aug. 19 said WRPS must rehire Shelly Doss, who was laid off in 2011 as an environmental specialist, and pay $220,000 in back wages and damages.In a statement, WRPS says it is reviewing the DOL
Related Links: Balfour Beatty Rejects Latest Carillion Merger Offer Team Pushes Montreal-Based WSP Global to the Next Level A New Big UK Purchase Deal Proceeds as Another Ends Balfour Beatty May Sell Parsons Brinckerhoff Amid Downgraded Profit Outlook While the U.K.’s largest contractor Balfour Beatty plc. has finally shut the door on merger talks with leading rival Carillion, the bidding war for London-based design firm Hyder Consulting has ignited between ARCADIS N.V., Amsterdam, and Japan's Nippon Koei, with the Dutch firm raising its offer by 12.3% on Aug. 21. Having recommended acceptance of Arcadis’s original offer in late July, Hyder
Related Links: Link to NSF survey site, Engineers Engaged in Creating Change, on what makes a great engineering workplace: Link to NSF site for men: General Engineering Attraction and Retention Study In what is billed as a “first of its kind” study of why the engineering workforce is shrinking, a team of University of Wisconsin academics released results of a study of more than 5,300 women practitioners that shows that nearly 40% who earned engineering degrees quit the profession or never entered the field, and that inadequate training and development and even hostility from peers and managers workplace are key
ENR Archives Price was a key figure in Australia's Snowy Mountains Scheme, a billion-dollar hydropower construction program that lasted nearly 25 years. PriceDouglas G. Price, whose engineering career began as Australia's massive Snowy Mountains hydroelectric project got under way in 1950 and ended nearly four decades later when he was CEO of the global design firm spawned from what became the country's largest-ever infrastructure program, died on July 10 in Armidale, New South Wales. He was 87.Price was a key project leader on the 23-year, billion-dollar-plus project known as the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Located in Australia's southeast, it was one
Garney Holding Garney Holding Co. (No. 23) crew pumps concrete for a water reservoir project in Centennial, Colo. for Denver Water. The project, designed by Brown & Caldwell (No. 36), is set to finish in 2015. Related Links: The 2014 Top 200 Environmental Firms-List and Market Analyses (ENR subscription only) Top 200 Environmental Firms 2014: Weeks Marine Finds Green Niches Collapse of Contractor Lakeshore TolTest Corp. Leaves a Messy Trail Spurred by the accelerating need for environmental services in the oil-and-gas boom and growth overseas, the Top 200 Environmental Firms, as a whole, managed to hike their revenue nearly 4%,
CavallaroEffective on Jan. 1, Skanska AB has named Richard Cavallaro corporate executive vice president and president and CEO of Skanska USA, the Sweden-based contractor's U.S. construction operations, which includes its Skanska USA Building and Skanska USA Civil units. He will succeed Michael McNally, who is retiring from the company. Cavallaro currently is president and CEO of the civil construction company. Set to succeed him in those roles is Michael Cobelli, who now is the unit's chief operating officer. Wier & Associates, Arlington, Texas, has elevated Carlo Silvestri to president. A principal of the engineering firm since 2004, he joined in
Photos courtesy of Hudson Meridian Aging warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., will be rehabbed and expanded to become a 74-unit condo. .. Related Links: Big Flip for the Jay Street Arts Building Tight Timetable and Historic Site Test Bridge Approach in Israel Danya Cebus website Hudson Meridian website Israel Seeks More Global Skill in New Rail Line Expansions In its first U.S.-based joint venture, Israeli contractor Danya Cebus Ltd. has teamed with New York City-based Hudson Meridian Construction Group LLC on a $33-million project to convert a three-story industrial warehouse landmark, located in the historic DUMBO section of Brooklyn, N.Y., into
Related Links: Reuters: Candidates to Replace Perciasepe Unclear; Difficult Confirmation Process Anticipated PerciasepeRobert Perciasepe, deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 2009, will start on Aug. 11 as president of The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a Washington, D.C., climate-change and energy policy think tank. A 21-year EPA management veteran, he also had been the Maryland secretary of the environment and chief operating officer of the National Audubon Society. Perciasepe succeeds Eileen Claussen, who founded the non-profit group in 1998. At ENR press time on Aug. 8, an EPA spokeswoman confirmed that Lisa Feldt, associate deputy administrator,
Related Links: Connection Challenges Seen in AECOM's $6B Plan to Buy URS Reshaping of Barclays Center Arena Made Possible By Collaboration, Digital Tools Lawsuit Moves Forward Over Brooklyn Arena Excavation AECOM Technology Corp. announced on July 29 its acquisition of Hunt Construction Group Inc., which boosts the design giant's construction capabilities now provided through its Tishman Construction unit that was purchased in 2010.Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Hunt was one of the first construction companies to position itself as a stadium and arena contractor.The firm ranks at No. 4 on ENR's latest list of the top contractors in sports facilities, behind
AP photo Israeli shelling of Hamas targets in Gaza City on July 29 also knocked out the area's only power plant, which was serving 1.8 million people. Courtesy of Avisror Moshe and Sons, Beersheva, Israel Apartment construction in Beersheva in southern Israel has come to a virtual halt because of personnel shortages and fears of rocket attacks. Related Links: Zawya Middle East business wire: Deadly Conflict Leaves Gaza Economy in Tatters The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: Joint letter to Defense Minister-Gaza Strip civilian infrastructure is collapsing ENR: Tight Timetable and Historic Site Test Bridge