EBJ News December 13, 2018
USAID awards Tetra Tech $23 million contract for sustainable forest management
Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) has been awarded a $23 million single-award contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen forest management in Peru and promote private sector engagement in the country’s forest sector. Under the five-year Pro-Bosques contract, Tetra Tech will provide technical services to develop and implement monitoring tools such as an electronic system to track the movement of timber throughout the value chain. Tetra Tech will also promote private sector engagement and the participation of indigenous communities in forest value chains. Peru’s Amazon forests are threatened by illegal logging practices, which lead to forest degradation and loss of revenue to the Peruvian treasury.
EA expands wastewater treatment reach with EnviTreat
EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc. PBC (Hunt Valley, Md.), a provider of interdisciplinary environmental services, has completed the strategic acquisition of EnviTreat (Springdale, Arkansas), a laboratory testing and consulting company with a focus on industrial and municipal wastewater treatment systems. The cornerstone of the laboratory’s practice is the use of respirometry to determine both the aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of material. EnviTreat expands EA’s reach into the wastewater treatment market, and its expertise will also be applied to chemical biodegradation and innovative approaches for remediating contaminated sites, one of EA’s primary business lines. Dr. James Young, EnviTreat founder, will stay on as a consultant to EA.
USGS selects Dewberry to complete LiDAR mapping for Florida
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has selected Dewberry (Fairfax, Va.) to complete a statewide LiDAR mapping project for Florida, funded by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and USGS as part of Hurricane Irma Disaster Recovery, Response and Preparedness measures. The approximately $20 million project includes airborne LiDAR data acquisition, ground survey, and preparation of bare-earth point cloud and digital elevation model products to support response, recovery, and preparation for storm events.
Brown and Caldwell to design Palo Alto wastewater treatment upgrades
The City of Palo Alto, Calif. has selected Brown and Caldwell (Walnut Creek, Calif.) to provide design services for secondary treatment upgrades at the city’s Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP). Brown and Caldwell will provide engineering services during all phases of the $31 million project from design to engineering and support during commissioning and start-up. The RWQCP, with 39 million gallons per day design capacity, treats wastewater before it is recycled or discharged to the San Francisco Bay. Having undergone several expansions and improvements, primarily in the 1970s and 1980s, many assets are now in need of rehabilitation and replacement. Innovations within Brown and Caldwell’s design include improved aeration and pumping systems and reconfiguration of the treatment process to provide higher quality, energy-efficient wastewater treatment.
Ameresco acquires Terranavigator
Ameresco Inc. (Framingham, Mass.), an energy efficiency and renewable energy company, has acquired TerraNavigator LLC (La Jolla, Calif.), a developer of solar assets on environmentally impacted sites. The acquisition will expand Ameresco’s pipeline of renewable energy projects with a focus on developing assets that the company will own and operate. Ameresco expects to advance its footprint in California and the Central and Northwest United States as it continues to execute on the Company’s strategy in the distributed energy resource space. Ruben Fontes, formerly CEO of TerraNavigator, joins Ameresco as senior vice president of large scale distributed energy resources.
Woodside selects Jacobs for brownfields engineering and procurement services
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Dallas) has been awarded a three-year outline agreement from Woodside Energy Limited (Perth, Australia) to provide brownfields engineering and procurement services for the Karratha Gas Plant (KGP) in Western Australia. The KGP is one of the most advanced integrated gas production systems in the world, servicing Australia’s largest oil and gas development, the North West Shelf Project. Woodside is one of Australia’s leading LNG operators and the country’s largest independent oil-and-gas company.
Ameren, B&V and Collins Aerospace announce milestone for drone inspection technology
Energy firm Ameren Corp. (St. Louis, Mo.) completed a 60-mile drone flight over transmission lines in November, paving the way for safe, efficient aerial infrastructure inspections, according to team member Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kansas). Also working on the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights was Collins Aerospace and others. “The team now has proven they can inspect more miles of transmission lines faster and safer than ever envisioned,” B&V said in a news release. “The successful flight demonstrated the maturing technology’s promise of more efficient monitoring of expansive utility assets, especially in remote rural stretches.”
SLR acquires Northern Resource Consultants in Australia
SLR, a global environmental consultancy headquartered in the UK, has acquired Northern Resource Consultants (NRC), a 25-person team of environmental specialists. Based in Queensland, Australia, NRC will enhance SLR’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) business, particularly in relation to the mining and minerals sector. NRC’s services include environmental approvals, compliance, hydrogeology, hydrology, hydro-geochemistry, soils, environmental monitoring, ecology, and mine closure and rehabilitation. SLR’s APAC business will be 260 strong with 12 offices across Australia and New Zealand.
Cardno announces acquisition of TGM Group
Infrastructure and environmental services consultancy Cardno Limited (Brisbane, Australia) is to acquire the engineering services firm TGM (Melbourne, Australia). The 130-person firm specializes in urban development, building and infrastructure projects. Cardno will pay up to AUD $21.6 million in cash, with 20% subject to performance targets. TGM is expected to contribute approximately AUD $23 million in revenue over the next 12 months. TGM provides a regional footprint in the state of Victoria similar to Cardno’s presence in regional New South Wales and Queensland.
ÅF of Sweden to acquire Finland’s Pöyry
ÅF AB of Sweden and Pöyry PLC of Finland have signed an agreement to merge and form a leading European engineering and consulting company. ÅF will launch a recommended public cash tender offer valuing Pöyry at €611 million. Four major shareholders of Pöyry have committed to become shareholders of the combined company, which had collective revenue for the 12 months ended September 30, 2018 of approximately SEK 19 billion – ÅF contributing SEK13.5 billion, and Pöyry, €553.2 million. The new company will have approximately 14,550 full-time equivalent employees globally. “Pöyry and ÅF are two of the leading engineering and consulting companies in Europe. By joining forces, we create a strong platform for international growth,” said Jonas Gustavsson, president and CEO of ÅF, who will lead the newly formed ÅF?Pöyry, with headquarters in Stockholm.
For more information about wastewater, download the EBJ Vol XXXI No 5 & 6 which details the U.S. Water Industry.
