EBJ News for January 6, 2020
EBJ News for January 6, 2020 – The following section highlights the latest stories in the Environmental Industry.
Image source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2019-12-11/usmca-trade-agreement-includes-300-million-in-funding-for-tijuana-river-valley-pollution
Tetra Tech wins $21 million EPA clean water contract
Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) has been awarded a $21 million single-award contract by the EPA’s Office of Science and Technology (OST) to manage threats to ecological and human health. Under the five-year contract, Tetra Tech will evaluate the fate and transport of contaminants and pathogens using advanced predictive models and assess associated risks. Tetra Tech’s in-house ecotoxicology laboratory will analyze water, fish tissue, and sediment samples to determine the geographic extent and severity of contaminants. The company will also support advanced analytics on large-scale national environmental datasets. The OST sets national environmental baselines for the quality of the nation’s waters.
Trade agreement includes $300 million for border pollution
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement in December included provisions to address Tijuana River sewage, notably $300 million for the construction of wastewater facilities along the border. The bill also includes authorization for the North American Development Bank to fund additional infrastructure projects related to water pollution, wastewater treatment, municipal solid waste, storm water drainage and non-point source pollution. Another $25 million was included in a federal funding package for U.S. EPA’s Border Water Infrastructure Program, a $10 million increase over last year.
NewHold launches second platform with PRIME AE
After studying the engineering and architecture sector for more than a year, NewHold Enterprises LLC has invested in PRIME AE Group Inc. (Baltimore, Md.), a provider of services in architecture and engineering, construction management, transportation, and water resources. PRIME AE represents NewHold’s second platform following its investment in the non-hazardous liquid waste industry through American AllWaste in 2018. NewHold intends to leverage its relationships to enhance PRIME AE’s reach on a national scale. Kumar Buvanendaran will remain president and CEO of PRIME.
Central Plateau wins DOE nuclear contract
An AECOM-led joint venture with Fluor and Atkins has been awarded the Central Plateau Cleanup Contract at the Hanford Site near Richland, Wash. The master indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract is valued at $10 billion for a period of 10 years. Operating as the Central Plateau Cleanup Company, the three companies have over 100 years of combined nuclear experience, including 63 years at Hanford. They have collectively decommissioned 1,179 facilities.
NASA picks Jacobs for environmental engineering services
Jacobs (Dallas) has been selected by NASA to provide architect-engineer environmental engineering services at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama and other NASA properties. One of 10 NASA field centers, MSFC has been the lead for the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and the Space Launch System. “As NASA’s largest solutions provider, we can effectively deliver environmental services that are specific to the mission of the MSFC and other centers, without impacting critical operations,” said Jacobs Senior Vice President and Global Environmental Market Director Jan Walstrom. Jacobs has been providing environmental services to the MSFC since 1987.
Farallon acquires Stellar Environmental
Environmental firm Farallon Consulting LLC (Seattle, Wash.) has acquired Stellar Environmental Solutions Inc. (Berkeley, Calif.). Farallon already has a presence in Oakland and says this acquisition will diversify its environmental expertise and services and grow its business in the region. Stellar Environmental has offered environmental solutions in the Bay Area for nearly 25 years.
EnviroSound Consulting joins Krazan
Krazan & Associates (Clovis, Calif.) has acquired EnviroSound Consulting (Bremerton, Wash.), a geotechnical and environmental consulting firm. The new team includes licensed staff in geotechnical consulting, and environmental staff with experience ranging from Preliminary Environmental Studies to Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and Feasibility Studies for remediation.
CECO eliminates emissions while increasing production
CECO Environmental Corp. (Dallas), a provider of industrial air quality and fluid handling solutions, announced partnering with a leading aerospace manufacturer to reduce 315,000 tons per year of VOC emissions. CECO focused on eliminating air pollutants, reducing downtime, and decreasing operating costs. CECO said it improved its client’s production capacity while also reducing concentrations of volatile organic compounds by 99% using its innovative direct fired thermal oxidation solution.
Decommissioning begins at two of largest U.S. coal-fired power plants
Navajo Generating Station, a 2.25-GW coal plant in Arizona, closed in November after 45 years of providing power. Owner Salt River Project (SRP) said it was uneconomical to continue operating. The focus has now shifted to decommissioning, long-term monitoring and ongoing operation of the transmission system. Working with SRP, a number of U.S.-based contractors will conduct demolition and reclamation and address cleanup and restoration. Decommissioning will take approximately three years and cost around $150 million. The 2.7-GW Bruce Mansfield Power Plant in Pennsylvania also shut down in November.
Solar industry denied tax credit extension
The spending and tax bill signed into law in December included an extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) for one year and raised the value of the PTC to 1.5 cents/kilowatt hour. But Congress and the White House failed to agree on extending the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). “Congress let a crucial opportunity slip by, advancing a massive government spending bill without extending one of the most successful clean energy tax policies in history, the solar Investment Tax Credit,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Assn. However, Ross Hopper said she was “heartened that voter support for clean energy policies is at an all-time high” and pledged to fight for meaningful solar policy, including provisions for clean energy storage, in 2020.
Restoration funds boosted for Chesapeake Bay
The U.S. EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which guides restoration throughout the six-state watershed, will get $85 million in the spending package passed in December by Congress, the most it’s ever received, according to the Maryland Reporter. The funding represents a 16% increase over what the program received annually from Congress for the last five years.
Tetra Tech undertakes hazardous tree removal
Cal Recycle, the California state agency tasked with overseeing tree and debris removal after the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, Northern California, intends to award a $67.5 million contract to Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) to manage the identification and removal of hazardous trees from private property near public infrastructure, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record. Paradise and Butte County have passed emergency ordinances making the removal of hazardous trees mandatory. FEMA has agreed to fund the project.
B&V and NarrativeWave collaborate on smart water analytics
Black & Veatch (B&V, Overland Park, Kansas) and NarrativeWave (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), a software-as-a-service analytics company, will develop smart analytics solutions for B&V’s European water and wastewater clients. The jointly developed tools will be deployed via B&V’s ECO-X digital ecosystem. “Using our innovative technology, we will jointly be able to offer European water sector clients the ability to optimize asset performance, improve uptime, and prevent failures before they occur,” said Benjamin Decio, CEO of NarrativeWave.
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