EBI News for October 30, 2024 – USGS estimates reliance on PFAS-contaminated groundwater
EBI News for October 30, 2024 – The following news section contains the latest stories for the environmental industry. Including, USGS estimates reliance on PFAS-contaminated groundwater, acquisitions, and more!
Veolia targets €1B in revenue by 2030 to combat micropollutants
Veolia (Aubervilliers, France) announced a revenue target for treating micropollutants and launched an integrated global offering for the treatment of regulated PFAS. The fight against micropollutants is a major focus of Veolia’s strategic GreenUp program, with the Group aiming to generate sales of €1 billion in this segment by 2030. To achieve this goal, Veolia has launched BeyondPFAS—an end-to-end offering that combines the Group’s global skills in diagnostics, water treatment and waste management.
USGS estimates reliance on PFAS-contaminated groundwater
Approximately 71 million to 95 million people in the Lower 48 states – more than 20% of the country’s population – may rely on groundwater that contains detectable concentrations of PFAS for their drinking water supplies, according to a new study by the U.S Geological Survey (USGS). USGS scientists are the first to report national estimates of PFAS occurrence in untreated groundwater that supplies water to public and private wells. Together with a scientific report, USGS has published an interactive online map estimating the probability of PFAS occurrence. The new predictive model will help prioritize future sampling to ensure people aren’t unknowingly drinking contaminated water.
Lytle Water joins Moore Engineering
Lytle Water Solutions (Lakewood, Colo.), an engineering firm specializing in surface water and ground water resources, has joined Moore Engineering Inc. (West Fargo, N.D.). The Lytle team specializes in surface and ground water hydrology and modeling, water rights, environmental permitting, and water mediation assessments. Founded in 1960, Moore Engineering is an employee-owed civil and environmental engineering company with 11 offices in North Dakota and Minnesota. Lytle expands Moore’s footprint into Colorado and the Denver metropolitan area.
Katahdin expands SGS’s North American environmental services
SGS North America (Rutherford, N.J.) has added Katahdin Analytical Services (Scarborough, Maine) to its network of environmental laboratories. Katahdin operates in New England, offering full DOD-certified capabilities, including PFAS testing, incremental sampling methodology, and explosives testing. “Katahdin becomes the 19th facility in the SGS environmental lab network and its seventh with PFAS testing capabilities,” noted Marcus Maguire, head of environment, health and safety at SGS North America.
Study shows large lithium potential in Smackover Formation
Using water testing and machine learning, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that between 5 million and 19 million tons of lithium reserves are located beneath southwestern Arkansas. The USGS-led study quantifies lithium present in brines in the Smackover Formation, a permeable limestone aquifer that dates to the Jurassic period and extends under parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. The formation is known for its rich deposits of oil and bromine. USGS cautioned that it has not estimated the extent to which the lithium is technically recoverable but estimates there is enough dissolved lithium in the region to replace U.S. imports, which currently stand at more than 25% of the country’s lithium needs.
Tetra Tech awarded $37.5M USAID contract
Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the company a $37.5-million single-award contract for five years to increase access to safe and reliable water, sanitation, and solid waste management services for urban communities in Southern Africa. Through the USAID Resilient Cities Limpopo program, Tetra Tech will partner with local governments and regional stakeholders to develop data-driven, climate-resilient approaches to enhance public service delivery. Tetra Tech will also leverage private sector investment to strengthen waste management operations and promote sustainable recycling practices.
Parsons to participate in USACE remediation contract
Parsons Corporation (Chantilly, Va.) announced winning a seat on a $225 million multiple award task order contract let by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Kansas City District. The contract has a one-year base period and four one-year options and represents new work for Parsons. The company will compete for task orders to advance work assigned to USACE Northwestern Division and USEPA Region 2 at sites requiring hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste remediation and investigation and environmental studies such as wetlands delineation, habitat mitigation, and pollution prevention.
Vision RNG secures $207M to develop two landfill gas projects
Vision RNG (Canonsburg, Pa.), a renewable natural gas (RNG) production company, has closed $207 million in project financing with HASI, an investor focused on real assets in the energy transition. The financing package includes a $130 million construction facility and a $77 million investment tax credit bridge loan. Funds will be used to develop facilities to convert landfill gas into RNG at the Ohio landfills of WIN Waste Innovations (Portsmouth, N.H.). With an initial output expected to exceed 2 million MMBtus of RNG annually, the projects aim to double production within 11 years, positioning them among the largest RNG developments in the country.
Forests remain under massive pressure
The world is “off track” to reach the goals of halting and reversing
deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, according to the 2024 Forest Declaration Assessment. Globally, 6.37 million hectares of forest were permanently lost in 2023. Regional deforestation targets were missed in almost all tropical regions. Outside the tropics, temperate Latin America and North America had the greatest absolute levels of deforestation, while temperate Africa experienced a nearly six-fold increase in deforestation from 2018-20 baseline levels. Gross emissions from deforestation resulting from permanent tree cover loss totaled 3.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Commodity production – including crops and livestock as well as mined coal, metals, and minerals – remains the predominant driver of deforestation worldwide.
Jacobs picked for New Mexico water project
Jacobs (Dallas) has been selected by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to design and build the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant in northwest New Mexico. At a cost of $267 million, the plant is the largest and most important component of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. The Navajo Nation estimates that over a third of Navajo Nation households still rely on hauling water to meet their daily needs. When completed, the project will provide water supplies to approximately 250,000 people in 43 Navajo chapters. Jacobs will design and build the San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant to initially treat up to 18.8 million gallons of water per day, with the ability to double the plant’s capacity. The project also includes commissioning of the San Juan Lateral distribution system, and operations and maintenance.
Stantec selected to design biosolids facility in Winnipeg
Stantec (Edmonton, Canada) announced that it would lead design for a new biosolids facility at the City of Winnipeg’s North End Sewage Treatment Plant in Manitoba, Canada. The facility is estimated to represent about C$1 billion in total investment; it will be built on a greenfield site and use thermal hydrolysis processing (THP) technology to treat biosolids from wastewater treatment, turning wastewater sludge into pathogen-free Class A biosolids for use as fertilizer. Stantec said it has designed 14 THP facilities (nearly half of those that exist globally) in the United Kingdom and North America.
Verdantas welcomes ASEC Engineers
Verdantas (Tampa, Fla.), a consulting firm specializing in the environmental, water, and energy transition markets, announced the acquisition of ASEC Engineers (Denver, Colo.). ASEC focuses on the power delivery and renewable energy market sectors and is known for its expertise in electrical transmission, substation, structural and distribution design. “By combining Verdantas’ expertise in front-end site preparation and permitting with ASEC’s comprehensive project engineering capabilities, we are now positioned to manage the complete project lifecycle from inception to completion on power delivery projects,” said Verdantas CEO Jesse Kropelnicki. Verdantas is backed by Sterling Investment Partners.
Stericycle opens medical waste facility in Nevada
Stericycle Inc. (Bannockburn, Ill.), a provider of regulated medical waste management and secure information destruction solutions, has unveiled its latest medical waste incinerator in McCarran, Nev. According to Stericycle, nearly $110 million was invested to construct and equip the 110,000-square-foot facility with innovative systems and engineering advancements. The new plant will also reduce Stericycle’s dependency on water and natural gas: A process water reuse system will result in no industrial wastewater discharge, and the facility is using reclaimed water with onsite treatment. Stericycle also added waste-to-energy technology, which will generate steam energy from the waste treatment process that will be used to provide energy to heat water for container washers versus using natural gas.
Click Here to return to the EBI News home page and read about the latest stories.
Scroll down to sign up for complimentary EBI News delivered to your inbox.
