The typically methodical nature of oil and gas facility development could not fully insulate the sector’s construction activity from the economic roller coaster of the past 12 months, which saw commodity prices for crude oil skyrocket to $140 a barrel, than plummet just as quickly to the low $30s as motorists and industries around the world slashed consumption. Photo: Bechtel Work on Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery could ramp up by beginning of the new year. Photo: Bechtel Keystone pipeline will bring Canadian crude to the U.S. “The market downturn and financial crisis curbed everything,” says Peter Stalenhoef, president and COO

The economy’s dizzying downward spiral has left few unaffected, and contractors that work in the environmental sector are no exception. But firms report the lukewarm environmental market may be starting to heat up, due in part to an infusion of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and expected increases in federal funding for water, wastewater and Superfund cleanup projects. Photo: MWH Water and wastewater projects are getting more money. Related Links: General Building: Shaky Economy Leaves Firms Unsettled About What Lies Ahead Manufacturing/Industrial Process: Squeeze Is On As Firms Fight For What Little Work Is Available

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking comment through Nov. 10 on the agency’s new strategy for cleaner remediation of Superfund sites. EPA says the strategy, released on Sept. 8, is an initial effort to outline key activities that will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts that might occur from processes and equipment used in cleaning up hazardous-waste sites. EPA says it intends to modify and refine the document, the culmination of a year’s worth of work by the agency’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, as more becomes known on the issue. The current version of

Performance-based seismic design is on a roll, thanks to recent, first-of-their-kind shake-table tests that proved the viability of a “rocking” braced frame that moves seismic design beyond life safety toward build-for-repair. The steel frame not only survived shaking that was 1.75 times stronger than the Northridge earthquake, it returned to its original plumb position after shaking, thanks to post-tensioned strands. Damage was limited to a replaceable fuse, as planned. Slide Show Photo: NEESR-SG The system, tested in Japan, allows an owner to go beyond the minimum code requirements and commission a structure engineered to be repaired after a quake. Related

California water agencies could be required to spend millions of dollars to remove hexavalent chromium if the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment draft health goal of 0.06 parts per billion is adopted. A study by the California Dept. of Health Services survey of 7,000 drinking water sources showed a third contained levels of at least 1 microgram per liter of chromium 6, a possible carcinogen made famous by a lawsuit successfully argued by environmental activist attorney Erin Brockovich. According to James Borchard, vice president and water technology expert for the Southern California office of MWH Americas, Inc., an

Three students of engineering, water management and environmental science are winners in a new international competition for proposals to advance sustainability in coastal cities. The competition targeted upcoming water-resources professionals and was part of the run-up to an “H209” symposium to be held Sept. 9-10 at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. The event is a forum for water-management professionals and coincides with joint Dutch and New York celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the explorer Henry Hudson’s landfall in New York. The winners survived two rounds of competition and will present their papers on Sept. 9. First prize

Applications are in for the first batch of federal high-speed-rail grants financed largely by $8 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. An unofficial round-one tally shows states are seeking about $6.6 billion. That is far below the $102.5 billion in “pre-applications” states filed in July, but it reflects the first round’s emphasis on individual projects that are ready to start. Moreover, with the construction industry struggling, the new applications represent a substantial amount of potential infrastructure work, including bright possibilities for engineering firms. The dollars are expected to be even larger in the next round of applications, which

A rancorous contractor bid dispute has held up a $100-million-plus four-lane widening of Las Vegas’ Interstate 215 Beltway. The contract has been twice awarded and twice taken to court. The Clark County Commission gave locally based Las Vegas Paving Corp. the job after disqualifying the apparent low bidder, Fisher Sand & Gravel Co., Dickinson, N.D., because two of its subcontractors lacked highway construction licenses. Under county rules, the design-bid-build project is typically awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Fisher’s price was $112.2 million, or $4.6 million less than Las Vegas Paving. On April 22, Fisher sued Clark County over a

State transportation officials are avoiding weeks or even months of wait time in inspecting underwater bridge components by using the latest in sonar imaging technology. The method’s potential will become the focus of a federal study next year. Photo: Randalls Photography Advanced technology helped inspectors get images of underwater bridge piers and footings when diving was too dangerous. This spring’s record floods posed high risks for the 80-year-old Sorlie Bridge, which connects Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn. Flowing 30 ft higher than normal, the fast-moving Red River of the North engulfed the 605-ft-long, two-span truss structure’s timber

The Chicago Transit Authority has awarded a construction-management contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for a rail replacement and tunnel rehabilitation project on the system’s Blue Line subway, which connects the downtown business district with O’Hare International Airport. The $88-million project is one of the first in Chicago to be fully funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It involves replacement of 31,000 existing wooden half ties with new concrete half ties and 6,200 track feet of stone ballast with new concrete slab and direct fixation fasteners. The project also includes the installation of 29,000 ft of new rail