A new agreement between the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the states of Washington and Oregon imposes a new, enforceable schedule for the cleanup of underground single-shell storage tanks at the Hanford site in Richland, Wash., federal and state officials said on Aug. 11. Hanford currently stores 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste in 177 underground tanks at the site. The proposed consent decree, which will be open for public comment once it is filed in federal court, would settle litigation filed last November by Washington state and Oregon to force the DOE to complete key aspects of

Fixing a looming problem in the Highway Trust Fund--at least for now--President Obama has signed legislation providing a $7-billion infusion for the trust fund's highway account. The additional money, which will be transferred from the general fund, is expected to keep the account solvent through Sept. 30 or perhaps a bit longer. Related Links: After 'Fix,' Trust Fund Still Not Out of the Woods Obama signed the measure on Aug. 7, the day the Senate began a four-week recess. The House's break began on July 31. When lawmakers return after Labor Day, debate is expected to heat up over how

Elliot G. "Lee" Sander, who ran New York City's huge transportation operation under former state Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D), is rejoining engineering giant AECOM Technology Corp. on Sept. 1, according to an internal company memo. His new position is managing director for global strategic initiatives. To be based in New York City, Sander will "develop and execute an integrated global strategy focused on new growth opportunities for AECOM in the world infrastructure market," says the memo. SANDER Sander resigned in May as CEO of the New York City region's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), reportedly under pressure by Gov. David Paterson

The Senate has confirmed Jo-Ellen Darcy, a veteran Senate aide, to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, the top Pentagon official overseeing the Corps of Engineers' non-military programs. Related Links: Georgia Slapped by Court In Tristate Water Dispute Darcy and more than 40 other nominees for various federal posts were confirmed by voice vote on Aug. 7, shortly before the Senate recessed for its August break. Her nomination went to the Senate April 2 and was cleared by the Armed Services Committee May 6. Darcy's nomination then was referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee, which

The Department of Energy plans to invest up to $6 million in an engineered geothermal demonstration project in Geysers Geothermal Field in Lake County, Calif. The project has been controversial because of concerns that the rock-drilling involved would trigger earthquakes. The project’s developer, AltaRock Energy Inc., would create a fractured reservoir by drilling an injection well into 500 F felsite rock at depths of up to 12,500 ft and then circulating water through it to harvest steam to run a turbine. The cooled water would then be returned to the hot rock. Electricity generated by the steam will be sold

The Panama Canal Authority has opened the bidding process for the last of four dry-excavation contracts for the waterway’s third-lane expansion. The dry excavation is needed to create a 6.7-km link between the existing navigational channel at the entrance to the Gaillard Cut, the canal’s narrowest stretch, as well as the new set of locks yet to be constructed. Last month, that $3.1-billion contract was won by an international team of contractors and design firms, Grupo Unidos por el Canal, led by Spanish contractor Sacyr Vallehermoso S.A. The upcoming excavation contract represents more than half the total works needed for

The city of Hamilton, Ontario, is embarking on a $550-million upgrade of its main wastewater-treatment plant. CH2M Hill, with subconsultant AECOM, is performing detailed design and services during construction of the project, which could last five to seven years, says Dan McKinnon, acting director of operations for the Hamilton Dept. of Public Works. The project will replace a 500-megaliter-per-day activated-sludge treatment plant with a 1,000-mld membrane bioreactor, treat a large combined-sewer flow and help to clean up a polluted Lake Ontario harbor. “There is no aspect of the existing wastewater-treatment plant that won’t be touched,” says McKinnon. The planned bioreactor

How would local transportation be affected if a metropolitan area experienced 140 million miles of additional heavy traffic in a 28-month period due to an explosive construction boom or a major disaster? New Orleans is about to find out. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state and city officials may be writing a primer on how to manage that kind of scenario. “They certainly had traffic impact with the Big Dig and the cleanup after the destruction of the Twin Towers, but never has a whole city been so affected by a construction project,” says Gib Owen, the Corps’

On the road to the “nuclear renaissance,” Canada’s nuclear-power industry hit a speed bump. Declining electricity demand has scotched plans to add as much as 7,200 MW of greenfield nuclear powerplants in Ontario. But even as it withdrew applications for eight new reactors at two sites, the country’s largest independent generator pledged to complete refurbishment of two laid-up units on its flagship site and to continue developing new nuclear powerplants in Saskatchewan and Alberta. If built, the plants in those provinces would be western Canada’s first nuclear plants. Photo: Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. Babcock & Wilcox Canada is supplying

The U.S. potentially could reduce non-transportation energy consumption by 23% by 2020 and greenhouse gases by 1.1 gigatons annually, but this goal is achievable only if significant barriers are addressed and overcome, says a new report from McKinsey & Co. These barriers include $520 billion in needed up-front investment and a fragmented network of buildings, devices, building codes and other requirements. The potential for reducing energy consumption in the U.S. is huge, but coordinated national and regional strategies are needed to unlock the existing potential, says the New York City-based management consulting firm in its July 29 report. “Energy efficiency