Conceding that they lack the votes--at least for now--to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, Senate Democrats instead will propose narrower legislation. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said July 22 that he soon will introduce a scaled-back measure that includes more accountability for oil spills and a handful of other targeted provisions. After meeting with his fellow Senate Democrats, Reid told reporters that there are no Republican votes at present to support a wide-ranging energy measure. Reid said that "in the next few days" he will introduce a four-part energy package and that it would move to the Senate

The California Dept. of Transportation is nearing completion of a $5-million experimental project using a plate-pile system to stabilize almost 2 miles of embankment at an interchange near Colusa, Calif. Caltrans officials say the method may shave $3 million off the cost of a conventional method. Caltrans is using a proprietary system in which steel plates are affixed to poles, or piles, and inserted into stable strata underlying loose soil, transmitting the slide forces downward to the stiffer material. The technique has been used on several municipal projects but is a first for Caltrans, says Richard Short, founder and president

The Israeli government will proceed with detailed planning for a new $410-million international airport at Timna. The terminal will serve Eilat, the southern Red Sea port and a major tourist destination. The Transport Ministry will seek proposals in September for a detailed design plan. The new airport is expected to be funded through the sale of the existing facility that it is replacing. That sale will be used to develop new hotels and tourist facilities for the Eilat resort area.

Photo: Courtesy Missouri Dept. Of Transportation Missouri DOT Searches for Reasons Behind Ramp Collapse Missouri’s Dept. of Transportation and engineering consultant HNTB are investigating why a section of interstate highway ramp in southern Kansas City collapsed on July 17. The earth beneath a ramp that connects I-470 with I-435 gave way, collapsing part of a 42-ft-high retaining wall and creating a 35-ft-wide, 200-ft-long hole in the pavement. The highway serves some 35,000 vehicles per day. MoDOT engineer Jesse Skinner says MoDOT and HNTB are analyzing geologic data to see whether the failure occurred in the soil or underlying shale. The

Ahighway improvement project that runs through a national park is serving as a test case for formalizing a road rating system similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system. Photo: DEA A road improvement project may be the first to be officially rated “green.” The 3.8-mile, $16-million U.S. 97 Lava Butte-South Century Drive upgrade in central Oregon runs through the Newberry National Monument. It is the furthest along of three projects the Oregon Dept. of Transportation will evaluate to determine if it will adopt standards set by Greenroads, unveiled by the University of Washington and CH2M

After scaling back its expansion plans in the face of spiraling construction costs, Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, referred to as SJC, is putting the finishing touches on a three-year, $1.3-billion design-build construction program that demonstrates how less really can be more. Photo: SJC California airport employed design-build to scale back costs on massive expansion. The program’s centerpiece—the sleek new 127,000-sq-ft metal-and-glass-paneled Terminal B—began full operation on June 30 as well as a 1.6 million-sq-ft, seven-level precast consolidated rental car and public parking garage, which is known by the acronym ConRAC. Last fall, SJC completed the modernization of

A 290-MW photovoltaic powerplant is on track for construction to start later this summer in Arizona, marking the beginning of a wave of utility-scale solar projects expected to wash over the Southwest. Photo: Courtesy First Solar Designed to provide 290 MW of power, this Yuma-area project is expected to be the first of many solar powerplants. The push to build solar plants like the Agua Caliente project near Yuma is driven by two key factors: state renewable-energy requirements and a drop in solar prices, especially for photovoltaic technology. Nine western states have renewable portfolio standards requiring utility electric sales to

Groundbreaking took place this week for the $452-million Lodi Energy Cen-ter powerplant project in northern San Joaquin County. The California Energy Commission and Northern California Power Agency teamed up to get the project off the ground; the NCPA will construct, own and operate the plant. The center will be a natural-gas-fired, combined-cycle 255-MW power generation facility. Completion is scheduled for June 2012. A major component of the center will be a new technology: Designed to allow for the steam turbine’s earlier startup in a process that decouples the gas turbine from the heat-recovery steam generator, the technology is intended to

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Wetlands Reserve Program has agreed to pay approximately $89 million to acquire permanent easements on nearly 26,000 contiguous acres in Florida’s Northern Everglades Watershed. In some sections, the government will restore and improve the wetlands; in others, it will recharge the aquifers and ensure the wetlands remain free of development and available for bird migration. Once the restoration is complete, officials expect to see improvement in the quality of the water draining into the Everglades and nearby habitat within two years. The voluntary Wetlands Reserve Program worked with four landowners and

BP is keeping a lid on its runaway Mancondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, despite four leaks that developed in and around the well since July 14, when BP installed new shut-off valves. BP and federal emergency response officials believe the well bore is sound; they will continue tests in 24-hour increments with the valves closed. BP and federal overseers agree the “seepage” is not enough to signal a failure of the well bore, although they are watching closely. Two leaks are in equipment at the wellhead, and two others are “a few thousand feet” and two miles away,