+ Image US EPA Proposed mine shares watershed with world's largest sockeye salmon spawning ground. Related Links: Canadians Evaluating Damages From Massive Tailings Pond Failure EPA Proposed Determination (pdf) The Mount Polley mine spill, in which a tailings pond failure dumped more than 8 million gallons of water, silt and sand into waterways, is likely to provide further ammunition for opponents of the Pebble Mine, an even larger copper and gold project planned in Alaska.Located about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, the Pebble Mine would be an open-pit mine owned by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia.Northern has not
Related Links: Mount Polley Dam Failure Raises Bar for Pebble Mine Backers Satellite photo of breach impact Hungarian Tailings Dam Leak Kills 7, Contaminates Rivers The Los Frailies Tailings Dam Failure (ppt) It’s too soon to determine the extent of damage and cost of repairs caused by the Aug. 4 Mount Polley Mine tailings pond failure, officials say. The blowout dumped about 2.6 million gallons of water and 5.9 million cu yd of sand and silt into two lakes and a creek in western Canada.But a clue to the costs came as mine owner Imperial Metals Corp., Vancouver, British Columbia,
+ Image Elevation Courtesy of Sewell and Sewell architects Crews installed 30 micro piles around the perimeter of the cavern that opened in February and swallowed eight vintage automobiles. That sinkhole that swallowed eight cars at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., will continue to be on view to visitors, along with a couple of the vehicles.Scott, Murphy & Daniel LLC, Bowling Green, will start work in September to construct a 35-ft wall on one side of the sinkhole and foundation slab near the bottom, then partially refill the hole, leaving the other side open to the remaining
Photo by Jeffrey Cox/ENR Related Links: Detroit Makeover Gearing Up to Tear Down Old Structures Detroit Hopes Its New Model Will Sell The more than 72,000 blighted structures that plague Detroit should be eliminated over the next five years so the Motor City can start its own new model, according to a public-private task force that reviewed all 377,000 parcels.Detroit, which filed for municipal bankruptcy in July of 2013, has seen blight spread as more businesses and residents have left the city. The plan shows another 5,200 industrial, commercial and multi-family structures — or 29.7% of the total — contributing
Related Links: Administarative Settlement and Complaince Agreement (PDF) McHugh Pays City of Chicago's Procurement Office $2 Million A major Chicago construction firm has agreed to pay $12 million to settle federal and state charges that it used disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) as "pass-throughs" to get contracts for seven projects, totaling more than $156 million.James McHugh Construction Co. Inc., in a separate administrative settlement, also agreed to establish a corporate compliance program. The firm further agreed to hire a compliance officer and an independent monitor who will report to the government agencies.In addition, the company also promised to dismiss Senior Vice
Photo By AP Wideworld A March 25 Houston fire, similar to a San Francisco blaze a week earlier, destroyed an apartment complex under construction. In each case, investigators are looking at welding as a possible ignition source. Related Links: Builders Lose Massive San Francisco Apartment Complex to Fire OSHA Safety Standards for Welding Fire investigators in Houston and San Francisco are going through rubble and interviewing workers on-site at a pair of under-construction apartment complexes that ended up in ashes.One factor common to both sites is the possibility a jobsite welding spark ignited the fires."We won't have any information for
Map Courtesy of Detroit Blight Task Force Green squares denote parcels for which surveys are complete, gold squares are partially done, and purple squares are still to be done. Video by the Skillman Foundation A video from the Skillman Foundation on the Motor City Mapping initiative. Related Links: Detroit Makeover Gearing Up to Tear Down Old Structures Blog Post on Blexting from Hell Yeah, Detroit! Battling Blight: Detroit Maps Entire City To Find Bad Buildings Detroit is charting a plan to fight the blight that has plagued it for years, starting with a highly detailed map of the city itself.Two
Photos courtesy of Homrich inc. Razing the dead Homrich Inc. opened a Detroit office to manage an expanded job roster, including the Brewster-Douglas housing project demo. Related Links: Using a High-Tech Toolkit, the Motor City Maps a Path to Urban Recovery Key Detroit Projects Appear on Track, But Contractors Have Questions Detroit Hopes Its New Model Will Sell Detroit, long a poster child for urban blight, is shifting gears and planning to ramp up building demolition to an average of 400 to 450 a week from about 100 structures a week.The goal is to do it before 2020.The increase in
Related Links: Repairs Begin On Kentucky Bridge Struck By Cargo Ship Kentucky Bridge Collapse Will Speed Up Construction Work Construction is scheduled to start in March on a $131.5-million bridge over the Tennessee River in western Kentucky that will replace the aging Eggners Ferry Bridge.The old bridge was shut down after a cargo ship struck it, taking out a 322-ft span in 2012.Fort Worth, Texas-based Johnson Brothers Corp. won the bid for the new four-lane bridge that will carry U.S. 68/Ky. 80 traffic over Kentucky Lake at the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area.Gov. Steve Beshear (D) in a Feb.
Photo Courtesy of National Corvette Museum Crews formulate a plan to recover eight classic American sports cars that fell into a massive sinkhole that opened up on Feb. 12 under the showroom floor at the Corvette Museum. Related Links: Drones Inspect Sinkhole at National Corvette Museum Time Lapse Video of Corvette Museum Skydome Work The Corvette Museum, where eight collector cars were swallowed suddenly by a sinkhole, now has another large hole—this time in the side of the atrium housing the cars, so a crane can go in and retrieve the vehicles.Construction, engineering and geological experts have been at the