Cool Video about Engineering of Olympic Venues in London

The Institute of Civil Engineers posted a video about the engineering of venues at the Olympics and the massive infrastructure needed to support them.  To build anything in a city as populous, large, crowded and ancient as London is a challenge.  To redevelop a large area near the center of such a city with a lot of large, sometimes innovative structures and rebuild most of the infrastructure around them is enormously impressive.  Take a look.

Sarah Parker Pauley Nominated to Direct Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Sara Parker Pauley has been nominated to the position of Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources by Governor Jay Nixon. The department has not faired well under Nixon’s previous appointee, so Pauley faces rebuilding a damaged enterprise. She will also need to repair the agency’s relationship with the General Assembly.

Pauley previously served at the department as a deputy director during the administration of Governor Bob Holden. She must be confirmed by the state Senate, where tough confirmation hearings are expected, but will serve as director during the process.

Missouri Governor Nominates Infrastructure and Environmental Board Members

Missouri Governor Jay “Boondoggle Bridge” Nixon announced appointments to some boards and commissions. The appointees will be subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.

Patrice E. Boehler, Dam and Reservoir Safety Council - Since 1998, Boehler has served as vice president of development for Westmore Group Inc., a provider of commercial real estate services. She also is president of Natural Resource Consultants Inc. and has worked on dam safety issues in that position for 19 years. Her term ends April 3, 2011.

Daniel G. Buxton, Dam and Reservoir Safety Counci - Buxton is a project manager/engineer for The Doe Run Co. and has been with the company since 1974. In his current position, he manages construction projects at plant sites, regularly inspects 11 Doe Run-owned regulated dams, and manages repairs and construction of the company's dams and spillways. His term ends April 3, 2011.

Kyle W. Drury, Dam and Reservoir Safety Council - Drury is senior design engineer at Bloomsdale Excavating Co. and has been with the company since 2004. He previously was a project engineer with Holcim (US) Inc. and an aviation engineer with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly Consulting Engineers. His term ends April 3, 2010.

Charles E. (Eddie) Adams, Jr., Hazardous Waste Commission - Adams is general manager of Adams Fertilizer Inc. in Senath. He has been with the business since 1985. Adams also was an agricultural pilot for Senath Aviation from 1984 to 2006. His term ends April 3, 2012.

Michael R. Foresman, Hazardous Waste Commission - Foresman serves as a part-time consultant for several environmental consulting firms. He retired in 2001 as president of Solutia Management Co. Inc., a remediation liability management subsidiary of Solutia Inc. His term ends April 3, 2013.

You can read the original news release here.

Missouri Environment & Infrastructure Roundup

Department of Natural Resources Suffers from Low Revenues

Due to low economic activity in the state, several fee-supported funds at the Department of Natural Resources are projected to run out of money in the near future. These funds, mostly raised through permit fees, support activities related to water pollution, air pollution, solid waste and hazardous waste.

In addition, the water pollution fees will sunset if they are not reauthorized by the General Assembly. The department could seek to have the fees increased as part of the reauthorization, but this seems unlikely.

Related articles:
DNR short of funds; fees set to expire

State Gets Stimulus Funds for Railroad Improvements
Missouri was awarded $31 million for high-speed rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The recovery act funding will be used for three projects:-a second rail bridge over the Osage River that will eliminate delays caused by a bottleneck, plus additional crossovers that will reduce maintenance flexibility;

-a universal crossover near the Kirkwood Amtrak station that will ease the flow of passenger trains into and out of the St. Louis area; and

-safety improvements at several rail crossings, primarily west of Sedalia.

It will also fund preliminary engineering on six future improvement projects. Some of these projects are double tracks between Lee's Summit and Pleasant Hill, a passing siding at Kingsville, a grade separation at Strasburg, a passing siding extension at Knob Noster and universal crossovers - a device that allows trains to crossover to another track in either direction - at Bonnots Mill and Hermann.

Missouri won funding as part of a consortium of states that were awarded $2.6 billion of the $8 billion in ARRA funds available for high-speed rail corridor improvements. The consortium, known as the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, includes Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

You can read the original Missouri Department of Transportation news release here.

Recovery Act and Infrastructure in the News

Stimulus Brings Broadband to Rural Areas (CBS News, Jan. 25, 2010)

Job Cuts Loom as Stimulus Fades (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2009)

Missouri Environment & Infrastructure Roundup (Infrastructure Watch, Nov. 14, 2009)

President Obama And U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Visit Virginia’s Largest Recovery Act Project (U.S. Dept. of Transportation news release, Oct 14, 2009)
Missouri submits initial report on investment of Recovery Act funds (Missouri Governor’s Office news release, Oct. 10, 2009)

Treasury, Energy Surpass $1 Billion Milestone in Recovery Act Awards for Clean Energy Projects (U.S. Department of Energy news release, Sept. 22, 2009)

Missouri Receives Stimulus Funds for Drinking Water and Wastewater (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 20, 2009)
Missouri Receives Stimulus Funds for Brownfields Redevelopment (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 13, 2009)
Stimulus Funds 6,000 Highway Projects (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 13, 2009)
Recovery Act and Infrastructure in the News & Elsewhere (Infrastructure Watch, Aug. 1, 2009)

Missouri Environment & Infrastructure Roundup

Lead Contamination Continues in Herculaneum
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 is considering a range of enforcement actions against the Doe Run Resources Corporation, now that recent tests have shown more than one-third of a group of properties situated within a mile of the company's lead smelter in Herculaneum, contain lead at levels exceeding 400 parts per million (ppm), EPA's threshold for removing and replacing such soils.Of 372 properties sampled, 129 had at least one area exceeding the 400 ppm action level for lead. A total of 104 of those 129 "action level" properties have already undergone soil remediation within the past nine years, under work previously ordered by EPA. EPA intends to work with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) to correct the problem by requiring Doe Run to implement a solution.Doe Run's facility at 881 Main Street in Herculaneum has been in operation for more than a century and is the largest smelter of its kind in the United States.

Both EPA and MDNR have taken a number of enforcement actions against Doe Run over the years, including EPA's July 2009 unilateral administrative order, directing the company to sample and test gravel driveways and surface yard soils from all homes within one mile of the smelter. Those tests, completed by a contractor hired by Doe Run, were completed last month, after which the company sent confidential letters to property owners and residents, informing them only of the test results from their respective properties. EPA received a full report of the sampling activity on October 8, 2009. A redacted copy of that report is available at www.epa.gov/region07/news_events/legal/.

See the original EPA news release here.

Stimulus Funds Aid Clean Up of Madison Co. Mine Superfund Site
EPA Region 7 has awarded a contract to an Ohio environmental firm to proceed with the cleanup of lead-contaminated soils at approximately 800 residential properties within the Madison County Mines Superfund Site in southeast Missouri. The contract is supported by more than $9.8 million in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.Environmental Quality Management, Inc., of Cincinnati, has a two-year base period with one option year, and a maximum possible award of $13,915,694, under the contract. Total ARRA funding for the contract is $9,885,000.The funding will enable EPA to proceed with the cleanup of an estimated 800 residential properties at the site over a two-year period, with additional funding to clean up 200 more residential properties in the third year of the contract.Madison County Mines Superfund Site is located in southeast Missouri near Fredericktown, in the Old Lead Belt where heavy metal mining has occurred since the early 1700s. Past mining operations have left at least 13 major tailings and chat deposits from mineral processing operations within the county. Wind and water erosion has moved the lead-contaminated material to residential surface soils, sediments, groundwater and surface water, posing threats to human health and the environment.

See the original EPA news release here.

Governor Makes Environmental & Infrastructure Nominations
Gov. Jay “Boondoggle Bridge” Nixon has announced several nominees to boards and commissions.

Jack Baker, Air Conservation Commission (reappointment) - Baker is a cattleman who was first appointed to the Air Conservation Commission in 2002 and has served as chairman and vice-chairman of the committee. He sits on the state board for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives and has served on several cattle-related boards. Baker has received several awards and honors for his Angus cattle. His term ends Oct. 14, 2013.

Thomas B. Bradley, State Soil and Water Districts Commission - Bradley is a farmer who is currently serving his fifth term as treasurer for New Madrid County. He earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture, with a minor in geology, from Southeast Missouri State University. Bradley also has served as a member and treasurer of the New Madrid County Soil and Water District. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Aug. 15, 2012.

Steven B. Martin, Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority - Martin is the division manager for Crop Production Services for Missouri and Arkansas and has worked in the agricultural industry since 1980. He has also worked for United Agri Products Inc. and for Terra Industries in sales and management. Martin also is involved in the operation of a family farm. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending June 30, 2014.

William J. Schumake, Dam and Reservoir Safety Council - Schumake has owned Town and Country Motors in Sedalia for 42 years. He has served as director of the Sedalia Pettis County Development Corporation, the Thompson Hills Investment Corporation, and the Sylvia G. Thompson Residence Center Inc. His term ends April 3, 2010.

You can read the original news release here.

Missouri Receives Stimulus Funds for Brownfields Redevelopment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it has selected the Missouri Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority (EIERA) to receive $1,160,000 to provide loans and grants to carry out brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. The grant was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

EIERA will use its supplemental funding to replenish a revolving loan fund, from which it will provide funding to support cleanup activities at as many as five shovel-ready projects identified as being contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.

You can read the original EPA news release here.

Missouri Communities Receive $1.36 Mill in Brownfield Grants

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today the availability of an estimated $1,360,000 in grants, bolstered by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to help communities in Missouri clean brownfields. The grants, which include $800,000 from the Recovery Act of 2009 and $560,000 from the EPA brownfields general program funding, will help restore former industrial and commercial sites to productive use.

Successful applicants in Missouri include:

-Kansas City which will receive $200,000 in Recovery Act funds to clean up the former Greyhound Bus Terminal as part of the East Village Project.

-Springfield which will receive $200,000 in Recovery Act funds to clean up the Jordan Valley West Meadows Site 4.

-Springfield which will receive $400,000 in Recovery Act funds to address community-wide hazardous waste and petroleum.

-Beacon Hill Homeowners Association (Kansas City) which will receive $160,000 in brownfields general program funds to clean up four lots in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

-St. Louis Land Reutilization Authority which will receive $400,000 to clean up hazardous waste and the former ATCOM Site, and to clean up petroleum at the Former Porter Oil Site.

The grants will help to assess, clean up and redevelop abandoned, contaminated properties known as brownfields. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

For more information on brownfields cleanup revolving loan fund pilots and grants, and other brownfields activities under the Recovery Act, go to: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/eparecovery/index.htm.

For more information on the EPA Region 7 brownfields recipients and their pilots, go to: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.

Congress to Consider Recovery Bill

Congress will be considering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 over the next few weeks. The bill covers federal spending and programs in many areas, including infrastructure.

Some of the spending proposed under the bill include
-Airport improvement, $3 billion-Broadband internet in rural area, $6 billion
-Brownfields, $100 million
-Clean water, flood control and environmental restoration, $19 billion
-Clean Water State Revolving Fund, $6 billion
-Community Development Block Grants, $1 billion
-Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, $2 billion
-Energy transmission, distribution and production, $32 billion
-Highway construction, $30 billion
-Renewable energy loans, $8 billion
-Rural Water & Waste Disposal, $1.5 billion-Transit and rail, $10 billion

Previous articles and posts related to economic stimulus:
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Energy Funding
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Environmental Funding
Economic Stimulus Package Would Increase Transportation Funding
Water Infrastructure News
Water Resources News Nov. 24, 2008

Brownfields Reauthorization Bill Introduced

Leaders of the House Tranpsortation and Infrastructure Committee have introduced Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 5336). The bill would extend authorization for brownfields grants programs through 2012, modify provision related to hazardous waste cleanup and emergency response training, and add a green building provision to the brownfields grants prioirities.