WaterBriefs: Hirschmann Automation & Control founds joint venture in China

In other news below:
-- Atlantium nominated for Aquatech Innovation Award
-- EPA tests show promise for new environment friendly technologies
-- Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam hires Pigna in Miami
-- 'Creek Sweep' results show general trends in Lake Erie contamination sources
-- Mich. court confirms ruling against developers who destroyed wetlands
-- North American Salt receives Kansas Pollution Prevention Award
-- Arcadis to remediate former Vicksburg chemical site for $8 million
-- Tetra Tech wins $20 million Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant remediation project
-- MWD's Rialto pipeline to enhance reliability of Inland Empire, Three Valleys water supply
-- International Power Group moves ahead on waste-to-energy plants in Saudi Arabia

• Hirschmann Automation & Control founds joint venture in China -- NECKARTENZLINGEN, Germany, Sept. 4, 2006 -- The Hirschmann Automation & Control GmbH and Ningbo Zettler Electronics Co. Ltd. found a joint venture company with headquarters in Yuyao, China, south of Shanghai. Under the name Ningbo Hirschmann Electronics Co. Ltd., it will produce Hirschmann standard versions of different connector series in large quantities. Customized versions and special versions will still be manufactured at the Hirschmann sites in Bekescsaba, Hungary, or Neckartenzlingen, Germany...
Also see: "Hirschmann reorganizes North American operations with new U.S. headquarters"

• Atlantium nominated for Aquatech Innovation Award -- HAR TUV, ISRAEL, Sept. 4, 2006 -- Atlantium Technologies, developers of Hydro-Optic Disinfection technology and an Aquatech Amsterdam 2006 exhibitor, has been nominated for the International Aquatech Innovation Award in recognition of its contribution to water technology. The unique "out-of-the-water" HOD lamp design leverages precise fiber optic and hydraulic principles to deliver a homogenous UV dose across the reactor's cross-section with no "dark-routes," which means that no microbes survive the disinfection process...
Also see: "Atlantium appoints Ilan Wilf as new CEO"

• Tests show promise for new environment friendly technologies -- WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 1, 2006 -- Emissions of the most potent greenhouse gas, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), could be history in less than four years, according to results of pilot tests conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the magnesium industry. Preliminary results show alternative technologies show potential to replace SF6, which is used to prevent oxidation and burning of molten metal. Led by EPA's SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for the Magnesium Industry, a group of companies and researchers from Australia, Canada, Japan, and the U.S. conducted the tests and emission measurements for cutting-edge, climate friendly melt protection technologies that promise significant environmental benefits. EPA's climate programs continue to exceed the agency's greenhouse gas emissions goals and are on target to meet the president's goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity 18% by 2012...
Also see:
-- "Forest Oil Corp. agrees to pay $813,000 for Clean Water Act violations at Osprey Platform in Cook Inlet, Alaska"
-- "South Dakota State University receives $856,000 EPA research grant"
-- "EPA and partners bringing clean water to Colorado's farm communities"
-- "EPA settles with Buckingham Coal Co. for filling in streams"
-- "Gun club in Plattsburgh, N.Y., takes steps to protect local wetlands"

• Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam hires Pigna in Miami -- MIAMI, Sept. 1, 2006 -- Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) is pleased to announce the addition of Rodrigo Pigna, P.E. as engineering director of its Miami office overseeing the south Florida region. Pigna has over 19 years of experience in engineering projects that include water and wastewater systems, pump stations, trenchless construction technologies, land development, municipal/urban roadways, and stormwater management. Pigna also has worked on several high-profile projects with the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department. His roster of former clients includes private developers, county and municipal governments and the Florida Department of Transportation...

• 'Creek Sweep' results show general trends in Lake Erie contamination sources -- MEADVILLE, PA, Sept. 1, 2006 -- Completed lab work from this week's joint pollution source survey offers a preliminary look at water quality conditions that could be impacting Presque Isle State Park beaches. Samples collected in the "Creek Sweep" were checked for the presence of E. coli, a bacteria found in water along park beaches that triggers closings. The survey also showed E. coli contamination is not unique to the beaches at Presque Isle. Samples from three beaches west of Presque Isle had E. coli levels exceeding the federal Beach Act standard of 235 bacteria colonies. E. coli is a naturally occurring bacteria that comes from the digestive tract of warm-blooded animals, including humans, domestic animals and wildlife...
Also see:
-- "Stream restoration workshop to be offered in Meadville"
-- "Gov. Rendell awards $500,000 for flood protection"

• Mich. court confirms ruling against developers who destroyed wetlands -- LANSING, MI, Aug. 31, 2006 -- On Aug. 21, Judge William J. Caprathe of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court upheld the criminal convictions of two Mid-Michigan developers for destroying over 15 acres of wetlands in Bay County. The case involves Tom Kozak Sr. and his son Tom Kozak Jr. preparing a 26 acre site for a mobile home park in Kawkawlin Township. The Department of Environmental Quality notified the Kozaks in 1998, 2000, and 2001 of the presence of regulated wetlands on the site and provided them with information on the permitting requirements of Michigan's wetlands law. At no point in the process, however, was a permit application filed or any information regarding activities on the site submitted to the department. The Kozaks were found guilty by a district court jury on July 15, 2005, and were sentenced by Judge Craig Alston to restore the property to wetland condition and pay fines and costs...

• Compass Minerals unit receives Pollution Prevention Award from Kansas environmental agency -- OVERLAND PARK, KS, Aug. 31, 2006 -- North American Salt Company, a subsidiary of Compass Minerals International Inc., has been awarded a 2006 Pollution Prevention Award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for its voluntary participation in a program to protect the drinking water of the city of Lyons, KS. It won the award for its participation in the Northern Containment Project, which uses recovery wells to intercept contaminated groundwater and ultimately eliminate an underground chloride plume that threatens the city's drinking water supply. The plume is the result of contamination from an unrelated salt mining operation which was active from the late 1800s until its owners went out of business and abandoned it in 1948. The award was presented on Aug. 23 at the 2006 Kansas Environmental Conference in Topeka...

• Arcadis to remediate former Vicksburg chemical site for $8 million -- ARNHEM, The Netherlands, Aug. 31, 2006 -- Arcadis, an international specialist in environmental cleanup and engineering, has been awarded an $8 million contract for the clean up of a former chemical plant site located in Vicksburg, MS. It will perform the cleanup in association with development of the site by Silvertip Project Partners LLC. The contract will be performed under Arcadis' Reclaim^SM program which has been developed over the past few years to enable the redevelopment of environmentally impaired properties. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) became trustee of the contaminated property during the bankruptcy proceedings for the Vicksburg Chemical Company. Responsibility for the site was a burden on the resources of the MDEQ, which was concerned that remediation of the site would not begin for decades...

• Tetra Tech wins $20 million Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant remediation project -- PASADENA, CA, Aug. 30, 2006 -- Tetra Tech Inc. has been awarded a $20 million fixed-price remediation with insurance (FPRI) project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District for the remediation of contaminated property at the former Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant (VOAAP) in Chattanooga, TN. The project has a performance period of up to 10 years.
VOAAP was historically used by the Army to manufacture TNT for World War II and subsequent conflicts. Tetra Tech will provide environmental consulting and engineering services throughout soil remediation and closure efforts at four environmental sites. The FPRI project at VOAAP will be conducted in concert with Tetra Tech's ongoing installation-wide groundwater corrective measures study...

• Metropolitan's Rialto pipeline improvements to bring enhanced reliability to Inland Empire, Three Valleys water supply -- LOS ANGELES & CLAREMONT & CHINO, CA, Aug. 24, 2006 -- Improvements to a major pipeline bringing imported water to 1.5 million residents in eastern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino counties have been authorized by the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The planned $11 million in upgrades to the Rialto Pipeline will permit future repairs along the 30-mile line without affecting water deliveries. Metropolitan's Rialto Pipeline carries water from the State Water Project west from Devil Canyon in San Bernardino County to Metropolitan's Live Oak Reservoir at La Verne. There are about a dozen connections with Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and Three Valleys Municipal Water District (TVMWD) pipes along the way. Unlike many of Metropolitan's other pipelines, the Rialto lacks shutoff valves on most of its length. These allow portions of a pipeline to be isolated for maintenance and repair. Upgrades also will include a pumping facility at the Live Oak Reservoir to allow water to be pumped back along the pipeline, allowing connections at the western end of the pipe to be serviced when other parts are blocked off. Completion is expected in summer 2008...
Also see: "Inland Empire Utilities Agency begins construction of Phase II of Upland Interceptor Relief Sewer"

• International Power Group moves ahead on waste-to-energy plants in Saudi Arabia -- CELEBRATION, FL, Aug. 23, 2006 -- International Power Group Ltd. has received authorization from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Presidency of Metrology and Environment (PME) office to begin its due diligence in the city of Jizan, to determine the viability of establishing the Company's first waste-to-energy plant in Saudi Arabia. Jizan is located in the southwest of the Kingdom, near the border of Yemen. Once this location is determined as viable, a timetable will be developed for construction of the waste-to-energy facility. The company expects that plant construction would begin in late 2006...
Also see: "International Power licensed for Saudi waste-to-energy plants"

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