Industry News Briefs

February 12, 2009 Headlines

Dept. of Interior Funding in Stimulus Bill Would Create 100,000 Jobs
Almost $4 Billion in Hurricane Aid Still Unspent
Is a Green Future Realistic With an Economy in the Red?

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Dept. of Interior Funding in Stimulus Bill Would Create 100,000 Jobs
U.S. Department of the Interior (02/09/09)

Officials say that the economic recovery plan currently pending in Congress would provide upwards of $4 billion in investments for conservation projects, water infrastructure, roads, and other ready-to-go projects overseen by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The investment would create an estimated 100,000 jobs over the next two years. "As job losses continue to climb, the need to swiftly pass the President’s recovery and reinvestment plan only grows," says Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "But with wise investments in shovel-ready conservation projects across the country, we can immediately put people back to work."
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Almost $4 Billion in Hurricane Aid Still Unspent
USA Today (02/08/09) Heath, Brad

More than three years after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast region, the Federal Emergency Management Agency still has $3.9 billion in aid for rebuilding public infrastructure on hand. The unspent funds represent about 75 percent of the aid allocated to the repair of libraries, water and sewer systems, schools, and other infrastructure. State and local officials claim the agency has bogged down the recovery process in red tape, placing too many restrictions on how the funds can be used. According to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), the construction delays have resulted in "dilapidated buildings, roads, and sewer systems in our communities."
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Is a Green Future Realistic With an Economy in the Red?
Power (01/09) Vol. 153, No. 1, P. 24

The national effort to increase renewable energy production and other climate change initiatives could deepen the recessive state of the economy, according to this opinion piece by Steven Greenwald and Jeffrey P. Gray. As states pass new laws to introduce or increase their renewable portfolio standard requirements (RPS), the question of how to raise financing needed to underwrite essential infrastructure to achieve new RPS quotas are being pondered. In California, where an executive order requiring the state's RPS threshold to increase to 33 percent by 2020 was recently signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the cost implications are considerable. An October status report on the state's RPS program places the cost of seven new "major" transmission lines at $6.4 billion, and estimates 70,000 GWh of new renewable energy may be needed to accomplish the state's 33 percent RPS objective. A separate report on investment in the energy industry calculates the amount of investments needed to maintain current grid reliability levels at $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion between 2010 and 2030. The projected costs are based on anticipated RPS and greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. Not addressed in the reports is how to access nongovernmental sources of capital and credit at a time when credit and other underwriting instruments are difficult to secure. Until this occurs, large-scale transition to green generation and expansion of transmission infrastructure will be difficult to realize, the commentary says.

Nearly 800 Public Transit Projects Identified; Ready-To-Go Within 90 Days of Federal Funding
American Public Transportation Association (02/09/09)

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William W. Millar has urged Congress to take immediate action to include billions for public transit projects as part of the economic recovery legislation. "The public transportation industry is ready to help America get back on its feet and help people get to work this spring," he said. "With nearly 800 public transportation projects that are ready-to-go within 90 days of federal funding, jobs will be created at a rapid pace." According to Millar, "Given how quickly public transportation projects can be started, public transportation should be an essential, well-funded piece of this critical recovery legislation. American jobs are depending on this." Public-transit investment helps the economy and job creation as well as promoting energy independence and fighting climate change, he said. Public transportation saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year by keeping people from having to use private cars. In 2007, public transit ridership hit a 50-year high of 10.3 billion trips, but state and local funding has fallen due to lower revenues amid an economic downturn, leading to 85 percent of public transit systems experiencing capacity problems last summer.
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Senate OKs Environmental-Review Amendment For Stimulus Plan
Dow Jones Newswires (02/06/09)

The U.S. Senate passed an amendment Feb. 5 designed to ensure that stimulus-funded projects don't get bogged down in environmental permitting processes. Major industries had been concerned that permitting requirements under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) might have delayed projects for years. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) originally had filed an amendment that would only allow projects that were "shovel-ready" and had passed the NEPA process, but later it was modified to simply require the government to expedite the NEPA review process.

Complete Cost Control
Health Facilities Management (01/09) Vol. 22, No. 1, P. 29; Slomsky, Dave

As the continuing economic crisis drives up the price of healthcare construction projects, executives are looking for ways to economize projects. One step executives should consider is effectively arranging project financing and taking into account the effect of lending practices and supplier agreements. Additionally, hospitals should consider using virtual technology to construct the building ahead of time to account for costs and scheduling, which can help coordinate efficiencies. Budgeting for potential cost fluctuations 12 months to 18 months ahead of time can improve efficiency, and executives would be wise to order materials earlier and stockpile them rather than order them too late and face project delays. Lastly, technology solutions, like building information modeling, can help executives and others realize greater cost and construction efficiencies and foster good communication and teamwork.
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Recycling Old Warehouses
Urban Land Magazine (01/09) Vol. 68, No. 1, P. 54; Kirk, Patricia L.

From Minneapolis to Dallas to Vancouver, cities across North America are transforming their historical districts into urban destinations and neighborhoods springing with new developments. Pittsburgh's Strip District, a manufacturing hub in the early 1900s, has undergone several renovations to become what is now a regional marketplace that sees tens of thousands of visitors each weekend. The 22-by-four-block area is home to a wide variety of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and an assortment of flower and grocery vendors. The district is invariably going through another transformation into a residential neighborhood that is friendly to pedestrians and shoppers. The recent flipping of the Armstrong Cork Factory into a fully occupied 297-unit apartment building tripled the population of the district, says marketing director Cynthia Helffrich of the Strip District's business association, Neighbors in the Strip. Nearby, developer and Philadelphia-based Solara Ventures President Jack Benoff has broken ground on a renovation of the Otto Milk building and is turning its indoor space into 50 new condominiums. Through a tax abatement program in Pittsburgh, Benoff will be able to market the units to buyers earning $40,000 a year for only $189,000 each. Local developers would like to see the district retain its artistic core amidst the new development. "Most people do not want to live in an environment that becomes sterile, and artists will not let that happen," says one urban development expert.

Congress, States Try to Harness West Winds
Stateline.org (02/05/09)

State and federal leaders are looking at how to conquer imposing obstacles to build thousand of miles of additional power lines to deliver electricity generated by wind power. Supporters of wind power say the stimulus package now being drafted by Congress is a significant start. The stimulus plan is expected to help build 3,000 miles of new lines, and would be the first major federal push to improve the electricity transmission system in many years. However, industry observers note it will take an estimated 19,000 miles of high-voltage lines to handle delivering wind power from prairies to cities and their residents. Current versions of the stimulus package provide $8 billion to $10 billion in loan guarantees for builders of new power lines and renewable energy projects. The stimulus is also expected to provide another $4.5 billion to help electric utilities and their consumers upgrade to "smart grid" technologies, which would allow customers who have solar panels on their roofs or small wind turbines to sell extra electricity back to the utility companies when they don't need it. The smart grid would also help consumers lower their bills by keeping track of when they use electricity at off-peak hours. The Western Governors Association is stressing the need for different incentives that are not now in the legislation, and are seeking extra money to encourage developers to build higher-capacity lines. The group says that building bigger lines now would avoid the need for multiple small lines in the same area later on, and that high-capacity lines could avoid problems such as "new environmental impacts, potential land-owner opposition and regulatory delays." The Western governors are mounting an effort to identify areas where renewable power is likely to be generated, and then share the information with utilities interested in buying the electricity.
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From the Ground Up: LiDAR Planning
Point of Beginning (01/09) Meade, Mark E.

Careful planning is important for the successful deployment of a LiDAR project and to balance requirements with costs. Prior to selecting a sensor, it is necessary to identify project requirements, challenges, and downstream uses of the data. The next step is determining the flying height and the field of view. Lower flying heights tend to provide greater accuracy in elevation points on the ground, and smaller fields of view between 20 degrees and 45 degrees are also optimal for accuracy. As for GPS considerations, it is crucial that the sensor operator observe the number of GPS satellites in view and the resulting dilution of precision (DOP). In general, higher accuracy correlates to lower maximum DOPs, while for ground-based installations, baseline lengths can range from 10-15 miles to 30-40 miles. Many states have continuously operating reference system (CORS) networks that can be used for processing airborne data, either as a backup or primary system. In urban areas where there is a large volume of commercial flights, it is essential to collaborate with air traffic controllers to determine LiDAR feasibility. Weather considerations also may call for nighttime flying in some areas where cloud cover is common during the day.
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Approaching Stormwater Challenges With Sustainable Design
WaterWorld (01/01/09) Vol. 25, No. 1, P. 32

Significant changes must be made in the U.S. stormwater program to reverse the deterioration of the country's waterways and watersheds, according to a study from the National Academies. The report recommended that the existing permitting structure migrate to a watershed-based approach. This comprises a major change, but more modest steps can be taken to launch restoration. For instance, the impact of urban runoff can be curbed by implementing low impact development (LID) techniques and "green" infrastructure strategies. Such issues will be discussed at the Urban Water Management Conference & Exhibition scheduled for March 24-26, 2009, in Overland Park, Kansas. One of the presentations will feature the progress of communities in implementing "green" technologies into their stormwater management. The town of Tolland, Conn., recently became the first town in the state to make it mandatory for LID strategies be used for all kinds of land use in the city.
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Tunnel Project Boringly Smooth. That's Good.
Western Builder (02/02/09) Larson, Mike

Wisconsin-based Super Excavators Inc. is on budget and ahead of schedule on a tunneling project to install close to two miles of replacement sewer under Milwaukee's east side, known as the Metropolitan Interceptor Sewer System Barclay/4th/Chase MIS Replacement. The project, undertaken for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), began with soil testing and designing in November 2007, followed by preparatory site work, and tunneling began in August 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in October 2009. The tunnel boring averages eight feet per hour, allowing for one new 8-foot section of precast concrete pipe, which is followed by pumping of grout around the pipe to stabilize it in place. Depths are between 22 feet and 80 feet, and downshafts are between 20 feet across and 24 feet across, some shored with sheet piling but most supported by wooden-stave lagging and metal rings. A vital piece of equipment has been the electrically driven Akkerman SL-74-90 tunnel-boring machine (TBM) and Derrick TBS225 slurry-separation plant. This machine includes a 34-ton cylindrical body that sits horizontally in the ground, cutting through earth with its cutter head, while high-pressure water jets turn the soil into slurry that is pumped to an above-ground separator that divides it into gravel, soil, and water. The clean water is returned to the cutter for making more slurry, while the cutter is pushed forward by a 900-ton-capacity hydraulic ram. Proper maintenance has been key to the project, says tunneling superintendent Brian Strane: "When the TBM is in the ground, you want it to work perfectly. Having a malfunction while it is between access shafts would cause a host of delays and problems. This is a case where you need to take every preventive step you can."
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Protecting the U.S. Water Supply Against Terrorism
Security Products (01/09) Gaydos, John

Many security and water experts have expressed concern that the U.S. drinking water supply could be an attractive target for terrorists, who may seek to contaminate the water or to disrupt distribution systems. The huge numbers of treatment centers and pump stations and thousands of miles of pipelines, which are often far from police stations, mean there are many possible targets. The potential hazards of a compromised water system are underscored by the 1993 infestation of Milwaukee's water system by a naturally occurring parasite, which led to 400,000 gastrointestinal illnesses and 100 deaths. While contaminating a reservoir would be difficult because of reservoirs' large size and the fact that reservoir water goes through many layers of treatment, there could be widespread panic and concern if even a small amount of contaminant is released into water after final treatment. The federal Public Health, Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002 required all water utilities with more than 3,000 customers to assess their vulnerability to disasters and terrorist attacks and produce emergency response plans for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The city of Tucson is using an EPA grant to test a laser system that could detect and identify microbes within minutes, rather than the days or weeks it typically takes now. In Alabama, Birmingham Water Works hired ADT Security Services to help it put together an integrated network-based video and access control system at its 18 locations, with access control cards issued to employees, contractors, vendors, and consultants. The biggest obstacle to security, says Birmingham Water Works Security Manager Terry Oden, is complacency, which he works to fight by continually practicing and drilling employees on emergency response.
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Virginia Tech Engineers Investigate Energy Independent Monitoring System for Bridges
EurekAlert (02/02/09)

Virginia Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures (CIMSS) is working with New Jersey-based Physical Acoustics Corporation on technologies that can provide continuous and energy-independent monitoring of bridges' structural integrity. The National Institute of Standards and Technology helped fund the $14 million project, which aims to produce sensors that can produce their own power from the bridge's motion via piezoelectrics. Virginia Tech Prof. Dan Inman, who is director of CIMSS, says the passive, non-destructive system uses acoustic emission sensing to detect acoustic waves emitted by cracks or flaws appearing in a bridge. Data from the sensors are transmitted wirelessly and added to computer models of the structure to help make assessments and predictions of the bridge's structural integrity. According to Inman, as "the inventory of bridges continues to age, routine inspection practices will not be sufficient for bridge owners to make informed decisions for safety and maintenance prioritization." The research, in which the University of South Carolina and the University of Miami are also participating, is targeting both steel and concrete bridges.
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Integrate Weather Data Into Building Automation
Buildings (01/09) Madsen, Jana J.

A growing trend in building automation systems (BAS) is for them to incorporate more extensive weather data in the decisionmaking process for how best to operate building mechanical systems from day to day. "Imagine having, at your fingertips, the ability to track such factors as temperature, humidity, rain levels, wind speed, Doppler radar forecast, severe-weather alerts, heat index and barometer/pressure," says Ronald Greaves, product manager at Siemens Building Technologies. Buildings may get this weather data from on-site weather stations, or, for a lower cost, from online XML feeds from other weather data providers. Though more expensive and unable to provide forecast data, local stations have their own advantages. "They can track elements such as wind speed and direction. They can also track lighting levels that can be used for thermal calculations and energy-cost predictions," says Terry Hoffmann, director of building automation systems marketing for Johnson Controls. Either way, weather-related information can be highly useful for improving the efficiency of HVAC systems, experimenting with on-site alternative energy, and respond quickly to rain situations -- e.g., by not using municipal water for landscape irrigation on days when rain is probable, or by sounding alerts if stormwater storage tanks are near overflow. Information about possible inclement weather situations can also help building operators keep the building and its occupants as safe as possible.
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The Falling Sky
Roads & Bridges (01/09) Vol. 47, No. 1, Ward, Bruce R.

High-mast light towers help light the nation's interstates and toll plazas, measuring as tall as 150 feet. The steel structures are typically installed just yards away from roadways and interchange ramps. Most state departments of transportation lack formal inspection strategies for high-mast towers and other ancillary structures. However, a technology company called Mast-Check has created an inspection system that remotely creates a 360-degree digital assessment of a tower's surface. The system has been used to inspect more than 500 light towers in seven states over the past year. Significant deficiencies were found in more than 7 percent of the towers, including cracks and slip-joint damage. The T-12 technical committee of American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials is currently developing a national database of high-mast tower failures. Only a few states currently conduct formal inspections of mast towers, which are constructed of welded and tapered tubular sections of steel. Sections are joined together similar to a fishing rod, with "slip joints." There are an estimated 65,000 towers across the nation's major highways, each of which weigh between 2,000 pounds to 2,800 pounds.
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Work Restarted on First U.S. Green Building Standard
ENR (01/28/09) Hunter, Pam

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has reconstituted its committee for developing the country's first green-building standard, Standard 189. The committee, which was suspended in the fall after ASHRAE decided broader industry representative was needed, reconvened on Jan. 27 with 34 voting members, up from 21 before. The industry makeup of the old committee had come in for criticism from groups such as the Building Owners and Managers Association and the American Institute of Steel Construction; now, the new committee includes greater representation from owners, the construction sector, and the steel sector. Members are expected to work with the existing draft language while making some adjustments, said Kent Peterson of P2S Engineering. According to Brendan Owens of the U.S. Green Building Council, which is working with ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America on the new standard, said the new standard could serve as a "tool that building code people could mandate in lieu of LEED." ASHRAE also announced that it plans to create an energy-labeling program for commercial buildings, so as to "lead building owners to strongly consider cost-effective energy improvements," said Ron Jarnagin, a staff scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who chairs ASHRAE's building energy labeling ad hoc committee.

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