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More coverage:

V Act 101

V Fullerton Plant

V Grouting Kudos

V NEPA

V Reuse & Security

 

This Engineering Month edition focuses on reuse, recycling and regulatory programs which sustain our everyday lives.  Green technologies, municipal waste initiatives and raw water resourcefulness are featured.

An approaching policy milestone, infrastructure security efforts and several staff accomplishments are also discussed.

 


 

Refer to our Corporate Web Site for a list of upcoming events. 

 

 

 

Biosolids Feature Project:

Contract/Location:

Vermicomposting Facility Construction West Hanover, PA

Project Significance:

The West Hanover Township facility will be only the second biosolids vermiculture facility in the U.S.

Green Advantages:

As previously reported, vermi-composting is a natural process for treating organic waste by using earthworms developed by Vermitech. The end product is stable (rich in humus and loaded with beneficial soil microbes), ideal for rejuvenating soil depleted by chemical fertilizers and intensive farming methods.

System Benefits:

Vermitech's System is listed by the United Nations as an Environmentally Sound Technology. This means it has the "potential for significantly improved environmental performance relative to other technologies":
  • Very low noise, odor, leachate and dust.
  • Minimal use of electricity, gas, other fossil fuels, energy and manpower.
  • 90% less truck movements than traditional composting.
  • 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emission over traditional landfill techniques.
  • High quality end product with proven agricultural success.

This project is managed by Process Design Engineer, Dale Shope, PE.

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California Initiatives:
Worldwide Project Scheduling

Rod Dawson, who serves as Gannett Fleming's National Program and Project Management Practice Consulting leader based in Los Angeles, CA, has been elected to the Project Management Institute (PMI) College of Scheduling Board of Directors as Vice President, Finance. 

"The PMI College of Scheduling (COS) is the only worldwide organization dedicated soley to advancing the techniques, practice and profession of project scheduling." - PMI Web Site

Rod has been a PMI member for 25 years. He served the Institute at both the local and national levels, with 10 years of service on PMI's national board of directors. His past positions have included President and Chairman of the Board.
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National Vice President:
Geotechnical and Grouting

Senior geotech project manager, Trent Dreese, PE, was recently named a vice president. Possessing more than 19 years of experience, Trent directs site reconnaissance and subsurface investigations, manages the preparation of geotechnical and instrumentation system designs and oversees construction observation and instrumentation monitoring on geotechnical projects. In addition, he specializes in dam design and rehabilitation projects.

Dam foundation grouting seals open geologic cavities or fractures using chemical grouts or mixtures of water, cement and other ingredients.

Trent also directs technical, business, and research tasks associated with our firm’s grouting specialty services. Trent is one of our firm's principal IntelliGrout® experts.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Stockholders:
Multidisciplinary Selections

Gannett Fleming has recently named five new stockholders in management areas ranging from municipal services and site remediation to dams and water supply. . .
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Jersey Award:
Civil Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) presented the award for "Outstanding Large Branch" to the North Jersey Branch of ASCE.  Gannett Fleming Project Manager, Teresa Peterson, PE, accepted the award on behalf of the branch.  The award is presented annually to section and branch groups who develop quality programs throughout the year and increase the value of ASCE membership.

(l to r): Edgardo Perez; ASCE President, David Mongan; Teresa Peterson; Katy Ubinger; and Chrissa Roessner at an award ceremony conducted during an ASCE Regional Leadership Conference in Baltimore, MD.
 
Teresa is the president-elect of the ASCE North Jersey Branch and serves as newsletter editor. Based in South Plainfield, NJ, she is involved with the design and construction of the Valley View Tanks for Ridgewood Water, NJ. 

Teresa also won the ASCE North Jersey Branch "Young Engineer of The Year Award" in 2006.

*The photo is courtesy of the ASCE North Jersey Branch.

 

 

 

 

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Behind-The-Scenes Wastewater Reuse:
 Hollywood Comes To The Keystone State


Penn National is the state's first reclaimed water system using AquaDisk®, a filtration process designed to meet EPA turbidity (water reuse) guidelines.

All the buzz in Central Pennsylvania lately is about the new Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, which is making significant strides in water reclamation.  The Grantville, PA, facility's water reuse system is being utilized in casino restrooms, in addition to fixed-spray irrigation of turf areas. The race course dirt track is irrigated by tankers.

"Regarding wastewater sustainability, the casino is 100% dedicated to water reuse," stated Project Manager Tom Jones. 

Coupled with horse racing, the Penn National casino is predicted to bolster Pennsylvania's multi-billion dollar sports/entertainment industry while stimulating the state economy.

AquaDisk® was first accepted as a tertiary treatment application by receiving "Title 22"  approval (see regs/ programs) in California.

The Penn National Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), completed under a Gannett Fleming Design-Build contract, is the core water reclamation system component. It includes a sequencing batch reactor with tertiary treatment.

 

 

Recycling and Sustainability Initiatives:
 California Green Technology

The California Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling (DOR), is creating a recycling web portal for the State of California. When complete, the spatially enabled web portal will provide news updates and helpful hints on how to live a more green lifestyle. Our GeoDecisions® Division, which developed the related needs assessment two years ago, was contracted for this large-scale assignment.

GeoDecisions® Delaware State Government Director, Brian Smith, managed the project's Oracle web portal implementation.

Pennsylvania Success

Gannett Fleming's Harrisburg, PA, headquarters now includes "Technotrash" containers for recycling small computer related and electronic items that are no longer needed.

In addition to water reuse and west coast applications, Gannett Fleming employees  incorporate green ideals into every environment.  They provide clients with LEED® principles, coworkers with sustainable programs and colleagues with municipal waste insights (read papers/ presentations).

Gannett Fleming was also selected by the "Central Penn Business Journal" as the 2007 Corporate Citizen of the Year". . .

 

 

 

A Broad-Spectrum Environmental Policy:
 Far-Reaching Effect

 

The NEPA process is intended to help agencies take actions that protect, restore and enhance the environment.
Approaching its 40th anniversary, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes. This is accomplished by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and responsible alternatives to those actions.
In fact, each federal agency has its own set of NEPA policies, procedures and protocols.

In addition to its environmental protection and conservation impacts, NEPA influences federal programs which help shape communities across the country.

International Impact


^ Madawaska, ME, near St. John River.

Gannett Fleming assisted the General Services Administration (GSA) with preparing an Environmental Impact Statement for an International Border Station in Madawaska, ME. Efforts included compliance with the GSA’s own set of regulations implementing NEPA.

This project was managed by Certified Environmental Professional, Bill Plumpton.

 

California Recycling:
 A National Model

California's recycling web portal initiative (read news) is a collaborative effort among the California Department of Conservation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The state's overall environmental leadership includes a "zero tolerance" campaign regarding reuse. 

"3000milemyth.org" warns of natural resource degradation caused by annually wasting millions of gallons of oil.

One example is California's "Title 22" code, which governs state recycled water treatment and provides a nationwide model (read about the Pennsylvania AquaDisk® project in news).  Another example is the state's driving sustainability endeavors which deter California motorists from frequent automobile oil changes. 

 

Geophysics:
A Quantum Leap Forward


Geophysical applications might include:

  • foundation, sinkhole or underground storage tank location

  • rock fractures or water bearing zones

  • cracks or voids in structure footings

  • leaks in landfill liners.

Richard Lee, Founder and President of Quantum Geophysics (a new Gannett Fleming division), recently delivered a geophysical capabilities presentation at our firm's Harrisburg, PA, corporate headquarters.  Richard's discussion ranged from ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity to microgravity, leak detection and marine surveying.

 

Municipal Waste Strategies:
Act 101 Perspectives

Both Lori Robson [bio] and Steve Deasy [bio] wrote articles for the Winter 2008 edition of "The Pennsylvania Recycler," a quarterly Professional Recyclers Organization of Pennsylvania (PROP) publication. 

Act 101 involves Pennsylvania municipal waste planning, recycling and reduction activities.

Lori's article reflects on the history of Act 101.   Steve defines leaf waste as it pertains to both Act 101 and PADEP policy.

Steve also chairs Gannett Fleming's Corporate Sustainability Committee.

Water, Wastewater and Infrastructure:
New York Water Reuse

Bob Adamski [bio] delivered a presentation during a WateReuse Association Symposium in Tampa, FL, highlighting related New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) Task Force and New York City initiatives. Bob further cited associated City reuse projects, processes and costs.

"...at least 29 bills that promote energy efficiency and environmental quality in buildings have been introduced in Congress since January 2005" - ENR 8.14.06

He additionally provided a LEED® overview and supporting "Engineering-News Record (ENR)" statistics.

Security and Preparedness

Appearing in this month's edition of AWWA "Journal," Bob also wrote an article entitled, "SAME: Its Role in Support of Readiness and Homeland Security." He describes how Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) strategic plans have strengthened to "support national security engineering and emergency response-related priorities and programs."

A member of the AWWA Security Committee, Bob chairs both the NYWEA Task Force and the SAME Readiness and Homeland Security Committee.

Water Filtration Accolades:
 Sustainable Growth


In addition to its process engineering accomplishments, the WFP will proactively manage and treat water from the Susquehanna River.

Steve Gerlach, PE, presented an overview of the Fullerton Water Filtration Plant (WFP) and related Pilot Study at an AWWA Chesapeake Section meeting in Dover, DE. The planned 120 mgd Fullerton facility and current membrane pilot plant project will dramatically enhance Baltimore, MD, water distribution system reliability.

 

» American Society of Civil Engineers:
North Jersey Branch

» California Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling

» NEPAnet Council on Environmental Quality

» New York Water Environment Association

» Pennsylvania Act 101