Port of Houston Expands Container Yard

McCarthy selected for second phase of the $100-million project to extend the Bayport Terminal Complex; federal funds and loans released for water projects statewide.

Houston’s Hobby Airport Rated Among Top Five Performing Airports Globally

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, Houston’s second largest airport, has distinguished itself as one of the select airports in the world. The airport won two awards for being one of the top five performing airports and for premier customer service by Airports Council International, the leading organization representing airports around the globe.

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport garnered honors in the categories of Best Airports Worldwide for the North America Region and Best Airport by Size.

Hobby garnered honors in the categories of Best Airports Worldwide for the North America Region and Best Airport by Size among those with a range of 5 million to 15 million passengers annually.

The results of the 2008 ACI Airport Service Quality Awards were based on more than 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers at 108 airports worldwide with daily interviews year round to capture trends, peaks and varying travel periods. Passengers were asked to rate more than 30 levels of service at airports they visited including cleanliness, atmosphere, friendliness, accessibility and signage.

“One of the major things we’ve done at Hobby is built our new concourse,” Mary Case, Hobby Airport manager, told Texas Construction. “The old set-up was three concourses. Now we have a single central concourse that has made a major impact to our customers and the way they view the airport.” She adds that having one central concourse including “all the services combined makes the traffic flow easier.”

Case says the design and construction of the new concourse played a tremendous role in achieving the award. LAN, along with its parent company, Leo A Daly, served as the architect for the project, which started in the mid-1990s, she says. Clark Construction of Bethesda, Md., built the project, which was under budget and ahead of schedule, she says.

“We are now on to the terminal part of our renovation,” Case says.

The airport will update the baggage service and add new ticket counters. The project should be completed in about three years, she says.

“The new look is airy, spacious and modern,” she adds.

As part of the design of the terminal, Hobby has kept part of its historical face by bringing a piece of the old terminal that faced the ramp to be included as part of the new lobby.

Hobby Airport is the 43rd busiest airport in the country for total passengers.

State’s Top 10 Toxic Chemical Polluters Named by EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported on the most recent data available – 2007 - regarding the amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment in Texas by industrial and other facilities.

Since 1988, the Toxic Release Inventory has been released by EPA annually to help the public know more about the chemicals present in their local environment and track environmental trends over time.

Texas facilities reported 223 million lbs of toxic chemicals released into the environment in 2007, with 88%, or 196 million lbs, released on site. On-site releases include chemicals released to the air, water and land at the facility. Chemicals that are transferred to other sites for disposal are not included in the on-site total.

The TRI information is collected from reports submitted to EPA and the states by manufacturing companies, coal and metal mines, electric utilities, hazardous waste treatment sites, chemical distributors and federal facilities.

The top 10 facilities in Texas for total on-site and off-site releases of all chemicals - in pounds – are Solutia-Chocolate Bayou of Alvin with 19 million; Ineos USA LLC-Green Lake Plant of Port Lavaca with 17.3 million; TM Deer Park Services LP of Deer Park, 7 million; Invista-Victoria of Victoria, 6.3 million; Lucite International Inc. of Nederland, 6.2 million; Martin Lake Steam Electric Station & Lignite Mine of Tatum, 6 million; Monticello Steam Electric Station & Lignite Mine of Mount Pleasant, 5.9 million; Lyondell Chemical Co. of Channelview, 5.6 million; DuPont - Beaumont Plant of Beaumont, 4.7 million; and Huntsman Petrochemical Corp. of Conroe, 4.5 million.

CB&I Awarded $50 Million Storage Tank Contract in Ecuador

CB&I of The Woodlands was awarded a contract valued at approximately $50 million by Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana to design and build storage facilities for a grassroots liquefied petroleum gas marine terminal in Ecuador.

CB&I’s scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction of several refrigerated storage tanks and spheres with a total capacity exceeding 650,000 barrels. The project, located in Monteverde, approximately 100 mi west of Guayaquil, will provide Ecuador additional options for importing LPG, a fuel used for heating and transportation. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

EPA Honors 13 Texas Companies as Energy Star Partners

Thirteen Texas companies are among 89 Energy Star award-winning organizations leading the way through energy efficient approaches and practices to help fight climate change. The award winners were selected from more than 15,000 Energy Star organizations committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses.

The Texas Energy Star award-winning companies are: CEMEX USA, CenterPoint Energy, Hines and TRANSWESTERN, all of Houston; Energy Education and Oncor Electric Delivery, both of Dallas; SENERCON and Winston/Flair Custom Homes, both of El Paso; Austin Energy of Austin; Fox Energy Specialists of Fort Worth; J.C. Penny Co. of Plano; Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Irving; and USAA Real Estate Co. of San Antonio.

PHA Receives Recertification for Environmental Management System

The Port of Houston Authority’s historic Environmental Management System was recertified to meet the standards of the International Organization for Standardization 14001. The independent auditing firm Det Norske Veritas confirmed the recertification, as well as the ISO 14001 certification of the port authority’s Bayport Container terminal, as an extension of that recertification.

PHA’s Central Maintenance facility at Turning Basin Terminal and its Barbours Cut Container Terminal became the first seaport facilities in the United States to earn ISO 14001 certification in 2002. Consequently, they became the first to be ISO recertified in 2005 and the first to earn a second recertification this year.

Bayport, a $1.4-billion facility scheduled to be built out in phases as market demands dictate, was designed to be ISO compliant on its opening day, with some of the most innovative environmental safeguards available - such as a first-flush stormwater collection system and clean fuel/low emissions technology - as part of its infrastructure.

PHA was scheduled for recertification in September 2008. Due to Hurricane Ike, the audit was postponed until early this year.

PHA Commission Approves $36 Million for Bayport Container Yard

The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority awarded McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. of Addison a contract for the first phase of a container yard for Bayport Container Terminal.

The Bayport Container terminal, a $1.4-billion facility to be built in phases as market demands dictate, was designed to be ISO compliant on its opening day.

The $36-million design provides for 48 acres of roller-compacted concrete pavement with a 30-year service life in a configuration that will enable flexible container operations during successive phases of the Bayport projects.

The total project, valued at more than $100 million, will include a 1,332-ft extension to the existing Bayport Terminal Complex.

The Bayport Terminal Complex (phase one) Wharf broke ground in September and is scheduled for completion in June 2010. The engineer for the project is Dannenbaum Engineering of Houston.

As well, Mobile, Ala.-based Shaw GBB LLC was awarded a contract for inspection services for three dockside electric container cranes for Bayport Container Terminal for $784,000.

A construction contract was awarded to Houston-based Laughlin-Thyssen Inc. for fender system maintenance at Barbours Cut Container Terminal for $743,000. The fender system for five wharfs at Barbours Cut Terminal requires periodic maintenance to maintain its current level of service.

Waco’s Allergan Plant Named EPA Energy Star Industry Leader

The Environmental Protection Agency recognized the Allergan Pharmaceuticals Waco plant as one of the first four pharmaceutical plants to be awarded the EPA’s Energy Star using the newly developed Pharmaceutical Energy Performance Indicator.

Compared to similar pharmaceutical plants across the country, Allergan’s Waco plant uses nearly 35 percent less energy during its manufacturing process.

Allergan maintains a comprehensive energy management program and has applied energy conservation practices promoted by Energy Star, including goal setting, monitoring and measuring consumption of energy, project development, energy benchmarking and tracking.

Texas Water Development Board Funds $63 Million in Water Projects

The Texas Water Development Board approved financial assistance totaling $63.2 million for a range of system improvements from wastewater to sewer systems, among others.

The Economically Distressed Areas Program provided a $559,000 increase in grant funding for finance wastewater system improvements to the Agua Special Utility District in Hidalgo County; as well as a $450,000 grant for water and wastewater system improvements involving planning, acquisition and design activities to the East Aldine Management District in Harris County.

Another $12.2-million grant from the Economically Distressed Areas Program was added to a $5.7-million loan from the Texas Water Development Fund for a total amount of $17.9 million in assistance for the construction of sewer system improvements to the City of Donna in Hidalgo County.

The Texas Water Development Fund provided a $2.5-million loan to finance water and wastewater system improvements, utilizing the pre-design funding option to the Crosby Municipal Utility District in Harris County; and a $6-million loan to finance water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design funding option to the city of Early in Brown County.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund-Disadvantaged Community Program awarded $835,000 to finance water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design commitment option to the city of Edgewood in Van Zandt County; a $1 million loan to finance water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design commitment option to the city of Wolfe City in Hunt County; a $1.4 million loan for water-system improvements, utilizing the pre-design commitment option to the Lamar County Water Supply District; a $3.5 million loan for water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design commitment option was awarded to the Red River County Water Supply Corporation; and a $5.8 million loan to finance wastewater system improvements, utilizing the pre-design funding option to the city of Taft in San Patricio County.

About $13.1 million in financial assistance consisting of a $9.3 million loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund-Disadvantaged Community Program.

A $3.8 million loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program for financial assistance for water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design commitment option was awarded to the Southmost Regional Water Authority in Cameron County.

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund awarded a $5.8 million loan to finance wastewater system improvements, utilizing the pre-design funding option to the city of Hidalgo in Hidalgo County.

The Rural Water Assistance Fund awarded a $4.5 million loan from the to finance water system improvements, utilizing the pre-design funding option to the Zephyr Water Supply Corporation in Brown County.

BroadStar Wind Systems Pairs with FM Facility Maintenance for Wind Turbines

FM Facility Maintenance of Hartford, Conn., formed a strategic partnership with wind turbine producer BroadStar Wind Systems of Dallas, to install energy efficient, building-mounted AeroCam wind turbines for major customer facilities.

BroadStar is a design and concept firm that develops commercially viable wind-generated energy systems. The new program features BroadStar’s patented AeroCam turbine, which uses a horizontal orientation to capture wind energy and generate power more efficiently, in a smaller footprint, than existing, comparable-sized turbines.

The design is particularly suited to rooftop locations of major retailers and multi-location customers, which are already serviced by FM Facility Maintenance.

BroadStar Wind Systems will produce the turbines; FM Facility Maintenance will install and perform service on the equipment. The two companies will collaborate on marketing and energy programs related to wind power generation for their clients.

State, Tribal Governments Receive $565 Million in EPA, ARRA Funds

State and tribal governments in Environmental Protection Agency, Region Six, will receive more than $565 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for water projects that will create jobs in addition to protecting public health and the environment.

EPA Region Six is headquartered in Dallas and includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and 65 federally recognized tribes. This is the first installment of EPA funding available to support states and tribes in the region under the ARRA.

The individual amounts directed to state and tribal governments will be delivered via existing programs: the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and the Tribal Clean Water and Drinking Water Set-Aside programs. Oklahoma will receive $63.4 million and Texas will receive $341.6 million. In addition, the region will provide approximately $7 million for tribal water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

The funds will supplement existing annual EPA SRF grants to the states. The states use these funds to issue loans for enhancing, upgrading and rebuilding public drinking water systems and public wastewater systems, as well as funding non-point source projects.

The new law provides states with additional flexibility in loan terms by requiring that at least 50% of the funding be provided in subsidies such as principal forgiveness or negative interest rates.

At least 20% of the ARRA water funds EPA grants to states should be used for green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements or other environmentally innovative projects.

Funding for tribal drinking water and wastewater infrastructure occurs in a partnership between EPA, Tribes and the Indian Health Service. EPA’s funding will transfer to IHS, which manages the water-related infrastructure construction for Tribes. IHS began using the funding in April.