It’s been evident for a while that Yucca Mountain was history after it was announced that it’s funding was eliminated by President Obama. ENR is reporting that the USDOE is officially withdrawing its Nuclear Regulatory Commission application for a waste-storage facility although it sounds like they are a little unsure about how to do that. Reportedly, more than $38 billion has been spend on research and construction at the site over the last couple decades. According to ENR, the temporary storage costs of storing spent nuclear fuel could reach $10 to $26 billion in the next 100 years if a permanent storage site is not found. It looks like we will be dealing with indefinite “temporary” storage of nuclear waste for probably our lifetime.
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Geo-companies in ENR’s 2016 Top 500 Design Firms
ENR’s annual top 500 design firms list is out. These rankings are based on revenue for design services in the previous calendar year. I was curious how the various firms that are strong in geotechnical / geological related services rank. I included firms that self-identified as geotechnical firms, as well as engineering firms that I know to have a strong geo emphasis. I’m sure there are some that I missed. I also included some of the major A&E firms that provide these types of services. I even included a few environmental firms. So in summary, it’s still a bit subjective on who is included. Without further ado, here is the list (along with their change in ranking relative to 2015):
- 1 – AECOM, Los Angeles, Calif. (No change from 2015)
- 3 – CH2M, Englewood, Colo. (+1)
- 5 – AMEC FOSTER WHEELER, Tucker, Ga. (+1)
- 7 – TETRA TECH INC., Pasadena, Calif. (No change from 2015)
- 9 – HDR, Omaha, Neb. (No change from 2015)
- 11 – WSP | PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF, New York, N.Y. (+5)
- 12 – ARCADIS NORTH AMERICA/CALLISONRTKL, Highlands Ranch, Colo. (+1)
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the Geo list! [/Editor]
Pilot Project for CO2 Sequestration
A pilot study is about to be undertaken by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to study the possibility of CO2 sequestration in deep basalt formations throughout the West and Northwest. The study will involve injecting 3,000 to 5,000 tons of liquid CO2 at a depth of between 3,000 and 4,000-ft. The team hopes that mineralization will gradually transform the CO2 and basalt into limestone. The total cost of the pilot study is approximately $10 million and is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Economic Stimulus and the Construction and Engineering Sectors
Details are starting to solidify related to the construction-related spending in the Economic Stimulus Package. According to ENR.com, the total estimated construction-related spending is around $131 billion. They have a very nice breakdown of the spending, sector by sector (updated 2/13). Read on for the highlights. (Photo by SP8254)