Member News By Karen Burris

Passaic TMDL Trading Project News
The Cornell University economics team of the Passaic Trading Project have written a paper titled "Selected Economic Aspects of Water Quality Trading: A Primer and Interpretative Literature Review". Visit the following site for more information http://www.water.rutgers.edu/Projects/trading/Economic%20Aspect_of_Water_Quality_Trading_final_EPA.pdf. Information on the Passaic Trading Project is always kept updated at http://www.water.rutgers.edu/Projects/trading/WQTrading.htm

The flush stops here
Sewage plant goes with the flow
Reprinted from the Star-Ledger Sunday, February 04, 2007
BY AL FRANK, Staff

When the wind is right you can smell it a mile away, and that's the one thing for sure about Parsippany's mammoth sewage treatment plant: The nose finds it long before the eyes, as any motorist on Route 280 can attest.

It's a landmark all right. When New York officials were planning the city's new plant on the Hudson River, they trekked to Parsippany one blustery day in 1982 to gawk in wonder, much like tourists at the Empire State Building.

Today's visitors are more likely to be Cub Scouts or Brownies. Once they get over the odor or not they can still walk away impressed about how the plant cleans 12 million gallons of water daily so well it can be released into the river nearby.

It better. Just nine miles downstream, the same water is tapped by two utilities that supply potable water to 113 North Jersey towns.

But as Parsippany's sewage treatment plant enters its 35th year, it's showing its age and the community of 50,000 along with customers in East Hanover, Mountain Lakes, Denville and Montville is facing higher costs from rising energy bills and the need to replace outdated equipment.

Inside, the paint is peeling, floor tiles need replacing and the incinerator that used to burn sludge was shut down last June because it was just too expensive to operate.

"The number of pumps and motors in this places is absolutely staggering," said Superintendent Michael Dimino as he recently showed off the sprawling complex.

Though functioning well, he said, some equipment is reaching the end of its useful life, while motors for the seven 300- and 400-horsepower blowers should be replaced so they can be altered to run slower during off-peak hours.
In all, Dimino estimates a modernization could cost as much as $30 million.
"Every plant built in that era has reinvested in itself," said Dimino, an engineer who came on the job in May 2005. "It's time here. Tourists flock to Atlantic City turbines
Atlantic City's wind turbines have become a destination. More than 4,000 people visited the sewage treatment plant in 2006. Before they were built, only a couple of hundred people had visited the plant during its 30 years of existence.

Dimino becomes Executive Director at WMUA
Mike Dimino began his first day on the job as executive director of the Western Monmouth UA on April 9. Mike is a licensed professional engineer and has served as superintendent of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills' Sewer Utility for the past two years. Mike has many years of experience in the wastewater industry. Mike is very active in AEA. He is a Past President and currently chairs the AEA Air/Incinerator Committee, as well as participates on the Conference Committee.

Promotions at Maser
Maser Consulting announces the following promotions. Joseph Layton, has been promoted to Senior Associate. Mr. Layton has extensive experience in environmental sciences and is a member of the Ecological Society of America, the Environmental Assessment Association, the Society of Wetland Scientists and is a Certified Environmental Swpecialist and a NJDEP Certified Sussurface Evaluator. He has a B.S. in Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management from Rutgers University. Steven Malvey has been promoted to Associate. Mr. malvey has extensive experience in all aspects of roadway and highway design projects. His expertise includes the development of conceptual, preliminary and final roadway improvement plans including geometric roadway layout, traffic signal plans, maintenance and protection of traffic plans, roadway drainage network design, roadway rehabilitation plans, intersection design, interchange design and roadway lighting design. He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering/Transportation from the NJ Institute of Technology and is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers. Suzanne Zitzman has been promoted to Senior Associate. Ms. Zitzman has extensive design and mapping experience in the planning and civil engineering fields. Her skills include various aspects of utilizing geographic information systems involving zoning maps, tax maps, land de elopement analysisk, environmental features mapping, land use planning, and build out analysis and infrastructure management. She has an A.A.S. in Applied Science from Brookdale Community College and is a Certified Geomatrics Professional, a licensed Geographic Information Systems Professional and an AutoCAD Instructor. She is a member of the Southern NJ GIS Users Group, Monmouth County GIS Users Group and served on the 2000-2003 NJ State Geographical Information Council.

Riaimondi awarded Lifetime Membership in AWWA
Maser Consulting announces that Louis Raimondi has been awarded a lifetime membership in AWWA.

New Faces at HydroQual
Susan Dugas and Mark Velleux have joined the team at HydroQual. Combined, they have more than 35 years of experience in the industry. Ms. Dugas has performed or managed remedial investigation, feasibility study, environmental due diligence, remedial design, and construction oversight projects, and has participated in negotiations with regulatory agencies. Her work spans hazardous waste sites, landfills, Brownfields, underground storage tanks, redevelopment, asbestos, decontamination and demolition, transportation, and former manufactured gas plants. She has worked under a variety of state and federal programs including ECRA/ISRA, Superfund, Underground Storage Tanks, and NJ EO 215. Her experience also includes permitting and related activities, stormwater pollution prevention plans, dredge material re-use permits, and spill prevention (SPCC, DPCC) plans. Mr. Velleux is a water resources engineer with a 15 year background in development and application of water quality models and in the investigation of contaminated sediments. He has expertise in evaluating the fate and transport of metals and sediment in surface water and in conducting long term analysis of contaminant loading trends to assess the potential benefit of alternative remediation strategies.

ATLANTIC CITY - Before five wind turbines began powering Atlantic County's sewage treatment plant in December 2005, some were concerned over the impact the machines could have on the local bird population.

Over 15 months, workers have found two dead birds under the turbines, said Richard Dovey, president of Atlantic County Utilities Authority.

"My cat Rusty does a lot better than that," Dovey said.
In 2006, the wind turbines generated 61.5 percent of the plant's electricity, saving the utility $406,780, according to ACUA documents.

The $12 million wind turbines are not owned by the sewerage authority, but were built by a consortium of several private energy companies known as Jersey-Atlantic Wind LLC.
The arrangement kept the utility from having to commit money to build the turbines and allows the company to qualify for federal tax breaks and to sell excess energy on the regional power grid, Dovey said.

"The deal for us is wonderful," Dovey said. "It's really, clearly, the best way to go."
The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority plans to examine whether it would make more sense to build its $3.5 million wind turbine itself or by partnering with a private company, said Frank Wells, a member of its board of commissioners.

"We think it's possible we can do this ourselves and still save money," Wells said. "But every option will be considered."

In 2006, Jersey-Atlantic sold 42 percent of the energy the wind turbines generated to the power grid, according to sewerage authority documents. Through the state's Clean Power Choice Program, consumers can power their home or business with the plant's electricity for an extra 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour, or an average of $5.78 extra a month.
Aside from wind, the Atlantic County Utilities Authority obtains 3 percent of its electricity from solar panels, Dovey said.

The Bayshore authority is not considering solar power because it lacks space at its plant to place panels, said Robert Fischer, the authority's executive director.
Statewide, solar power is used at more than 2,000 locations, said Eric Hartsfield, a spokesman for the Board of Public Utilities. The Bayshore authority's turbine would be the second public wind project in New Jersey.

Other than along its relatively windy coastal region, New Jersey lacks the wide open spaces or mountainous regions where wind turbines have been successful in other parts of the country, Dovey said.

"With wind power, you need a place where there's actually wind," said Hartsfield, who believes aesthetics may also be a barrier for wind turbines. "With the height that some of these things are, you definitely would notice them."

Atlantic City's wind turbines have become a destination. More than 4,000 people visited the sewage treatment plant in 2006, Dovey said. Before they were built, only a couple of hundred people had visited the plant during its 30 years of existence, he said.
"It's become a tourist attraction," Dovey said. "People just love them. They've become something that many local residents say they're proud of."

Conception to first swoosh took over five years in Atlantic City, but now that wind energy proponents have an example to cite, Dovey believes new wind projects in the state may take a shorter time to complete.

"Our project has really taken the bugaboo away," Dovey said.

Cape May trash will soon produce enough electricity to power about 350 homes
A new power plant that burns methane derived from the county landfill will save the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority 1 million gallons of fuel oil per year.

Half of the 150 kilowatts generated will be used to power the landfill operations. The other half will be sold to Atlantic City Electric for use by residents in southern New Jersey.

The state Board of Public Utilities paid for the two turbines, which burn methane captured from rotting landfill waste.

The plant will save the MUA and its ratepayers about $175,000 per year in utility costs. The twin generators produce enough electricity to power about 350 homes, wrote MUA Director Charles Norkis in a March 29 letter to the borough.

The Woodbine Development-al Center has used the landfill's methane to heat and cool its campus for the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky said the borough is in talks with the state Economic Development Council about bringing a biodiesel plant to town.

Pikolycky said he is looking at ways the borough's as-yet unopened business park at the municipal airport could capitalize on alternative fuels.

HMM Acquires Paragon Engineering
Hatch Mott MacDonald announces that it has acquired Paragon Engineering, a 39-year-old civil engineering firm located in Birmingham, Alabama. Paragon's practice is focused on the following market sectors: land surveying, construction management, mapping, municipal engineering, water and wastewater engineering, and planning. Paragon's experience profile includes a wide range of projects, from the very small up to its signature project, the design, construction supervision, and inspection of the Talladega International Raceway.

The acquisition of Paragon will extend Hatch Mott MacDonald's network of 45 North American offices into northern Alabama, allowing the firm to provide services to clients in Birmingham and surrounding areas. "Paragon has an excellent network of client relationships in an area which can now be serviced by the diverse capabilities of the Hatch Mott MacDonald organization. We see the potential for significant synergies with Paragon, particularly in the areas of water, wastewater, transportation, and architecture." remarked Nicholas DeNichilo, President of Hatch Mott MacDonald.

"The Paragon transaction completes a series of three acquisitions undertaken by Hatch Mott MacDonald in the Southeast. The other two acquisitions were Gatlin Hudson Architects in Daphne, Alabama, and Thomas Jenkins Associates in Bonifay, Florida. Our Southeast operation has tripled in size over the last three years through internal organic growth and with these new additions the firm has established a platform for further significant growth. With twelve offices stretching along the Gulf Coast from Tallahassee to Houston, the firm is well positioned to achieve significant growth in this dynamic and changing region." commented Chris Spearing, Southeast Unit Manager for Hatch Mott MacDonald.

Hatch Mott MacDonald is a 1,300-person, full-service infrastructure, transportation and environmental engineering company. The firm offers public and private clients a complete range of services from planning, feasibility studies, conceptual through detailed design, to procurement, construction management and full program management services, as well as operations and maintenance support. With 45 offices in North America, and access to staff resources of more than 16,000 worldwide, Hatch Mott MacDonald can respond quickly and cost-effectively to any project demand.