From an environmental standpoint when is it appropriate to do more than the bare minimum? The answer is ALWAYS! It doesn't matter if you are a large/small Waste Management Company, a Utility dealing with CCR management, a small private/public landfill, or a Development Company trying to transform an environmental eyesore into usable space; it [...]
Over the past several years, increased pressure from communities, environmental groups, politicians, and regulators has increased the challenges associated with landfill capacity expansions. Traditional expansion approaches take years to develop only to find out that the landfill owner was on the wrong path and did not develop a “Plan B”, wasting time and money. [...]
It is all about STORAGE. A simple analogy, coal ash storage is like trying to organize your closet in an endless battle to fit ever more stuff into little space. However, unlike your closet problem utility companies cannot get rid of those unneeded belongings (coal ash), or sign on the dotted line for [...]
“1 + 1 = 3” is a concept of obtaining greater success by solving two traditional environmental problems at the same time, the combination results in higher success than individual projects. For example, expanding a landfill by building an eMSE berm utilizing beneficial use fill from a remediation project. Project 1: Expansion + Project 2: [...]
It takes a village to solve the looming CCR storage issue. In all discussions of coal ash disposition — either through beneficial reuse or keeping it intact but contained — the overriding concern is safety. The cap-in-place solution has been solidly debunked from a safety standpoint. The market for beneficial use of coal ash [...]
It is all about BUILDING safe, adequate, and economical STORAGE. There is too much coal ash and not enough existing space (landfills) to properly store this waste. Utilities must develop different approaches to comply with ever-changing regulations. Now is the time to find relief to this issue; time is wasting away. Beneficiation has provided some [...]
“It will take us a decade to construct the proposed landfill.” What if time could work in your favor when closing your CCR unit? What if there was a solution that established timeframe as a key metric when closing your CCR unit? What if that solution could flexibly respond to the “unknown” challenges of [...]
When does it pay to do more than the minimum? In a previous blog, I discussed the importance of doing more than the minimum requirements stated in regulatory documents. From an environmental standpoint, it always pays off to go the extra mile. Financially, applying additional safeguards can be expensive. Additionally, the current regulatory framework does [...]
Project Costs Matter. It is hard to believe that the massive push for CCR Environmental Management reform is all about the mighty dollar, but it is. Current arguments of this almost 12-year stakeholder battle have transcended to cost recovery, and who will pay for the CCR deposition methods. Like this wasn’t in the [...]
It is usually around 4th Grade when kids start to notice the grades sent home on report cards. These written in ink letters share a performance level on daily lessons, homework, and tests. It takes half a second to learn that the lower the grade, the more work a kid needs to do to [...]
