Water Treatment Plant Starts in San Benito; Windfarms Heat Up
Wind energy moves forward with projects to increase reserves while also bringing the alternative energy to residential consumers; several projects aimed at improving the cleanliness and purity of water started statewide.
$300 Milion Windfarm to be Built in Roscoe
Airtricity, Inc., Sweetwater, a leading renewable energy company, announced the construction of its largest wind farm to date. The 209 megawatt Roscoe Wind Farm will provide power to TXU Wholesale, a subsidiary of TXU Corp., under a five-year sales contract. The project area stretches into three counties and will cover nearly 30,000 acres when it is completed.
The Roscoe Wind Farm, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will annually produce enough energy to power 60,000 homes and save approximately 375,000 tons per year in greenhouse gas emissions, The project will help Texas meet its renewable energy goal of 5,000 new megawatts of its power from renewable sources by 2015. In 2006, Texas became the nation’s leader in installed wind capacity.
$32 Million Water Treatment Plant Underway in San Benito
Construction started in May on a new $32 million water treatment plant for the city of San Benito, which in its initial phase will have a treatment capacity of six million gallons a day (mgd).
The treatment plant is one of three components of the city’s $32 million Water and Wastewater Improvement Project that also includes construction of a water storage tank and a new wastewater treatment plant.
The North American Development Bank is providing an $8 million loan through its Low Interest Rate Lending Facility (LIRF) and a $17.9 million grant from its Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The new water treatment plant will replace an 81-year old treatment plant. To date, the 1-million gallon, elevated water storage tank has been completed and the wastewater treatment plant is about to be completed.
With this project San Benito will have sufficient water treatment and storage capacity to meet demand and comply with Texas state regulations through 2025. In addition, the effluent produced by the wastewater treatment plant will meet established standards of quality.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Awards Multiple Grants Statewide
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded about $22 million in grants to area and statewide entities for various water projects.
The EPA presented $578,300 to the Brazos River Authority for the West Fort Bend County Regional Drinking Water Plant. West Fort Bend County uses groundwater for its drinking water supply. Due to groundwater use, this area is experiencing severe subsidence of soils. As a result, the Fort Bend County Subsidence District is requiring the area to convert from the use of groundwater to surface water. The Brazos River Authority will use the grant for continued surface water conversion efforts.
The EPA also awarded $322,000 to the Texas General Land Office. These funds, awarded under the Clean Water Act, will be used to implement the Texas BEACH (Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health) Watch program. GLO will work with local entities to monitor public bathing beaches and to provide the status of the beach water to the general public.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Performance Partnership Grant received $12,849,569 from the EPA to assist the TCEQ in administering the state's environmental programs which seek to prevent, reduce, and eliminate water, air and hazardous waste pollution. The grant will also support public drinking water programs, standard-setting, monitoring, permitting and enforcement activities.
Additionally, the EPA awarded $2,298,679 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The funds, available under the Clean Water Act, will be used to support several TCEQ water program activities aimed at the prevention, monitoring, assessment, and control of surface and ground water pollution.
The EPA also awarded two grants for about $5 million to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board to further its $40 million weir and reservoir project. The project aims to supply the city with an adequate supply of water via the construction of a dam or weir about eight miles down stream of the Gateway International Bridge. When finished the weir would impound 6,000 acre-ft of water that would otherwise flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Construction on the project has not begun.
EV Energy Partners Acquires Natural Gas Properties from Anadarko
EV Energy Partners, L.P., Houston, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest Management Partners, Ltd., signed an agreement to acquire oil and natural gas properties in Central and East Texas from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. also of Houston. EVEP will acquire an interest in these assets for $100 million.
In addition to this sale to EV Energy Partners, Anadarko also agreed to sell certain oil and natural gas production properties in the Austin Chalk play in Central and East Texas to other various buyers for a grand total of $750 million. The other buyers were not disclosed.
EVEP plans to initially finance the acquisition with bank borrowings and expects to refinance a portion of the borrowings through the issuance of additional equity during the second or third quarter of this year. The deal closed in late June.
Consolidated Oil & Gas Purchases Medina County Oil Production Field
Publicly traded energy and exploration oil and natural gas company Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc. of Houston entered into a contract to purchase existing oil production in the Taylor-Ina Field in Medina County.
Existing production ranges from 240 to 270 barrels per month from approximately 14 well bores. Consolidated plans to use secondary recovery technology such as nitrogen, steam or another method of enhanced oil recovery that, if effective, could increase production to 1,000 plus barrels per month.
This lease is approximately 110 acres with estimated recoverable reserves at approximately 210,000 barrels from the present producing zone. Furthermore, the Olmos zone at 950 feet has the potential for additional reserves once studies are complete.
Port Arthur Refinery Ordered to Pay $2.9 Million for Clean Air Act Violations
In May, Total Petrochemical USA Inc. was ordered to pay a $2.9 million penalty and upgrade pollution controls at its Port Arthur refinery to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.
Total will make changes to its facility, estimated to cost $37 million, that will significantly reduce the facility’s emissions of air pollutants. Once fully completed, the measures Total will implement will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by more than 180 tons, sulfur dioxide by more than 800 tons, and carbon monoxide by more than 120 tons.
The company has agreed to upgrade leak detection and repair practices and to implement programs to minimize the flaring of hazardous gases, which can cause serious respiratory problems and exacerbate asthma. Total will also adopt strategies to ensure the proper handling of benzene wastewater, which is a byproduct of processing operations at the refinery.
In addition, the measures Total is taking will significantly reduce emissions generated by flaring—the process by which byproduct-gas from the refining process is burned-off in a flaring device. Under the settlement, penalties will apply to the future flaring of both acid gas and hydrocarbon gases that contain hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. This settlement, which is part of EPA’s national effort to reduce air emissions from refineries, is the first refinery settlement to include fixed penalties for the flaring of hydrocarbon gases.
The settlement also includes a Supplemental Environmental Project that requires the company to test new infrared camera technology to detect equipment leaks. These equipment leaks may contain emissions that contribute to ground-level ozone and smog. Infrared leak-detection cameras are state-of-the-art technology that allows faster detection of equipment leaks.
Fort Worth Hosts National Transportation and Trade Conference
Leading international experts addressed key trade and transportation challenges of the 21st Century and opportunities for maximizing cooperation and economic development at the 2007 NASCO Conference May 30 to June 1 in Fort Worth.
Titled “Moving North America Forward,” the event marked the third annual gathering for constituents of North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc. (NASCO) – the tri-national organization dedicated to developing the first integrated, secure and multi-modal transportation system to serve the United States, Canada and Mexico.
NASCO members work toward improving the efficiency and security of transportation systems to lower the cost of doing business.
Among the topics included a program exploring initiatives to control and reduce harmful air emissions in conjunction with other environmental responsibility efforts. Ports, trucking and rail matters also received significant attention during the three-day meeting.
Guanajuato, Mexico, will host the 2008 NASCO Conference. The city of Fort Worth co-hosted the conference along with Tarrant County and the Texas Department of Transportation. Alliance Global Logistics Hub, a development of Hillwood; BNSF Railway Company; American Airlines; and Guanajuato Puerto Interior served as key sponsors.
NASCO’s purpose is to boost economic development activity while supporting multi-modal infrastructure improvements, technology / security innovations and environmental initiatives along the NASCO Corridor. Founded in 1994, the independent organization also aims to improve both trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America by stimulating dialogue between the public and private sectors. For details, visit www.nascocorridor.com. |
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