Biodiversity wanes in New York

Throttling invasive species by TJ Sinnott

Bulwark for the Great Lakes and Hudson River by P Gerrity

Stopping ballast water "stowaways" by D Pughiuc

Biological pollutants in the Great Lakes by EL Mills, KT Holeck

Water quality signatures and the zebra mussel invasion by DA Matthews, SW Effler

Zebra mussel population dynamics: Implications for water quality modeling by CL Lange, DR Opdyke, JC Powers

Bad seeds: an introduction to invasive plants by AD Halpern, CA Boesse, AE Altor

You can help stop the plant invasion

President's message by D Ellis

Executive director's message by P Cerro-Reehil

People and places

NYWEA calendar

Sponsors at 73d Annual Meeting

Spring 2001 — Vol. 31, No. 1

People and places

Robert E. Adamski, PE

Adamski joins Gannett Fleming

Robert E. Adamski, PE has joined Gannett Fleming, an international consulting engineering and construction management firm, as vice president of municipal infrastructure programs. Based in the firm's Locust Valley office, Adamski will be responsible for asset management, operation and maintenance recommendations, public involvement, and legislative and regulatory review. He will provide technical and strategic support in evaluating municipal wastewater and water infrastructure projects and promote the firm's growth through public participation and outreach.

Before joining Gannett Fleming, Adamski was Deputy Commissioner and Director of the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment for the New York City DEP. As Deputy Commissioner, Adamski provided leadership and policy direction for operating and maintaining fourteen water pollution control plants and ninety pumping stations and auxiliary facilities. In addition to supervising more than 1800 employees, he was responsible for an annual budget of more than $300 million. His activities included engineering, budgeting, staffing, strategic planning, and allocating resources.

Adamski earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the City College of New York. He is a registered professional engineer in New York and New Jersey and holds a New York State Grade 4A STP Operators Certificate. A retired Lt. Colonel, United States Army Reserve, Adamski is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers Board of Directors, the American Society of Civil Engineers, NYWEA, AWWA, and numerous environmental groups.

Zelazny appointed new NYSDEC Great Lakes coordinator

NYSDEC Commissioner John P. Cahill announced that Donald Zelazny has been appointed as the agency's new Great Lakes Programs Coordinator. In his new post, Zelazny serves as the Department's primary contact for Great Lakes activities and planning initiatives, coordinating inter-agency and intra-agency activities involving natural resource and environmental quality programs as they affect the Great Lakes basin.

Working from NYSDEC's regional office in Buffalo, Zelazny is responsible for administering the New York State Great Lakes Protection Fund research grant award process, overseeing ongoing development and implementation of the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plans and the Niagara River Toxics Management Plan, and representing NYSDEC on several basin-wide Great Lakes committees, councils and commissions. He also serves as the NYSDEC liaison to the New York State Great Lakes Basin Advisory Council and the New York State Coalition of Great Lakes Legislators.

A native of western New York, Zelazny joins NYSDEC after leaving his position as an Environmental Protection and Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He also has 20 years' experience as an environmental consultant to USEPA, Department of Defense, and state and local agencies in watershed protection, toxic substances control, and citizen participation.

Stearns & Wheler ranked

Stearns & Wheler recently ranked 28 of the top 50 trenchless technology design firms nationwide. Trenchless technologies allow the rehabilitation of water or sewer pipelines without full trench excavation. Thus, pipelines can be repaired without having to dig up an entire area.

Malcolm Pirnie launches redesigned web site

A web site tailored to the needs of different client types has been launched by Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., a national firm of environmental consultants headquartered in White Plains, NY.

With the theme, "We create solutions for your environment," the site leads the visitor to information on services, case studies, and projects geared to public (municipal, state and federal government) or private (industrial and business) concerns. Other elements include a "Meet the Expert" section providing perspectives of Pirnie staff on timely environmental issues, a library of technical articles and white papers, and direct access to over 200 federal and state environmental regulatory agencies. Malcolm Pirnie's organizational development consulting branch, Red Oak Consulting, is represented, and a careers section targets concerns of new grads as well as experienced professionals, while automating the recruitment process.

Click here to see the new Malcolm Pirnie web site.

O'Brien & Gere wins engineering excellence award

O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc. has received a Platinum Award in the Water/Wastewater category in the 2001 Engineering Excellence Award by the New York Association of Consulting Engineers. The award was presented for design of Consolidated Edison of New York's Oily Wastewater Treatment Facility in Astoria. The award was presented at the annual banquet in Albany on February 5, 2001.

O'Brien & Gere was selected to provide design and construction of the new 2.1 million gal/yr on-site wastewater treatment facility, with the goal to treat the wastewater and dispose only the residual material.
See the O'Brien & Gere web site.

Largest desalination drinking water facility in U.S.

Ogden Water Systems has entered into agreements with Poseidon Resources Corporation to design, build, and operate a new 25 MGD drinking water desalination facility. Under the construction contract, Ogden will build the $74 million facility for a fixed guaranteed price and schedule to meet an in-service date before December 31, 2002. Under an interrelated 30-yr operation and maintenance agreement, OWS will also operate the plant for an estimated $200 million cost ($7 million/yr).

The facility is designed to produce from 25-28-75 mgd and is designed to be expandable to 35 MGD. It will use sand filtration for post-treatment followed by extensive banks of reverse osmosis membrane cartridges.

The facility will be built on property owned by Tampa Electric Company and will use intake water from the Big Rend cooling system discharge stream.

Proposal for incentive-based storm water funding

In a new report from the Reason Public Policy Institute (RRPI), Barrett Walker examines how market-based user fees can promote development with minimal environmental effect—an approach already adopted by a growing number of communities in the U.S. Barrett's report states that urban run-off poses a potentially serious threat to urban environments, but conventional methods of addressing storm water are too rigid for complex run-off challenges. Further, he says, cities often lack the necessary resources to address these problems. Hence, his proposals for incentives.

Walker recommends the adoption of market-based storm water utilities with user fees based on the level of environmental effect the development will have. Typically, the fees are based on clear criteria like the amount of impermeable surfaces. He also notes that these modified fee structures can make communities more livable and improve property values by paying for superior pollution control, on-site flood control, and the protection of sensitive natural areas and wildlife. Communities like Charlotte, NC and Bellevue, WA are two models the studies explores at length.

Click here for information about RPPI and Walker's report.

OBG opens Hawthorne, NY office

The O'Brien & Gere companies announced the opening of an office in Hawthorne, New York. Lowell A. Kachalsky, PE will be leading activities at this location. Kachalsky brings a history of project management experience with municipal and select industrial clients in the metropolitan New York area.

For storm water professionals

Forester Communications has issued a new publication written for professionals working in the area of surface water quality and storm water management. It is the named, aptly, Stormwater, The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals. Initially it will reach the over 20,000 readers who are working on surface water quality and regulatory compliance in communities around the world.
A preview of Stormwater is available on the Web.