Covanta Completes Acquisition of Veolia's North American Waste Energy Business
Covanta Holding Corp. said it has completed its previously announced $450 million acquisition of North American waste-to-energy assets from Veolia. The company also said it has completed its acquisition of a 3,000 ton per day operating contract in Miami-Dade County, FL. The Veolia deal involves operating contracts of six energy facilities and the ownership of a seventh facility in Montgomery County, PA. Collectively, the acquired facilities process about 3 million tons of waste per year and will contribute about $60 million of operating cash flow in 2010. The assets compliment Covanta's existing portfolio, which included operation of 38 energy facilities that process nearly 17 million tons of municipal solid waste annually. That brings the current total to 45 facilities processing about 20 million tons per year...Read More »
Obama's Budget Ends Spending for Yucca Nuclear Waste Facility
The President's new budget calls for an end to funding the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. In addition, the Department of Energy (DOE) has filed a "stay" of its license application for the facility, and plans to withdraw the application completely within 30 days. Consequently, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has appointed a 15-member commission to find alternative solutions for nuclear waste storage. It is now up to Congress whether to abandon the nearly 30 year old project. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), who has been a long time critic of Yucca, was quick to hail the decision as "good news for Nevada and the nation." Already, the White House, in conflict with DOE's Secretary Chu, slashed the facility's budget last year from $288 million to $197 million. Questions remain about how the program can be eliminated while Yucca Mountain is still by law the nation's repository for nuclear waste and whether the government could face billions of dollars in liability payments. Under DOE's contract with utilities, the federal government was supposed to have started taking spent fuel from power plants by 1998. So far, utilities have recovered from the government more than $7 billion for the partial breach of contract...Read More »
CA Governor Urges Immediate Investigation of Birth Defects Near Toxic Landfill
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has initiated a formal investigation into rising birth defects in a small town in central California that is also home to Chemical Waste Management's (CWM) Kettleman Hills Landfill. Health officials have reported that five of 63 children born between September 2007 and November 2008 suffered facial defects of which three have since died. That compares with California health statistics that show that clefts of the lip or palate routinely occur in less than one in 800 births. "There is nothing more important than the health and safety of the public," said Schwarzenegger. CWM is a division of Waste Management, Inc. and owner of the Kettleman Hills Landfill near the town which is the largest hazardous waste facility in the western US. The facility was recently granted permission to expand which has riled activists and raised concerns among local citizens. Waste Management supports a health study but has argued that there is no proven link betweenthe birth defects and their facility. Company spokeswoman Kit Cole said "We think our site is very protective of human health and the environment, but we also recognize that the families of Kettleman City need and deserve answers."...Read More »
Republic Services Transfers Ownership of Solar Landfill Cover System
Republic Services transferred ownership of its solar landfill cover technology to Carlisle Energy Services Inc. as a strategy to boost industry acceptance and its deployment at other facilities. "Our core business is managing society's waste," said Brian Bales executive vice president of business development for Republic, in a press release. "We best serve our customers and shareholders by focusing on that mission while supporting continued technological advances for the solid waste industry. Our alliance with Carlisle will enable them to further develop and market this technology." Using this technology, last year Republic covered a portion of its Tessman Road landfill in San Antonio, TX with a geomembrane cover featuring flexible photovoltaic strips. The company plans to do the same at its Hickory Ridge landfill in Conley, GA this year. Carlisle Energy Services is a subsidiary of Carlisle Construction Materials Inc. and provides solar power systems for the landfill industry and the commercial roofing market...Read More »
Alabama Landfill Accepting TVA Waste Files Bankruptcy
The owners of an Alabama landfill that is taking millions of tons of coal ash from a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) site in Tennessee, filed bankruptcy, accusing the landfill's operators of withholding money they have already been paid. An attorney for Perry Uniontown Ventures I which owns the 976-acre Arrowhead Landfill near Uniontown, AL said the bankruptcy filing would not affect its operation, "which will continue to operate safely and effectively, without interruption." Phillips & Jordan Inc., and Phill-Con Services operate the landfill under an agency agreement. The owners contend that they have yet to receive nearly $780,000 in disposal fees even though the landfill operators have received millions of dollars from the TVA, forcing them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Environmental lawyer David A. Ludder, who is preparing a lawsuit against the landfill on behalf of 150 county residents, says the filing is a tactic to automatically stay any new litigation. The landfill opened in July 2006 and is currently under contract to receive 3 million cubic yards of ash from TVA's Kingston, TN site where a spill in December 2008 released 5.4 million cubic yards (1 billion gallons) of coal ash sludge into a nearby river and surrounding land...Read More »
Action Carting Buys Two Republic Transfer Stations in New York City
Action Carting Environmental (Newark, NJ) said it completed an acquisition of select New York City assets of Republic Services, Inc. and an acquisition of privately-held East End Sanitation, Inc. Terms of both transactions were not disclosed. They are expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals. The acquired assets include 20 vehicles and two transfer stations that are expected to compliment Action's materials recovery facility in the Bronx. "These are strong acquisitions that advance Action's mission to be the foremost, environmentally friendly collection and recycling provider in the demanding New York region," said Ron Bergamini, Action's CEO. The transaction is being financed by Comerica Bank, existing investor Ironwood Capital, and new investor Summer Street Capital Partners, LLC...Read More »
SouthWaste Services LLC Buys Liquid Waste Facility in Central Florida
Houston-based SouthWaste Services LLC, which collects and processes non-hazardous liquid wastes, said it acquired a waste processing facility near Orlando, FL. Although terms were not disclosed, SouthWaste's chairman and CEO Charles Wilcox said that securing the site was one of the company's top five strategic priorities. The facility is currently permitted to receive 15.3 million gallons of waste material per year. SouthWaste, which was founded in 2005 by a group of private investors, has completed nine actuations of operations that focus on grease, grit, wastewater, sewage, sludge and leachate wastes. It is a portfolio company of Rock Hill Capital Group LLC, a Houston private equity firm, which bought a majority stake in SouthWaste in May 2009 as part of a $25 million recapitalization deal...Read More »
Glendale Arizona 2.8 MW Landfill Gas-to-Energy Online
A new 2.8 megawatt landfill-gas-to-energy (LFGTE) plant is now online at the municipal landfill owned by the City of Glendale, AZ. Glendale Energy LLC, an affiliate of Illinois-based Sexton Energy, owns and operates the plant. Under a long-term power purchase agreement, they are selling the electricity produced to APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity utility that serves 1.1 million customers. It represents APS's first biogas project in its 245-megawatt renewable energy portfolio that also includes generation from solar, wind, geothermal and biomass...Read More »
Covanta Holding to Announce Fourth Quarter Results on Feb. 22
Covanta Holding Corp. said it will announce fourth quarter and year-end financial results on Monday, February 22. The company will host a conference call the following day at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) to discuss those results...Read More »
Stericycle to Announce Fourth Quarter Results on Feb. 3
Medical waste company Stericycle, Inc. said it will announce fourth quarter and year-end financial results at the close of the market on Feb. 4. The company will host a conference call that day at 5 p.m. (Eastern) to discus the results...Read More »
IESI-BFC Ltd. and Waste Services, Inc. to Report Financial Results on Feb. 23
IESI-BFC Ltd., formerly BFI Canada, plans to announce fourth quarter and year-end financial results for 2009 on Tuesday, Feb. 23 after the close of the markets. At the same time, Waste Services, Inc. also plans to release its fourth quarter and year-end financial results. IESI-BFC Ltd. will host a conference call the following day at 8:30 a.m. to discuss those results and answer investor questions, while Waste Services, Inc. will do the same at 10 a.m. (Eastern).
In November, the two companies announced plans for IESI-BFC Ltd. to buy Waste Services, Inc. for $370 million in stock, creating the third-largest North American waste company with annual revenue of almost $1.5 billion...Read More »
Oshkosh Corp. Swings to First Quarter Profit
Specialty-vehicle maker Oshkosh Corp. swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit, on better than expected revenues and higher margins. The company, which makes waste collection trucks, and a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles, was able to trim costs by wide layoffs, output reductions and plant closures in response to the global economic downturn. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company posted a profit of $169.6 million, or $1.87 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $20.6 million, or 28 cents a share. Excluding impairment charges, earnings would have been $2.10 in the latest quarter. Revenue jumped 83% to $2.43 billion mostly due to increased demand for military vehicles...Read More »
American Ecology to Release 4th Quarter Results on Mar. 4
American Ecology Corp. said it will release fourth quarter and fiscal year-end financial results on Thursday, March 4 prior to the market opening. Management will host a conference call that morning at 10 a.m. (Eastern)...Read More »
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