Company News Round-Up: MWH, AECOM, Halsall, Parsons, SNC-Lavalin

MWH Canada is the independent engineer for the federal government overseeing the planned Muskrat Falls hydro project near Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador. A 175-page report by MWH on the Muskrat Falls project was released in April. It supports Nalcor’s planning and progress but questioned some aspects such as the size of the contingency budget. The project will bring hydropwer from the Muskrat Falls to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, involving overland transmission and subsea cables. It is being built by Nalcor, a Newfoundland crown corporation, and Emera Energy of Nova Scotia.

At AECOM, Harry Kim has joined the company as environment leader for Canada. Kim will be the regional senior vice-president and business leader for environment in Canada, and will be based at the Burnaby, B.C. office. He is a graduate in civil engineering from the University of Western Ontario and has worked in the consulting engineering sector for more than 30 years.

Halsall Associates has expanded its Vancouver office with three new people. Paul Creighton is now senior project principal with the restoration services team. He has 30 years’ experience in structures and building envelopes, across North America, the Caribbean and southeast Asia. Tom Locke is appointed project manager on the repair and renewal team. He has over 20 years’ experience, including at the City of Vancouver. Peter Easton joins the team as senior principal on the green building and energy services team. A graduate of the University of Liverpool, U.K., Easton was previously with Honeywell.

Parsons Corporation has obtained a U.S. patent for an environmental remediation technology. The NAPL-Away technology was developed to progress the remediation of light, non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) using enhanced natural anaerobic biodegradation. LNAPLs are often found in subsurface soil and groundwater at petroleum sites and they are expensive to treat or remove using traditional remediation methods. The NAPL-Away technology promotes natural biodegradation partly through nutritional supplements, and it can be applied on a large scale.

SNC-Lavalin in joint venture with AECON Atlantic Group has been awarded a $64.8 million contract to construct a new housing and training facility at Canadian Forces Base Halifax. The project for the Government of Canada involves building a 12-storey tower with 300 residence rooms, as well as dining and mess facilities. SNC-Lavalin previously did the environmental, geotechnical and engineering design for the project. Charles Chebl, executive vice-president for general construction with SNC-Lavalin said: “We are proud of our involvement in this project, which will help provide Canada’s military with modern, reliable and environmental friendly infrastructure to train their Junior Ranks and maintain operational readiness.”

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