L.R. Kimball

L.R. Kimball is proud to announce that Dave Minnear has been appointed to the Cambria County Solid Waste Management Authority Board.

L.R. Kimball is proud to announce that Dave Minnear has been appointed to the Cambria County Solid Waste Management Authority Board. His term began on August 1, 2012 and will continue until February 1, 2015.

 

Mr. Minnear is a professional engineer, licensed in five states. He has been employed by L.R. Kimball for 33 years and currently serves as a project manager specializing in solid waste and water resources projects. He has worked on a wide variety of projects including dam design and assessment, reclamation of abandoned mine lands, and municipal landfill and coal refuse disposal design and planning.

 

 

Mr. Minnear has coordinated the development of Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Plans for Westmoreland, Fayette and Lehigh Counties, as well as a 5-County Regional Plan for Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Snyder and Union Counties.  He is currently involved with the Plan development for Monroe County, as well as a variety of solid waste projects for compost site permitting, assessment of waste transfer and recycling centers, and evaluation of garbage collection methods.

 

Mr. Minnear won the 2001 Governor's Award for Watershed Stewardship for the Upper Schuylkill River Project. He is a member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, the Society of American Military Engineers, the Solid Waste Association of North America, and the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania.

 

The Cambria County Solid Waste Authority, established in 1979 as an administrative arm of the county government, is responsible for implementing the county's Municipal Waste Management Plan. The county commissioners authorized the organization of the authority with the stated purpose of planning and regulating the storage, collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of solid waste in Cambria County.

L.R. Kimball VP Chairing Solid Waste Advisory Committee

L.R. Kimball, Vice President, Business Development, Tanya McCoy-Caretti, was recently elected to chair the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Advisory Committee.

The SWAC provides administration and regulatory guidance to the governor on all hazardous, residual and municipal waste issues in the state. Tanya has been a member of the committee since the Tom Ridge administration and was recently reappointed by Governor Tom Corbett. Under her leadership, the SWAC will focus on Pennsylvania’s Hazardous Waste Management report; amendments to the state’s regulated medical waste; adopting a spending plan to support state recycling programs and county waste planning efforts; and regulatory, permit and guidance documents that govern drilling activities within the Marcellus play.

Tanya has worked for L.R. Kimball for more than six years, using her vast experience in solid waste management to assist local, county and state government entities.

Marcellus Shale Economic Impact is Hot Topic for PA Legislators

L.R. Kimball Staff Members Speak to Pennsylvania Legislature About Marcellus Shale Economic Impact

In early June, L.R. Kimball Vice Presidents for Business Development, Dave French and Tanya McCoy-Caretti testified at a public hearing on the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.  The hearing was held in South Park, PA, and was sponsored by the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee.  Opening remarks were made by State Representative Scott Hutchinson of Jefferson County, the Committee Chairman. 

According to Rep. Hutchinson the hearing was held as part of an effort by state lawmakers to gather up-to-date information about the variety of effects the growing Marcellus Shale drilling industry has on communities in Pennsylvania. 

French and McCoy-Caretti spoke about how Marcellus Shale exploration and drilling could affect businesses that are not directly tied to the oil and gas industry, such as municipalities and local governments, airports, developers and transportation agencies.  Presentations were also given by the Penn State University Cooperative Extension Office, Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association, Allegheny County Health Department and H20 Resources, Inc.

L.R. Kimball VP Receives Honorary Doctorate Degree

Charles (Chuck) Pryor, Vice President, Business Development, was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the California University of Pennsylvania graduation on May 7, 2011. Chuck was honored by University President Dr. Angelo Armenti, Jr. for his 40 years of service to the University and his distinguished 37 years career in the construction and architectural/engineering industry.

 
 
Chuck has been with L.R. Kimball for the past 10 years and has been recognized as one of the company’s top talent by earning “Eagle Squadron” recognition in 2008. He specializes in public assembly, sports, higher education, federal, correctional, land development, transportation and civil/environmental projects. L.R. Kimball has partnered with the University on numerous projects including the $60 million, 6000-seat Convocation Center scheduled to open this fall.

A 1973 graduate of California University, Chuck earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts while playing baseball for the Vulcans. He won three varsity letters and was named captain of the 1973 baseball team. He and his wife Marianne Finley Pryor ‘72 ’73 support the Pryor-Finley Family Athletic Scholarship, “paying it forward” by providing scholarships for deserving student-athletes.

Chuck joined the board of directors for the Foundation for California University of Pennsylvania in 1989. He served as a member and Vice President until 1997, when he began a four-year term as Foundation President.    

In addition, Chuck has served the community as chairman of the board for the Private Industry Council of Washington, Pa; vice chairman of the board for the Pitt Ambassadors; board member for Community Action South West, the Greater Washington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Master Builders Association of Western Pa.; Joint Apprenticeship Committee; and former member of the California State College Athletic Council.

Congratulations, Chuck! 

The Albatross of Marcellus Shale Drilling

by... Scott Roberts

When I was in seventh grade, I read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.   More precisely, my seventh grade English teacher made me read it.    Poems from the late 1700’s are rarely the reading of choice for 12 year old boys.    But, since I still remember it 45 years later, I’ll give that teacher kudos for making me read it.  If you haven’t read it, you still may know of it.  Two of Taylor’s creations are familiar to this day --and both come to mind as I read news stories about Pennsylvania and the development of the Marcellus Shale.  They are the verse ‘Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink’ (I learned the hard way that the correct word is ‘nor’ vs. ‘not’) and the cliché of having an albatross hung around ones neck.

Coleridge’s Mariner kills an albatross and his shipmates -- believing he killed their good luck charm-- hang the bird’s corpse around the mariner’s neck.  Rhetorically, the opponents of Marcellus development hang the orange water of Pennsylvania’s historic mine drainage problem around the neck of the modern gas industry.  Recently the media has been reporting concerns from stakeholders such as this one: "Everybody testifies there's never been an incident [of drinking water contaminated by fracking] but we haven't done it in this geology, and it's not 25 years from now. Nobody had ever found acid mine drainage in the first 25 years of coal-mining, either. Some of this stuff takes time."  This argument is, like the albatross -- just superstition. 

Mine drainage is the result of a naturally occurring chemical weathering process, the oxidation of pyrite.  Early settlers in Western Pennsylvania named plenty of places ‘Yellow Creek’, ‘Redstone’ and ‘Sulfur Run’.  When rock is broken, as it by mining but also by any kind of earth moving including road construction (remember I-99) or landslides, exponentially more surface area is exposed to weathering.  When the rock contains pyrite, then it is the pyrite that is attacked; and to compound matters, a bug called Thiobaccillius Ferroxidans, will make the rubble its home and catalyze the reaction.  The oxidation of pyrite releases energy versus consuming it (known as an exothermic reaction), so once it starts, it keeps going on all by itself. 

In contrast is Pennsylvania’s historic oil and gas industry.  Go ahead and Google old photos from Titusville and Oil City.  And look closely at them.  You’ll see oil and brines flowing away from the wells into the region’s rivers.  Then, Google photographs of Drake Well State Park or other places in the region today.  They’re green, lush, and full of wildlife and home to many Pennsylvanians.  The old time pollution was not cleaned by industry, nor by the local citizens, nor by some government agency.  Instead, it was, (completely the opposite to the formation of mine drainage) naturally remediated by chemical weathering processes.  Since the exploration and production of oil and gas doesn’t unleash a self-perpetuating chemical reaction, any pollution created is finite. 

While I remember ‘Rime’ it is far from my favorite poem—which is Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’.  The albatross reminds me of the verse in ‘If’ about truth being ‘…twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools…’   It’s time we lift the rhetoric off from the neck of this debate, and start talking facts.  

5K Challenge Raises $2,000 for Red Cross

Last Saturday, L.R. Kimball held the 3rd Annual L.R. Kimball 5K Challenge at our Ebensburg office.  Nearly 100 runners participated, raising $2,000 to benefit the American Red Cross and raising the total amount donated to deserving non-profit groups to $11,000 in three years. 

A giant "Thank you!" to everyone who participated or made a donation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panel On New Statewide 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines to be Held at NENA 2011

Members and staff of the National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines Workgroup (NAGWG) and Laurie Flaherty of the USDOT will accept live feedback on the new National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines at next week's National NENA in Minneapolis, MN on Monday, June 20 at 1:30 PM.

During the panel discussion, Guidelines for Statewide 9-1-1 System Assessments: Coming to a State Near You, attendees will learn about the process and progress of the Guideline's efforts to advance 9-1-1 throughout the country as well as their thoughts, first impressions and concerns with the panel. The panel presentation coincides with the release of the Guidelines for public comment and all feedback released will be considered by NAGWG prior to submission of the final guidelines.

While the 9-1-1 industry has made significant progress in the advancement of technology for the betterment of 9-1-1 across the country, there is no comprehensive benchmark for State 9-1-1 authorities to measure the progress and status of a state's 9-1-1 system. It is the NAGWG's mission to establish that benchmark.

The guidelines are the result of a project of the 9-1-1 Resource Center, sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, National 9-1-1 Program to develop consensus-based universal guidelines to serve as the basis for a 9-1-1 statewide program assessment process.

Construction Specification: Five Things You Should Know About the Intent of Construction Documents

Blog post by Dennis Buirge on June 6, 2011

As a general rule, a typical Owner/Architect agreement divides the project design work scope into 5 phases with the following corresponding percentages as part of the total remuneration: schematic design (SD) - 15%; design development (DD) - 20%; construction documentation (CD) - 40%; bidding - 5%; and construction administration (CA) - 20%. 

It is in the construction documentation phase that various project documents are synthesized and finalized for bidding. Most documents used by the Contractor fall in the bidding and construction work phases; documents used in these two phases, in most cases, are not the same. Understanding the various documents for technical accuracy and related nomenclature are therefore important when preparing a deliverable to the Owner.

The 3 P's of Cyber Security for 9-1-1: Planning, Procedures and Policies

Blog post by Monique Lewis and Lori Kleckner on May 26, 2011

Our work in cyber security often finds us assessing a Public Safety Answering Point’s (PSAP) readiness to comply with the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA’s) Security for Next Generation 9-1-1 Standard (NG-SEC). 

Over the past year, we’ve looked at a variety of PSAPs across the country and without divulging specific private information related to a client, we’ve taken note of several small steps many PSAPs could take to improve their readiness for a cyber security breach. One of these areas is related to security plans and policies.

NENA’s NG-SEC standard and the NG-SEC Audit Checklist is a great starting point for developing security plans and policies. The general areas covered by NG-SEC include

• security policies
• information classification and protection
• general security
• safeguarding information assets
• physical security guidelines
• network and remote access security guidelines
• change control and documentation
• compliance audits and reviews
• exception approval and risk acceptance process
• incident response and planning.

Although many PSAPs have processes in place, the amount of formal documentation they have is very limited. Quite often, written plans, policies, and procedures are lacking, creating inconsistencies that allow for dangerous gaps in security.

How Will Social Media Change the Architecture and Engineering Industry?

by Mike Pappas on May 16, 2011

I have a problem. I am standing in the middle of a construction site and I need to talk to my structural and electrical designers right NOW regarding a conflict between the pile cap and the desired path of the main electrical conduit running sub-grade through the building. The contractor has an army of workers waiting for an answer and time is money. The owner’s rep is standing nearby and wants to know what I am going to do.

The typical solution to this common occurrence is to tell the contractor that you need to communicate with the structural engineer and using photos and a personal description you will be able to answer in a couple days. If you’re Building-Modeling savvy, you could consult the model on your laptop to help form the question to the team, but the model is being built right in front of you and the team has a problem. Standing there you know that the electrical designer would be gone by the time you got back to the office and won’t be returning for 3 days.

How about this for a solution? Take a photo of the offending pile cap and from your 4G phone, upload to Twitter and send a Tweet to your team that the photo is there with “we have a conflict please call my company cell to discuss ASAP.”