EnviroPolitics
A daily compendium of environmental and political information
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EnviroBusiness News…. June, 2006

Alcoa buys out minority partners at smelters Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. said it's buying
out the interests of the minority owners of two smelters. Alcoa said it bought out the minority
interests of affiliates of both Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and YKK Corp. in smelters in Ferndale in
Washington state, and Frederick, Md., for "undisclosed cash consideration"
Pittsburgh Business Times  6/30/2006

Wire company wins $1M competition A woman-owned metal wire business in New Jersey
yesterday won a national competition whose prize is access to $1 million in expansion capital.
Danielle Dupuis plans to use the money to expand Century Wire Products, in Washington Twp.,
Warren County, into markets in South America. Her company makes lashing wire for cable
and telecommunications installations Star-Ledger  6/30/2006

PPG to buy Ameron coatings unit PPG Industries Inc. said it will pay roughly $115M,
plus working capital adjustment, for the coatings business of Ameron International Corp.
Pittsburgh-based PPG (NYSE:PPG) said the deal with Ameron (NYSE:AMN) of Pasadena,
CA, is expected to close within 45 days. PPG said the deal expands its protective coatings--
such as automotive paints -- business into Europe and Australia, and said it will enable the
company to participate in the marine coatings market. Ameron's coatings unit employs about
700 people and had sales of about $210M in 2005. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/29/2006

Novelis announces aluminum can recycling rate Novelis Inc., Atlanta, announces
that it recycled nearly a million metric tons of post-consumer and post-industrial aluminum
scrap in 2005, including more than 35 billion used beverage cans (UBCs). Novelis sources
recycled metal from post-consumer products, primarily beverage cans, as well as post-
industrial scrap from its customers’ manufacturing operations. Scrap recovered within
Novelis’ own operations is not included in the company’s calculations of recycled metal.
News release 6/28/2006

Chemical maker opens lab in Bucks County, PA Rhodia Inc., a chemical
manufacturer formerly located in New Jersey, opened operations in Bucks County,
PA. on Monday, bringing 89 new jobs. The global specialty-chemicals company
relocated its laboratories to the Bridge Business Center in Bristol.
Philadelphia Business Journal  6/27/2006 

J&J to use Pfizer's New Jersey campus Pfizer plans to share its 175-acre Morris Plains,
NJ campus with Johnson & Johnson, as part of a $16.6B acquisition deal announced
yesterday. The unusual land-sharing agreement by the world's two largest pharmaceutical
companies bodes well for employment and commercial real estate in the area, since it lessens
the threat that the facilities will end up vacant or under-used, according to several observers
Star-Ledger  6/27/2006

Calgon Carbon lands Taiwan contract The Pittsburgh area's Calgon Carbon Corp. has
secured a contract to supply 3.2M pounds of granular activated carbon to a water company
in Taiwan. Calgon Carbon (NYSE:CCC) spokeswoman Gail Gerono said terms of the sale
would not be disclosed, at the request of the customer, Tong Hsin Water Business Inc.
Pittsburgh Business Times  6/26/2006

Penn arboretum gets state grant The University of Pennsylvania's Morris Arboretum said
Friday it has received a $4.65 million grant from the state of Pennsylvania to build a new
horticulture center at its Bloomfield Farm. The grant was announced by Gov. Ed Rendell at the
arboretum's annual fundraiser earlier this month and launches the public phase of the arboretum's
fundraising campaign for the building, which it expects to have completed by 2009. The arboretum
estimates the center will cost $10M and wants to raise an additional $2M for an endowment for it.
Philadelphia Business Journal  6/26/2006

Foster Wheeler wins contract in India for design of world's largest delayed coker
Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that its subsidiary Foster Wheeler USA
Corporation, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded a contract
for a new eight-drum delayed coking unit to be installed as part of the Jamnagar Export Refinery
Project at the Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat State, India, where
Reliance Group's first refinery was also built and has been operating since 1998. The project will
approximately double the Reliance Group's crude refining capacity. The new refinery will be the
largest single stream petroleum refinery in the world. Foster Wheeler's scope includes process
and detailed engineering for the new coker, which is expected to commence operations in 2008.
 Foster Wheeler also designed Reliance's first refinery's existing eight-drum coker, which is the
world's largest operating coker and started up in 1998. Foster Wheeler is based in Hamilton,
Bermuda, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, NJ News release 6/26/2006

Aqua America subsidiary settles for smaller rate increase Typical Aqua Pennsylvania Inc.
customers in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and 20 other Pennsylvania counties will see
their annual water bills increase to $495 -- an increase of $40 -- under a settlement approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. The settlement was between Aqua Pennsylvania and parties
that objected to the company's original rate proposal, which would have boosted the average customer's
annual bill to about $520. The parties that objected included the state's Consumer Advocate, Small
Business Advocate, municipalities and customers. Philadelphia Business Journal 6/23/2006

Linn pays $30M for West Virginia energy properties Linn Energy LLC said it paid $30M
for three oil and natural gas properties in West Virginia, and a natural gas pipeline in Western
Pennsylvania. The Mount Lebanon, PA-based natural gas company (NASDAQ: LINE) also said
its lenders increased its borrowing base under a $400M secured revolving credit facility to $265M
from $235M. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/22/2006  

CONSOL to supply coal to FirstEnergy CONSOL Energy Inc. said it would supply more than
128M tons of high-BTU coal to FirstEnergy Corp. over 20 years, starting in 2009. Under the new
agreement, which replaces one that began in 2003, CONSOL will increase coal shipments by 2M
tons per year to provide coal for FirstEnergy's Bruce Mansfield Plant in Shippingport, Penn., as well
as other power plants. Pittsburgh Business Times  6/22/2006

$16B expansion plan to hike NRG's capacity NRG Energy said yesterday it will spend
$16B during 10 years to boost electricity-generating capacity for the country's most energy-hungry
regions, including the Northeast. The Princeton, NJ company said the expansion will boost its
generating capacity 46 percent. NRG is known in its industry as a merchant power generator, which
means it operates power plants and sells the electricity to utility companies that ultimately sell power
to consumers and business customers. Star-Ledger 6/22/2006

PA energy firm gets $117M in funding A mining and gas drilling company announced Tuesday
that it has received $117M in funding to expand its business. Targe Energy, an Aspinwall, PA.-based
surface coal mining, gas drilling and coal reclamation company, received the bulk of the funding from
the New York-based Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund III, L.P. Targe operates surface
mines in Northern Appalachia. Carlyle/Riverstone provided $100 million of Targe's expansion equity;
the other $17.5M came from various minority investors and management. Carlyle/Riverstone is co-owned
by Riverstone Holdings LLC and the Carlyle Group. Riverstone conducts buyouts and capital investments
in the energy industry. To date, Riverstone has committed $2B in energy investments. The Carlyle Group,| based in New York City, is a global private equity firm with $35B under management. According to Targe,
the $117M in new investments will allow the company to expand its coal and waste coal businesses
and to drill for coal bed methane in the Appalachian Basin. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/21/2006

Wind farm company with local NY ambitions gets Texas project funded The Irish company
that wants to build a 40 to 50 megawatt wind farm in northern Saratoga County, NY is getting $120M
GE Energy Financial Services and two other backers for a similar project in West Texas. Fortis Capital
and Wells Fargo will join with GE Energy Financial Services in project equity support for the 125 mw
wind farm Airtricity has under construction in Forest Creek TX. Work on the project began in April and
is due to be completed by the end of the year. Airtricity, of Dublin, announced plans in 2005 to invest
$1.5B in the U.S. electricity market. The company wants to spend $80-$90M to put 25 wind turbines
on Kayderossas Ridge in Greenfield, NY. The Business Review (Albany)  6/21/2006

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BP, DuPont expect to begin selling biofuel starting next year BP P.L.C., Europe's biggest
oil company, and DuPont Co., the Wilmington chemical-maker, said they expected to sell their first
biofuels starting next year, cutting vehicle emissions partly blamed for global climate change. The
venture will first produce biobutanol, the companies said in a statement. BP and DuPont are working
with British Sugar to build the plant, which will make biobutanol, an additive that can be easily blended
with existing fuels.- Bloomberg News

New CFO for Allegheny Energy Allegheny Energy Inc. said CFO Jeff Serkes is leaving the
company, effective July 7, and named Philip Goulding to replace him. The Greensburg, PA.-based
electric utility (NYSE:AYE) said it was the 47-year-old Serkes' decision to resign, and attributed it
to a "desire to return to his family and home in Connecticut." Pittsburgh Business Times 9/20/2006

New owner for former BASF site in NJ BASF's former U.S. headquarters in Morris County,
New Jersey,  a campus with nearly 1 million square feet of vacant office space, was purchased
Friday by a company that wants to fill it with up to four large tenants. The German chemical giant
moved out of the Mount Olive, NJ complex about two years ago, saying the headquarters, which
can accommodate 3,000 employees, was simply too large. BASF moved its operations to
Florham Park, NJ. It could be leased to a single tenant or divided to accommodate up to four
tenants, said Robert Donnelly Jr. associate director for Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan
Area Capital Markets Group, which helped broker the deal. The 97-acre site includes five
interconnected buildings constructed in 1994 and 1998. The property is part of the International
Trade Center, a 680-acre corporate park off Route 80 that is home to BMW, Coty, Federal
Express and Seiko, among others. Bergen Record 6/20/2006

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Exelon and PSEG provide merger update Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) and
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE: PEG) announced today that they
are continuing their efforts to obtain approval of their proposed merger before the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). Under the
Exelon/PSEG Merger Agreement, either party has the option to terminate the transaction
without penalty at any time after June 20, 2006. However, both companies will continue
their efforts to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals.  Neither Exelon nor PSEG has
taken any action to terminate the Merger Agreement or extend the June 20, 2006 date
in the Merger Agreement. Press release  6/19/2006

Mirant dropped NRG bid over shareholder pressure Mirant said pressure from
shareholders contributed to its decision to drop its bid for fellow power producer NRG Energy
and said it isn't considering other acquisitions. Star-Ledger 6/18/2006

Reed Smith, Richards Butler partners OK merger Partners at Reed Smith LLP and
Richards Butler overwhelmingly approved the merger of the two law firms, a transaction that
will rank it among the 20 largest firms in the world with more than 1,300 lawyers. The deal will
give Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith offices in Greece and the Middle East. Richards Butler is
based in London, a market Reed Smith entered five years ago, thus making that city home to
 the largest concentration of the firm's lawyers. Pittsburgh Business Times  6/15/2006

U.S. Filter involved in Israeli water deal U.S. Filter will play a key role in an agreement
signed Thursday between parent company Siemens AG and Israel's national water company
Mekorot. U.S. Filter, based in Warrendale, PA., and with annual sales of more than $1.2B,
will work with the Israeli company on water treatment solutions for countries located in arid
regions. Pittsburgh Business Journal 6/15/2006

Foster Wheeler awarded pulverized-coal boiler contract Foster Wheeler Ltd. announced
today that Foster Wheeler North America Corp., an operating unit of its Global Power Group,
has been awarded a contract for a pulverized-coal (PC) boiler by Salt River Project Agricultural
Improvement and Power District (SRP). The contract, valued in excess of $65M, calls for Foster
Wheeler to design and supply a 400 megawatt PC boiler for the Springerville Generating
Station in Arizona. The unit will be owned by SRP and operated by Tucson Electric. The award
will be included in Foster Wheeler's second-quarter 2006 bookings. This is the second boiler
supplied by Foster Wheeler for the Springerville Generating Station. The previous 400 MWe boiler,
supplied to an ownership team including SRP, is currently in the start-up phase. News release
6/14/2006

New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont form dairy cooperative New York state Agriculture
Commissioner Patrick Brennan and his counterparts in Pennsylvania and Vermont have entered
into an agreement to work cooperatively to enhance the dairy industries in all three states. The
three states together make up one of the country's major milk producing regions. Collectively,
they produce over 25 billion pounds of milk annually, nearly 15 percent of the nation's total milk
supply. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/14/2006

Kushner Cos. evaluating $2B purchase bid When Charles Kushner returns to work
in September, he may have plenty of cash to spend. Alan Hammer, acting chairman of
Kushner Cos., confirmed yesterday the Florham Park, NJ-based real estate empire is
considering numerous bids valued at more than $2B for its portfolio of rental apartments
Star-Ledger Bergen Record 6/13/2006

BASF to form global unit in New Jersey German chemical company BASF
plans to form a global catalyst division in New Jersey as it di gests its $5.6B acquisition
of Iselin, NJ-based Engelhard, BASF executives said. The lo cation of the headquarters
will be at a yet-to-be-determined site, and the company will maintain research and
development labs in the state, said Klaus Peter Lobbe, chief executive of BASF in
Florham Park, NJ, the North American unit of the world's largest chemical company.
The labs and Engelhard's former headquarters are in Iselin. Star-Ledger 9/13/2006

PDG Environmental deals worth about $8M PDG Environmental Inc. said it
has secured about $8M in lead and asbestos cleanup projects, including one from the
New York City. The mold remediation and environmental contractor (OTCBB: PDGE),
based outside Pittsburgh, said the deal with the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation & Development is valued at $5.4M, and is for lead abatement services within
the five boroughs. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/12/2006

Kennametal closes on sale of J & L Kennametal Inc. said it closed on the deal
to sell its J & L Industrial Supply business for $349.5M to MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc.
Latrobe, PA.-based Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) said it plans to use some of the money from
the sale for stock buybacks and debt reduction. The sale to Melville, N.Y.-based MSC
Industrial Direct is part of Kennametal's overall strategy to divest itself of companies that
distribute industrial tools and concentrate more on manufacturing those tools. Kennametal
manufactures a variety of tools used in mining, forestry, agriculture, metal working and other
applications. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/9/2006

NYC energy conference to feature DayStar CEO DayStar Technologies Inc.
chairman and CEO John Tuttle is a featured speaker at the Thomas Weisel Partners' Alternative
Energy Conference June 15 at 390 Park Ave in New York City. DayStar, based in Halfmoon, NY,
makes flexible solar cells. Tuttle will discuss the company's technology and manufacturing
strategy. The presentation will be available by Web cast and can be accessed the day of the
conference. Business Review (Albany)  6/9/2006

Foster Wheeler awarded contract for refinery revamp in Lithuania
Foster Wheeler Ltd. announced today that Milan-based Foster Wheeler Italiana S.p.A., part
of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, signed a contract on May 8, 2006 for the
revamp of AB Mazeikiu Nafta's refinery in the Republic of Lithuania, the only refinery in the
Baltic states. This revamp forms part of a comprehensive modernization program which will
enable the refinery to meet future European Union fuel quality specifications. The terms of the
award were not disclosed and the contract will be included in Foster Wheeler's second-quarter
2006 bookings. The corporation is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its operational
headquarters are in Clinton, NJ. News release 6/8/2006

BASF keeps racking up Engelhard's shares German chemical giant BASF said
yesterday its has received 89 percent of Engelhard's outstanding shares and its $5B takeover
of the company is moving forward. BASF said about 110.5M shares had been tendered as
of yesterday. Iselin, NJ-based Engelhard agreed to the takeover offer by BASF on May 30
after the German company sweetened its offer to $39 a share from the initial $37 it offered
 when it began the bid in January Star-Ledger 6/7/2006

New electricity plant harvests landfill gases The $6 million landfill-gas-to-electricity
plant Innovative Energy Systems built at the Town of Colonie, NY's landfill was officially opened
Tuesday by Town Supervisor Mary Brizzell and New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority President Peter Smith. The 4.8 megawatt plant built and operated by the Oakfield, NY,
energy company, uses gas emissions from the town landfill on Loudon Road to power three turbines.
The electricity is sold into the day-ahead energy market operated by the New York Independent
System Operator and is enough to run about 2,300 homes.
The Business Review (Albany)  6/6/2006

Supply of unsold homes up 71 percent in a year across NJ Buying a house
in New Jersey this spring? You've got a lot more choices than buyers have had in recent
years, according to a new report from an appraiser who tracks the housing market. 
Bergen Record 6/6/2006

Biodiesel producer promotes use of fuel in government vehicles When
Pittsburgh, PA-based United Oil Co. noticed its sales of industrial lubricants to the steel and
aluminum industries were slowing, it decided to expand its product base into an emerging
market: biodiesel. "Compared to 10 or 15 years ago, the steel industry has experienced a lot
of consolidation and is downsizing overall output," president Charles Cross said. "...Meanwhile,
biodiesel is a high-growth market." Now, the small 100-year-old company is the only biodiesel
producer in southwestern Pennsylvania and has an annual production capacity of about 2 million
gallons. And with the support of state government, Cross hopes to convince local government
officials to use the fuel. Pittsburgh Business Times 6/5/2006

$15M puts solar-cell company on track to meet manufacturing goals A $15M deal
will put part of DayStar Technologies Inc. into the hands of a hedge fund based in the British
Virgin Islands. Castlerigg Master Investments Ltd. purchased from DayStar a note and warrants
on 782,609 shares of common stock (Nasdaq: DSTI), or about 12 percent of the shares outstanding.
The note is convertible into more stock. Steven Aanderud, chief financial officer of DayStar, said
the Halfmoon, NY-based solar-cell manufacturer plans to complete that conversion within a year.
 The Business Review (Albany) 6/5/2006

Saul Ewing attorneys recognized for excellence Sixteen partners from
Saul Ewing LLP have received the high honor of being recognized for legal
excellence and client service by Chambers USA 2006: America’s Leading
Lawyers for Business. Attorneys in the Philadelphia office named in the
prestigious list are Stephen S. Aichele, and Frederick D. Strober of the Real
Estate Department; Carl B. Everett of the Environmental Department; Joseph F.
O’Dea, Jr., and John F. Stoviak of the Litigation Department. 6/2/2006

PSEG Global completes sale of plants in Poland Receives approval
to sell ownership in Rio Grande Energia in Brazil News release 6/2/2006

Philadelphia law firms make top 200 Four Philadelphia firms qualified for
the AmLaw 200, a list of the nation's highest-grossing law firms published annually by
the American Lawyer magazine. The first half of the list, published last month, included
seven Philadelphia firms which were among the 100 highest grossing firms. The second
half, published Thursday, includes firms ranked between 101 and 200. Firms are ranked
by 2005 gross revenue. Philadelphia Business Journal 6/1/2006

Green Island Power Authority dealt hydropower setback
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected the Green Island Power Authority's
latest effort to win the rights to develop hydroelectric power at the Cohoes Falls in Cohoes, N.Y.
The authority, which wants to replace 90-year old power station owned by Canada-based
Brookfield Power with a 100-megawatt facility, had proposed on May 15 that it pay up to
$9M to Brookfield to take over the rights to the falls. Green Island Power Authority officials
had hoped the offer to pay for the station, and to allow Brookfield to generate power for 18
months while construction on the new system moved ahead, would convince FERC to
consider the offer. The Business Review (Albany) 6/1/2006

LeFraks envision even bigger skyline across Hudson

                                                                                                         James Estrin/The New York Times
Standing atop a condominium tower under construction at the Newport complex in
Jersey City, Richard LeFrak looked south at a forest of green-glass commercial towers
and brick residential buildings that seem to leap from the waterfront. His family and
their partner built them, 20 in all. Although the LeFraks cannot lay claim to the tallest
tower (the 800-foot Goldman Sachs building at Paulus Hook), they have built more
than a third of the high-rise skyline that has grown up along Jersey City's once
dilapidated waterfront. And today, exactly 20 years after his father, Sam, embarked
on a seemingly quixotic bid to transform these rusty old railroad yards into Newport,
Mr. LeFrak is announcing plans for another hotel and four more apartment towers.
New York Times  6/1/2006

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Previous months:
Enviro-Business - May 2006
Enviro-Business - April 2006
Enviro-Business - March 2006
Enviro-Business - February 2006
Enviro-Business - January 2006

Try a free, 30-day, trial subscription to EnviroPolitics
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