U.S Virgin Islands Government Signs Historic Agreement to Develop Territory's First Alternative Energy Facilities 
GBB Assisted with Due Diligence and Negotiations for $440M Projects

Over the past few months, GBB provided expertise, as a subcontractor to the Maguire Group, to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (VIWMA) with due diligence review of waste-to-energy proposals and assistance in negotiations for Solid Waste Management Service Contracts for St. Thomas and St. Croix.

As a result, on August 10, 2009, Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. announced that the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) had just signed two 20-year Power Purchase Agreements, and the VIWMA had signed two 20-year Solid Waste Management Services Agreements with affiliates of Denver-based Alpine Energy Group, LLC to build, own, and operate two alternative energy facilities that will serve the residents of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas. The alternative energy facilities, to be built on St. Croix and St. Thomas, have a projected cost of $440 million and will convert an estimated 146,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) using WastAway Services® technology, which will be combined with petroleum coke as fuel in fluidized bed combustion facilities to generate steam and electric power.

"This procurement is a significant achievement for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and when the projects are fully implemented, they will allow the Territory to reduce its dependence on oil, recover the energy value and certain recyclable materials from its municipal solid waste, and divert this waste from landfill," said Bob Brickner, GBB Executive Vice President. "These are sustainable projects that will help to provide long-term cost stability for electric power and solid waste management in the Territory," noted Tim Bratton, GBB Senior Vice President.

GBB helped to evaluate the projects, advising VIWMA on the needs and issues of the projects, and provided negotiations support relative to technical and business elements of the service contracts. The projects will provide 33 MW of electric power to St. Thomas and St. John and 16 MW of electric power to St. Croix. Construction is expected to start in spring 2010 with an anticipated completion date during the fourth quarter of 2012.

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GBB Article

The May edition of Recycling Today features an article by Bob Brickner, GBB Executive Vice President, and Mike Czuprenski, Operations Manager for the Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority (SOCRRA), on the economic impact of scavenging on SOCRRA.

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In a Court Order dated March 17, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood appointed GBB to be Receiver with full responsibility for bringing the Guam Solid Waste Management Division into compliance with the 2004 Consent Decree for violation of the Clean Water Act. The latest information about the receivership is available at: www.GuamSolidWasteReceiver.org

Letter of Intent Executed with Military
The Court, in its Order of July 15, 2009, directed that the Government of Guam "use its best efforts to execute the Letter of Intent with the military by close of business on July 17, 2009." Governor Camacho and Attorney General Limtiaco met with the Receiver on July 17, 2009, and executed the Letter of Intent. Given the transition in Navy leadership that occurred during that week, it was July 27, 2009, when the Navy completed execution of the document. As a potential customer of the new system, the Military’s participation to the long-term stability of the System’s rates is significant.

Important Layon Landfill Milestone: Letter of Technical
Adequacy from GEPA
This Final Design permit package was completed on August 5, 2009, and is the primary supporting document of the Solid Waste Facility Permit package, providing all the systems for Cells 1 and 2 at the facility. On August 6, 2009, the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA) and U.S. EPA’s (EPA) deemed this design package to be technically adequate because it addressed the issues and concerns cited in the March 19, 2009 GEPA comment letter and subsequent GEPA comments.

Layon Landfill Access Roads and Utilities
On September 28, 2009, the Receiver announced an intent to award a contract to Guam-based Core Tech International for Layon Landfill access road construction, upgrades to area roads and utility improvements. The contract, in the amount of $26.8 million, provides for the following work:  2.0 miles of a new two-lane undivided, secondary roadway with 12-foot wide driving lanes; 1.3 miles of improvements to Dandan Road for safety and load capacity; 6.4 miles of sewer lines with two pump stations; power, water, and cable utility improvements along Dandan Road and the new access road; and turning lane improvements along Route 4 at the intersection with Dandan Road.

Construction of Landfill Operations Road and Earthwork
Activities
During the quarter ending September 30, 2009, progress in the construction of the landfill operations road and earthwork was significantly slowed due to wet weather conditions. As of September 30, the contractor was eight days beyond the 210-day contract period. Based primarily on delays due to adverse weather conditions, a revised completion date of November 25, 2009 can be justified under the contract. The contractor, however, believes that it may be as late as early February in 2010 when their work is completed.

Customer Service System Pilot
The SWMD initiated a pilot test of the customer service system, registration process, and cart delivery for the Village of Umatac, beginning Monday, September 21, 2009. The purpose of the pilot program was to address any problems that might occur before proceeding with the full registration drive.

Quarterly Report
On October 21, 2009, the Receiver submitted its sixth Quarterly Report to the U.S. District Court of Guam. View the complete report.

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