Environmental

San Roque Multipurpose Project; Pangasinan Province, Philippines – Sigma updated the 15-year-old EIA for the 345-megawatt hydroelectric and irrigation project, which included a 200-meter high dam. Major issues addressed during the process included: sedimentation and downstream morphology, water quality, hydrology, impacts to flora and fauna, socioeconomic impacts, resettlement and compensation, cooperative monitoring with local stakeholders, capacity building, disaster preparedness planning, and integration of operations into the existing river system.

Boké Alumina Refinery Project; Guinea, West Africa – Sigma is preparing the EIA and RAP for a 2.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) greenfield alumina refinery. The project includes the refinery; a captive, 700-megawatt coal-fired CHP powerplant; a 50-meter high dam and water supply reservoir; a 1,000-family town expansion; new rail facilities; and new port facilities. The project will require the resettlement and compensation of more than 1,000 people. See BBC article on this work.

Bangor Soil Remediation ; Bangor, Maine, USA – Sigma specified and successfully implemented an on-site, cold-asphalt emulsification process for over 17,000 tons of soil to address contaminated soils and groundwater that threatened to contaminate drinking water wells for an entire neighborhood.

Danvers Site Remediation ; Danvers, Massachusetts, USA – On behalf of its client, Sigma managed the investigations, design, and implementation of a remediation system, including a horizontal recovery well to minimize impacts to ongoing operations, to address contamination that resulted from multiple sources over an extended period of time.

Site Investigations and Remediation ; Multiple Sites in New England, USA – In addition to the Bangor and Danvers projects noted above, Sigma has managed the regulatory closure of over 50 contaminated sites in the New England region through either assessment studies, passive monitoring, or active remediation. In each case, Sigma determines the most cost-effective approach given the client’s ultimate needs for the facility and regulatory requirements.

Petroleum Storage Tank Management ; New England, USA – Sigma managed the removal, replacement, upgrading, or repair of the petroleum storage tanks at over 1,000 facilities in New England since 1990, including the management of all of the environmental, regulatory, and other issues associated with the construction activities.

Allegheny Hydro Environmental Compliance ; Northwestern Pennsylvania, USA – Sigma managed the FERC license compliance issues associated with 4 hydroelectric projects on the Allegheny River for the first 10 years of operations. Significant issues included: determination of minimum bypass flows for dissolved oxygen, wetlands and dam stability purposes; quantification of and compensation for impingement/entrainment impacts; and economic and environmental analyses for possible dam modifications to increase height and generation.

Penntech Transmission Line ; Sigma successfully obtained all state and local environmental permits necessary to construct and operate a 56-mile electric transmission line stretching from northwestern Pennsylvania into southern New York.

NEES and GPU Due Diligence ; Northeastern USA – During the electric industry generation divestitures of NEES and GPU, Sigma performed the regulatory and environmental due diligence during all bid phases for a bidder interested in the hydroelectric projects.

Fiber Optic Cables ; Upstate, New York, USA – Sigma analyzed, selected, and obtained all necessary environmental permits for the construction and operation of fiber optic cables in upstate New York.

Albion Transmission Line ; Upstate, New York, USA – Sigma analyzed, selected, and obtained all necessary environmental permits for the construction and operation of a 115-kilovolt transmission line for a public utility in upstate New York.