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City of New York Awards Historic Environmental Contract to Clean Up Long Island Sound Using ThermoEnergy's Ammonia Recovery Process Technology LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 25, 2005— In a promising move to improve harbor water quality and increase the long-term recreational and marine environments within the Long Island Sound for the millions of people who reside along its shores, ThermoEnergy Corporation (OTC:TMEN) has been awarded an historic $7 million contract by the City of New York's Department of Environmental Protection to employ the company's ammonia-recovery process at the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant in Queens. The large-scale environmental project is a culmination of seven years of developing ThermoEnergy's patented Ammonia Recovery Process (ARP) technology to remove 90 percent of the ammonia in the liquid discharged from the wastewater treatment facility into the East River. It is considered a significant step in eliminating a major source of the harsh pollutants and high nitrogen levels that now suffocate the delicate marine ecosystems of both the Long Island Sound and Jamaica Bay. "Ammonia removal is fast becoming a critical regulatory issue for many municipal wastewater plants that discharge into vulnerable estuaries and waterways such as the Mississippi River, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound and Long Island Sound, where excess ammonia can lead to eutrophication, or 'dead zones'," said Dennis Cossey, CEO of ThermoEnergy Corporation. "ARP is not only the leading technology to solve the problem, it will save the ratepayers hundreds of millions in future disposal costs over age-old biological nitrogen reduction methods." Traditional ammonia removal methods that rely on biological organisms require large amounts of space, a wide array of chemicals (some of which are hazardous) and are prone to process upsets that take weeks or months to repair. In addition, they generate secondary wastes and other materials resulting in additional off-site disposal costs. ARP is the only ammonia removal technology that provides for the beneficial reuse of the recovered ammonia by converting it into ammonium-sulfate, a widely-used and consumer-ready fertilizer product. ThermoEnergy's ARP technology was successfully proven in a large-scale demonstration project at the City's Oakwood Beach wastewater plant on Staten Island in 2000. The recent Bowery Bay contract is a direct result of the Staten Island project, which was a joint effort between ThermoEnergy, the US EPA, the Civil Engineering Research Foundation and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection. "Historically, municipalities seek to answer two questions when searching for solutions to critical clean water issues such as eliminating ammonia discharge: does the process meet all regulatory requirements, and does it meet those requirements at the least possible cost? Based on these two criteria, ARP will be the technology of choice," added Cossey. This technology has received enthusiastic support from citizen groups that are concerned both for the environment and the costs of protecting it. Gene Flatow, who currently serves on the EPA-sponsored Harbor Estuary Program and chairs the Coalition for the Bight and the Board of the NYC Soil and Water Conservation District, has championed cost-effective innovations to protect both the environment and the limited resources available to the City. "I believe that New York City has been given too little credit for its efforts to clean the waters around the City," said Ms. Flatow. "Use of this technology is an important advance in the City's efforts to accomplish this goal. It shows a concern not only to the environment, but also the ratepayers who ultimately must pay for these improvements. I am confident that this will not only be critical for NYC meeting its obligations for the Long Island Sound, but also will be instrumental in solving the problems in Jamaica Bay." Founded in 1988, ThermoEnergy is an integrated technologies company that provides cost-effective and environmentally-responsible solutions for problems associated with industrial and municipal wastewater treatment and air emissions from power plants. ThermoEnergy's core business is the design, fabrication and operation of patented and/or proprietary municipal and industrial wastewater treatment and power generation technologies, including ThermoFuel, Ammonia Recovery Process (ARP) and ThermoEnergy Integrated Power System (TIPS). More information on ThermoEnergy and its technologies can be found online at www.thermoenergy.com. |
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