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Alpharetta, GA - MACTEC has been awarded a five-year contract by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to operate the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET), a nationwide ambient air quality and meteorological monitoring network. Allen Kibler, President of MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc., (www.mactec.com), made the announcement.

CASTNET consists of 84 monitoring stations at 82 locations nationwide and in Canada. EPA established CASTNET under a provision in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) to assess the effectiveness of the Acid Rain Program (ARP). CASTNET is sponsored by the EPA and the National Park Service (NPS). There are currently 59 EPA-sponsored CASTNET sites at 57 locations; 25 NPS-sponsored sites at 25 locations. NPS is responsible for protecting/enhancing air quality and related values in national parks and wilderness areas.

The various stations measure concentrations of sulfur and nitrogen pollutants and ozone to detect and quantify trends, define geographic distribution of rural pollutants, and estimate dry deposition of pollutants.

The stations also measure meteorological parameters such as temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction and surface wetness.

According to Gainesville Vice President/Office Manager Mark C. Diblin, P.G., this marks MACTEC's fourth consecutive five-year contract, value of which is estimated to be between $25-30 million at current operating levels.

"MACTEC has been operating CASTNET since 1987," said Diblin. "For the past two years we have also been working with EPA to upgrade the sites with new ozone analyzers, Internet-accessible data loggers, and enhanced communication equipment to allow for real-time monitoring of ozone and meteorological parameters."

SOURCE: MACTEC