Employees of The Eastern Iowa Airport who are not represented by a union saw a little more money in their paycheck this month.

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission approved a 3 percent increase in pay for all non-bargaining unit employees, effective July 1. The increases are subject to performance reviews and management and commission personnel evaluations.

Non-bargaining unit employees of the airport did not receive pay raises in fiscal 2010 when the commission froze salaries due to the severe economic downturn and the need for budget reductions. The employees received a 2 percent cost-of-living increase when the City of Cedar Rapids adjusted pay grades on an across-the-board basis.

Airport employees will continue to pay 15 percent of the total monthly premium for either single or family health insurance coverage through Dec. 31. The contribution for the remainder of th fiscal year through June 30, 2011, will be determined at a later date by the commission.

For a single employee, the premium for the “traditional” health insurancwe plan is $90.90 per month and the family plan premium will be $216 per month. The “choice” plan will require employee monthly premiums of $28.75 for a single employee, $57.50 for an employee and their spouse, and $44.25 for an employee and their children.

Dental insurance is offered at no monthly cost to single employees and $58 for those with a family.

The new $38 million Armed Forces Reserve Center and Field Maintenance Shop under construction at 1500 Wright Brothers Blvd. SW will incorporate facilities for training and preparing today's soldiers and their families for overseas deployments. Opus Design Build of Minneapolis photos

CEDAR RAPIDS — In keeping with the impact that Iowa National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve deployments have on families, a new Armed Forces Reserve Center in Cedar Rapids will have rooms for their activities.

With a nod to the times, the 113,506-square-foot building also will incorporate blast-resistant design standards.

In addition, the $38 million complex under construction at 1500 Wright Brothers Blvd. SW will include a separate 60,000-square-foot field maintenance shop, The complex will have parking available for more than 600 vehicles.

The new Armed Forces Reserve Center and Field Maintenance Shop under construction at 1500 Wright Brothers Blvd. SW will have thick walls and other blast-resistant features to protect the facility from an explosion or forced entry.

Jeff Smith, director of construction in Iowa for general contractor Opus Design Build of Minneapolis, said the reserve center and maintenance shop are sorely needed to replace facilities in northeast and southwest Cedar Rapids built shortly after World War II.

“There are a number of things that the facility will provide to prepare the modern soldier for overseas deployment,” Smith said. “Computer and communications systems will be available throughout the facility.”

Grant Peterson, vice president of Opus Engineers and Architects in Minneapolis, said the Armed Forces Reserve Center will have repair and training facilities for radios and other communications devices.

“There are several facilities within the building focused on the families of reservists and National Guard, especially now that so many are being deployed,” he said. “It’s more of a holistic view of how to train and prepare a soldier and their family for deployment.”

Smith said the Armed Forces Reserve Center will include a 9,000-square-foot assembly hall, kitchens, classrooms, office space, a fitness facility and a weapons simulation area.

“It will offer target training inside that’s all laser-based, rather than ammunition-based,” he said. “The field maintenance shop will repair and maintain a wide variety of military vehicles from Humvees all the way up to what they call a HEMTT. That’s really a heavy transport truck that they use to move military supplies, equipment and people.”

Peterson said the state-of-the-art field maintenance shop will replace cramped, outdated quarters at the existing Iowa National Guard facility on 18th Street SW.

“We’ve entered a new era where deployments are becoming more common than they were 10 years ago,” he said. “We really need facilities equipped to handle today’s vehicles and expanded deployments.”]

Smith said site preparation is the focus of construction at the present time. He said the buildings should start “coming out of the ground” by the end of August.

“We are planning an open house toward the end of July for local subcontractors and the small business community,” Smith said. “We will make bid packages available to them and discuss bidding schedules. ”

Peterson said the “prairie-style” building will incorporate geothermal heating and cooling along with water conservation measures, highly insulated exterior wall and roofing systems and lighting controls.

“It also will have all the new Department of Defense blast protection requirements,” Smith said. “The exterior walls, glass and roof will be built to protect the building from a blast or forced entry.”

Peterson said construction should be completed and the buildings turned over to the U.S. Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard in September 2011.

The open house for bidding opportunities on the Armed Forces Reserve Center will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. July 26 at the Linn County Extension Office, 3279 7th Ave. in Marion.

Iowa will receive part of a $4 million settlement to resolve environmental violations by McWane, Inc., a cast iron pipe manufacturer.

McWane has operated Clow Valve Company and the Mitrisin Disposal Site, both in Oskaloosa.

The U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency released the following today about the settlement:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Justice Department, and the states of Alabama and Iowa announced that McWane Inc., a national cast iron pipe manufacturer headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve more than 400 violations of federal and state environmental laws. The settlement, filed in federal court today, covers 28 of McWane’s manufacturing facilities in 14 states and also requires the company to perform seven environmental projects valued at $9.1 million. 

“In addition to meeting its environmental obligations and taking corrective measures, McWane will go beyond compliance and take action to protect communities that are at the greatest risk for air and water pollution,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  “The additional environmental projects included in the settlement will protect children, pregnant mothers, local residents and workers from harmful pollution and are an example of securing public health and environmental benefits in addition to those achieved by compliance with our nation’s environmental laws.”

 “This is a comprehensive settlement that brings McWane into full environmental compliance at twenty eight facilities nationwide, and imposes a penalty on the company for its civil environmental violations at those facilities over the past decade,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “As a result of this agreement, McWane has completely re-engineered its environmental management systems to ensure that it remains in compliance, and has committed over $9 million to environmental projects that will remove significant amounts of pollutants from the environment and benefit the surrounding communities.”

The $4 million civil penalty will be divided among the United States, Alabama and Iowa.  The environmental projects McWane will perform will address storm water contamination at numerous locations; reduce mercury emissions in Provo, Utah and Tyler, Texas; reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions in Bedford, Ind. and Anniston, Ala.; and enhance air quality in Coshocton, Ohio.  Additionally, McWane has already undertaken corrective measures to resolve the violations, at a cost of more than $7.6 million.   

The settlement resolves civil violations over the past decade of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as alleged by the United States, Alabama, and Iowa in the complaint.

As part of the settlement, the United States also required McWane to develop and implement a corporate-wide environmental management system (EMS) to promote environmental compliance, achieve pollution prevention and enhance overall environmental performance.  The EMS was implemented prior to today’s filing and is now complete. The agreement now requires McWane to conduct an audit of the EMS to evaluate the adequacy of the system.  In addition, McWane has modified its corporate-wide stormwater pollution prevention plan and will develop or upgrade facility-specific plans as part of the agreement. 

At its Coshocton, Ohio iron foundry, McWane will operate a cupola furnace, which is a particulate emissions source, in accordance with its newly revised Clean Air Act Title V permit.  The consent decree further establishes operating conditions and emission limits for the furnace, and is separately enforceable by EPA.

McWane manufactures cast iron pipes, valves, fittings, fire hydrants, propane and compressed air tanks and other similar products. As a result of its manufacturing processes, McWane emits pollutants, such as particulate matter, VOCs and mercury at various facilities. Mercury is a known neurotoxin and exposure to it has been linked to adverse human health effects, particularly neurological disorders.  VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.  Particulate matter can aggravate lung diseases, cause asthma attacks and may increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.  The environmental projects included in the settlement will result in reduction of more than four million pounds of pollutants annually.  The corrective measures and supplemental environmental projects included in the McWane settlement will benefit communities in North Birmingham and Anniston with environmental justice concerns.

In the past, multiple McWane divisions and facilities have been the subject of criminal investigations that have resulted in five federal prosecutions.  As a result, the company has paid more than $25 million in criminal fines and penalties and spent approximately $5 million on environmental projects.  Company executives have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 70 months and the company and certain executives have been placed on probation.

The proposed settlement agreement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Birmingham Division, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. 

More information on the settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/mm/mcwane-infosht.html

Architect's rendering of the Mississippi River Distillery in LeClaire. The organizers expect to begin production by the end of the year at the third distillery in Iowa since the end of Prohibition. D. Robert Wilson, Architect, Davenport

Construction has begun on a new distillery in LeClaire that expects to begin operation later this year.

Mississippi River Distilling Co. plans to produce handmade, premium gin, vodka and whiskey made from locally grown grains. It would be the first distillery to operate in the Quad Cities since the end of Prohibition and the second Eastern Iowa distillery to produce spirits from Iowa corn and other grains.

Cedar Ridge Vineyards Winery & Distillery in Swisher manufactures bourbon whiskey, brandy, gin, grappa, rum, vodka and wine from locally grown fruits and grains. On July 1, Cedar Ridge became the first Iowa distillery to produce bourbon whiskey from corn since the end of Prohibition.

Garrett Burchett, a partner with Mississippi River Distilling, said the public will be able to tour the company’s distillery to see the production of vodka, gin and bourbon whiskey.

“We are so excited about the potential for our company in LeClaire,” Burchett said. “The town fits our company’s image and the proximity to Interstate 80 gives us a steady stream of potential tourists to visit our facility.

“The community has been a great partner in bringing this dream to reality.”

A new Iowa law that took effect on July 1 allows micro-distilleries in Iowa to offer and tastings on the distillery premises and sell up to two bottles of spirits per customer. Cedar Ridge launched its Iowa Bourbon on July 1 to coincide with the new law.

Mississippi River Distilling will use a 1,000-liter handmade German pot still to produce vodka, gin and bourbon whiskey. The copper and stainless steel still, which will be a focal point of the new distillery, will be manufactured by German craftsmen over a six-month period.

The Mississippi River Distilling building is the first of four structures to be constructed that will extend the existing downtown retail area of LeClaire to the north. Friemel Construction of Bettendorf is the general contractor for the project.

The four buildings will develop a block of land formerly used for industrial manufacturing that has stood empty for several years.

While some Iowans invested in a Fort Dodge distillery venture in the 1960s that proposed to make whiskey from corn, Beaver Creek Distillery Inc. never built a production facility.

The organizers of Beaver Creek Distillery raised about $3 million in cash from 4,300 stockholders at $2 per share. They abandoned the plan when they learned that whiskey could be purchased and bottled for less than it would cost to produce from Iowa corn.

Beaver Creek Distillery changed its name to Beaver Creek Industries and subsequently relocated from Fort Dodge to Atlanta, Ga. Several acquisitions were announced, but none ever came to fruition.

Jerry Vuichard, business manager for IBEW Local 1362, will officially retire from the post on Thurday, July 15, after two three-year terms as business manager and seven years as assistant business manager.

Steve Woods, who was elected to the post in June, will take over as business manager on the same day.

Vuichard was in negotiations on three contracts with Rockwelll Collins and helped guide the union’s move into a new union hall and the sale of its old property on Blairs Ferry Road.

Local 1362 is one of the largest industrial union locals in the state, representing hourly workers at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids. Its current contract expires in May 2013.

Vuichard said he plans to serve as assistant business manager for a period of time to assist the transition. He will remain in the Cedar Rapids area, where he plans to spend more time with family and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Trees Forever, and First Presbyterian Church of Marion.