Treatability testing uses bench-scale demonstrations and analysis to determine if a material can be effectively treated with a specific chemical or process. At Brennan, we use treatability testing to develop sound technical approaches for dredged material dewatering, in situ or dewatered dredged material stabilization, and water treatment. 

Treatability data can be used to price a job more accurately and find cost savings for our clients. Treatability testing allows us to select chemical and mechanical processes for treatment and evaluate less costly alternatives. Here's how we do it.

Island building and habitat restoration have significant environmental benefits, improving aquatic and land-based ecosystems. Working under LS Marine alongside Ramsey County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Saint Paul District, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Brennan built up islands at Pigs Eye Lake in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The project's master plan features seven islands, sand beaches, marsh habitat, and land plantings. We utilized dredged material from the Mississippi River in an environmentally beneficial way to build the islands. Here's how it happened and why it works!

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) signed a project agreement to remediate contaminated sediment in the “ponds behind Erie Pier,” two ponds surrounded by shallow marsh wetlands in the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC).

The sediment was primarily contaminated with PCBs, PAHs, mercury, and chromium. Here's how we worked with stakeholders to clean up the sediment and the resulting impact of our work.

The Cuyahoga Improvement Project in Kent, OH, aims to improve future recreation experiences while protecting existing natural resources. The purpose of our work is to remove areas of petroleum-impacted soft sediments that were deposited decades ago from discontinued industrial practices upstream. 

Background on a Burning River

The Cuyahoga River has quite a history: a transportation route; a boundary; an origin for oil, rubber, and steel industries; a power source; and a dumping ground. The river was once 1 of the most polluted in the country. The Cuyahoga has caught fire at least 13 times since the 1860s.

February 6, 2023 — Specialty marine contractor J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) recently finalized the asset acquisition of the dredging and dewatering division of Infrastructure Alternatives, Inc. (IAI). The purchase brings dewatering, water treatment, and treatability testing services into the organization for the first time.

Brennan, working under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Chicago District, executed environmental dredging, sampling, capping, and habitat restoration to remediate an Area of Concern near East Chicago, IN. While complex, the objectives were clear: remediate sediment, mitigate oil sheen, and improve the ecological habitat. Successes and lessons learned during this project will influence operations and remediation efforts for the rest of Lake George Canal. 

LA CROSSE, Wis., June 14, 2022 ― Engineering News-Record (ENR) published its annual ranking of the largest U.S.-based general contractors, with specialty contractor J.F. Brennan Company (Brennan) making the list with an overall ranking of 351. Brennan is listed as the 5th largest contractor in the hazardous waste sector.

The demand for Brennan’s environmental remediation services has increased year over year on a national scale. Landing at the 5th spot among all hazardous waste contractors, Brennan is in an echelon of its own, as all its projects take place on, under, or alongside bodies of water.

J.F. Brennan Company (Brennan) formally announces their Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified joint venture with Ahtna Marine & Construction Company, LLC (AMCC). Publicly titled the Ahtna – J.F. Brennan JV, the partnership establishes a mentor protégé relationship between Brennan and Alaska Native Corporation subsidiary AMCC.

The Interstate Island Avian Habitat Restoration Project is listed as one of the many Areas of Concern (AOC) projects within the Great Lakes. Interstate Island is a small parcel of land located within the Duluth-Superior Harbor along the St. Louis River Estuary. Due to rising water levels, the island has shrunk in size by half in recent years, and along with-it important wildlife habitat has disappeared. The need to restore the rare avian habitat on Interstate Island has been a priority for years, and it came to fruition in 2020.