Locus to promote seminar on carbon trading and finance in San Francisco

Greening of America Through On-Demand Software

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 2, 2007 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in Web-based environmental data and information management services, will join Global Change Associates and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP to promote a seminar on carbon trading and finance. The seminar will be held on July 17, 2007, at Pillsbury’s San Francisco office at 50 Fremont Street.

Led by carbon markets experts Peter C. Fusaro and Jay Gould, partner and co-leader of Pillsbury’s Investment Funds & Investment Management Team, the seminar, “Carbon Trading is the Missing Link in Clean Tech Investment,” will explore what role carbon trading plays in clean technology investment and how to establish a successful carbon hedge fund.

“This is the second in a series of clean technology investment seminars we are hosting with Pillsbury, which launched one of the first multidisciplinary climate change practices in the nation. We are very excited that Locus Technologies, the leader in environmental information management, will promote the seminar, as the information management component of carbon trading is an important factor to consider in implementing sound carbon strategy,” said Fusaro. “Our last seminar attracted more than 150 people as California continues to be the center of carbon market activity for the foreseeable future.”

“We see carbon emissions management as the next logical expansion of our highly successful LocusFocus environmental portal. Many of our Fortune 100 customers using LocusFocus for environmental data and information management will find it easy to expand in our on-demand portal to include management of greenhouse gases (GHG). Many of Locus’s customers are actively looking for the tools and advice to move forward and formulate real carbon strategies in advance of upcoming regulations. Once regulations are promulgated, companies could lose substantial dollars by not planning ahead for this change. Locus’s customers that are already engaged in this highly topical discussion and are prepared to adopt carbon management strategy at this time can leverage the LocusFocus environmental portal for GHG data management with minimal additional investment and provide their shareholders with transparency on this issue. This seminar is perfect forum to get up to speed and educated on this important matter, particularly for the companies with operations in California that will be subject to California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Assembly Bill No. 32 (AB32) relating to air pollution,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies.

The seminar will cover the basics of environmental trading, carbon trading and finance, some clean tech solutions, information management, how to implement a carbon reduction under the Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the basics of how to build a carbon fund.

GHG management will impose additional burden for environmental information management. Establishing a comprehensive GHG inventory is the foundation for future GHG management and compliance strategy. However, performing the GHG inventory can be a challenging process for many organizations, particularly for data acquisition, validation, and real time reporting. To make intelligent decisions about GHG management, clean energy, and other factors affecting the quality and sustainability of life, businesses and government entities must have better tools to manage and interpret this information in real time. Robust environmental information management systems are needed to store and analyze this data, and the LocusFocus environmental portal is a solution.

“Carbon trading is a new asset class for hedge fund finance and investment,” said Gould. “Indeed a recent report by the National Venture Capital Association showed that while U.S. venture capital investments, as a whole, were down by 33 percent in 2006, compared to five years ago, investments in American clean tech companies were up 243 percent in that time–more than two and a half times the growth rate of the next strongest industry over that period.”

 

ABOUT GLOBAL CHANGE ASSOCIATES INC.
Global Change Associates Inc. is a leading edge consultancy on energy and environmental financial markets based in New York lead by Peter C. Fusaro. Peter is the best selling author of “What Went Wrong at Enron” and a leading proponent of market-based solutions for environmental remediation. He created the annual Wall Street Green Trading Summit in New York each spring, and is recognized as an international leader in clean technology and emissions trading. He co-founded the Energy Hedge Fund Center in 2004.

Locus introduces environmental Electronic Data Deliverable (EDD) standards

A growing need exists for a standardized format for transmitting environmental electronic data. There are more than 15 different standards in use in the U.S. alone, most of which are antiquated. Locus leverages the latest XML technology to drive standard consolidation and ease of use.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 30 2007 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental data management software, announced today the release of a set of its first standard Electronic Data Deliverable (EDD) formats for the reporting of environmental laboratory analytical data. With the recent signings of several large Fortune 100 clients, and the upcoming tenfold increase in the number of sites with data in the company’s flagship product, EIM™, a growing need exists for a standardized format for transmitting electronic data. Several EDD formats already exist in the environmental industry—some promulgated by government agencies—and others by vendors of commercial software products. However, some of these format “standards” suffer from the requirement that data be submitted in multiple files, while other formats, have antiquated requirements related to field lengths or valid values that originated at a time when hard disk space was at a premium.

Locus’s Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted single-file standard EDD allows for much more flexibility in file structure, because the data self-identifies each field using labels to bracket its contents. The content is similar and compliant with the (Staged Electronic Data Deliverable (SEDD) format. SEDD is an inter-agency effort spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to create a generic XML-based format for electronic delivery of analytical data for environmental industry.

To simplify the work of legacy systems, Locus is also releasing an EDD standard format, which consists of 53 explicitly defined fields maintained in a single file. Clients may request that additional custom fields be included to meet specific agency, the major state submission, or project requirements. The selection of the fields that are included in the Locus EIM EDD format was based on input from Locus’s user community and experts in analytical data management, as well as a review of the most popular currently used EDDs. The contents of the format permit data to be validated to EPA Level II, if a customer so desires. Locus envisions this format to be transitional for the companies and laboratories that are not yet ready to adopt XML-based technology, but are tired of dealing with multiple and antiquated file formats, which only serve to increase IT costs.

Since the release of EIM in 1999, Locus has allowed companies to design their own EDD formats, and Locus will continue to support this flexibility in its systems. However, Locus believes that the promulgation of a standardized format will allow laboratories to reduce the costs of creating EDDs, minimize errors in the reporting of data, and more quickly support new EIM clients.

“As the leader in environmental data management software, Locus strives to provide guidance, direction, and endorsement to the best ideas in an effort to standardize data management processes. Currently, there are more than 15 different standards for analytical data submittals, and this needs to change,” said Locus’s president and CEO, Neno Duplancic. “We believe that the standards we are releasing today, one transitional and one XML-based, will take steps toward achieving that goal and will help drive uniformity in the marketplace. With more than 35,000 sites reporting through LocusFocus EIM, Locus customers represent the largest users of environmental lab data, so this effort should help drive consolidation of the standards. Locus is committed to meeting all federal and state EDDs and leading the industry in reducing proliferation of incompatible formats by strongly endorsing XML-based SEDD standards,” added Duplancic.

Locus’s XML-based EDD accepts files in Stage 2a SEDD format, which contains the basic analytical results (including the sample ID, analyte, result, and qualifier) plus method quality control data. The EIM import module includes data verification and consistency checks outlined in the Document Type Definition (DTD) for Stage 2a, as well as forms for viewing the data in the imported SEDD file. Both formats can be downloaded for free from the Locus’s website at www.locustec.com.

Whitman Strategy Group and Locus Partner to help business, government optimize environmental information management using the Web

Greening of America Through On-Demand Software

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., and WASHINGTON, D.C., April 20, 2007 — The Whitman Strategy Group, a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues, and Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in Web-based environmental data and information management services, announced today that the two companies are partnering to help businesses and government better manage environmental data and information using the Web.

By the year 2020, the environmental industry is expected to generate more data than the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Internal Revenue Service, and the financial and health industries combined. To make intelligent decisions about site cleanups, reductions in CO2, clean energy, and other factors affecting the quality and sustainability of life, businesses and government entities must have better tools to manage and interpret this information in real time. Robust information management systems are needed to store and analyze this data, yet, until recently, spending on such systems has been almost non-existent.

For example, the issue of global climate change is getting much more serious attention in our country. A major reason for the increased attention is that quantifiable data is available. One of the ongoing challenges is for companies to be able to adequately measure and track their greenhouse gas emissions. The ability to accurately collect and analyze information regarding the extent of an environmental problem and to estimate the costs associated with it are critical steps in environmental remediation and restoration.

With their combined environmental consulting services and information management expertise, The Whitman Strategy Group and Locus plan to help government agencies and businesses improve on the management and accessibility of this data through the use of Locus’s Web-based environmental information management systems.

“Advances in technology in recent years have made instant access to environmental data a reality. Coding this data by geography and making it available on the Web will help government and industry expose information they have been collecting for years and put it to beneficial use,” said Christine Todd Whitman, President of The Whitman Strategy Group and former EPA Administrator and Governor of New Jersey. “Locus can help businesses and government entities characterize their environmental problems faster and easier, so that valuable technical resources can be spent designing solutions, instead of searching for information.”

Environmental compliance currently ranks high on the list of corporate responsibilities. Companies that prove they are being environmentally responsible are increasingly attractive to investors, and they increase their global competitiveness. Yet, even the most sophisticated organizations acknowledge that assessing and quantifying environmental liabilities can be extremely challenging. “By improving consumer and business access to geocoded environmental data and overlaying it with other data sources, tremendous opportunities open up for greater understanding of and support for environmental issues,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, president and CEO of Locus.

Many companies that have made a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability use Locus’s Environmental Management Information (EIM™) software and services to make better use of their technical resources. Locus is currently working with the U.S. Department of Energy and such companies as Alstom, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Philips Electronics, and Raytheon to help them better manage their environmental data. Locus Technologies makes it easier for organizations to comply with local and international regulations and laws, while increasing productivity of their environmental staff and consultants, and significantly reducing IT costs. By keeping all information about sites in LocusFocus ePortal, a single, centralized, Web-based system, companies can aggregate information in real time, automate the flow of laboratory data, check the clean-up status of every site, monitor the financial performance of consultants and contractors, and obtain and comply with ISO 14001 requirements.

ABOUT WHITMAN STRATEGY GROUP
The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG) is a consulting firm that specializes in government relations and environmental and energy issues. The firm was founded by Christine Todd Whitman, former EPA Administrator and New Jersey governor. Governor Whitman is currently co-chair of the National Smart Growth Council and serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Millennium Challenge Corp.,as well as several corporate boards.

For more information about The Whitman Strategy Group, visit www.whitmanstrategygroup.com.

Locus to support SoCal Edison with environmental screening of oil field production risks

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, October 25, 2006 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in specialty environmental services and web-based environmental information management has been selected to support Southern California Edison with property acquisition evaluations at various sites in Southern California.

As a part of the contract, Locus will provide investigation expertise and site characterization services for property development which includes screening for potential oil and gas field environmental and safety hazards, not uncommon to Southern California. This award adds an important client for Locus in rapidly expanding and fiercely competitive Southern California market.

“Locus is pleased to support Southern California Edison with our unique blend of environmental consulting and knowledge of investigation techniques for evaluating potential risks associated with former or operating petroleum production and exploration properties. This project is an example of the specialized consulting services Locus offers to our clientele,” said Mark Bittner, Regional Director for Locus Technologies.

“We are very pleased to add another energy client on the long list of energy companies that Locus has been serving since its inception. Our expertise for liability management associated with real estate transactions, coupled with the state-of-the art technology to manage environmental information over the web was, again, the winning combination that resulted in Southern California Edison choosing our company,” added Mr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.

Locus announces free year-end legacy data loading

The Leader in On-Demand Environmental Information Management

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 17, 2006 — Locus Technologies, the industry leader in on-demand environmental information management, announced today a limited time promotion for new customers to try Locus’s popular on-demand analytical data management software (EIM™). From now until the end of the year, Locus will offer free data loading for up to five (5) sites for any new customer who signs up for its on-demand environmental data management services. Locus is making this offer to encourage companies to try, risk-free, a whole new way of managing environmental data on the web.

Data management practices in the environmental industry have lagged far behind other more-visible departments in most companies. In the age of instant funds transfer, online banking, electronic data transfers, wireless Internet, and sophisticated enterprise data systems, it is, unfortunately, still common for mission-critical environmental data to be delivered via hard-copy mail and hand-keyed into simple desktop spreadsheets managed by various consultants with offices across the country. Even in the best of circumstances, data are attached to insecure emails and stored in custom-designed, single-use databases with limited, if any, access by the data owners and multiple project participants.

Locus is changing this paradigm and shaking up the environmental industry by delivering sophisticated, robust enterprise environmental data management tools on-line and ondemand to the marketplace. Locus’s EIM environmental data system combines one of the most advanced and robust databases with a full-featured front end to deliver an unequalled set of services to a sector long ignored. And all of this is offered online, on-demand, 24/7, anywhere in the world–meaning that no hardware or software investment is required, no installation is needed, and no IT department services are necessary. Just sign up, log in and start realizing what some of America’s largest companies have already discovered. Locus is offering free data loading to encourage companies to try a better approach that will forever change the way they manage data.

“We are continually surprised by the state of environmental data management in the environmental industry. Customers routinely come to us with boxes of CDs, faxes of report data tables, and hard-copy lab reports and tell us these are critical data for the closure of their environmental sites–sites that carry many millions of dollars of liability for the company for which they spent millions collecting the data. Locus helps customers migrate and organize their data quickly and effectively, so they can optimize the value they receive from Locus’s on-demand EIM software. Once uploaded to EIM, everyone can work from a single, centralized database and never again deal with inconsistent and inaccessible data,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.

Locus’s on-demand model is an innovative, low-risk, and flexible solution for laboratories, consultants, regulatory agencies, potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and companies that own environmentally impacted sites. With little up-front investment, customers can take control of their data, rid themselves of the current inefficient and insecure practices, and start enjoying the benefits of EIM’s versatile and proven set of tools to manage, view, and
report their data. EIM organizes environmental data and automates analytical data management, from laboratory electronic data submittals and regulatory agency reporting to exciting data visualization in real-time through Google maps. EIM is the only system in the marketplace that has been serving environmental data on the web continuously more than 8 years.

You owe it to your company, and yourself, to try Locus’s EIM, and we are making it simple and risk-free with this offer. Please read the “fine print” for offer conditions and exclusions.

Fine Print: For a limited time, Locus is offering free upload of historical analytical data into our EIM system, free of charge. Maximum five (5) sites per customer. The offer is valid until 31 December 2006. To qualify for this offer, you must sign a 1-year hosted service contract with Locus and provide your data to Locus in one of the following electronic formats: EQuIS, GISKey, Terrabase, Access, Oracle, SQL database, Excel spreadsheet, flat ASCI file, or similar. A separate arrangement can be made for paper-based data. Locus’s existing customers are ineligible for this offer.

Santa Clara Valley Water District selects Locus Technologies for groundwater program

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., September 9, 2006 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leading groundwater consultant, announced today that the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) selected Locus to perform a cutting edge forensic study on perchlorate at the Llagas Groundwater Subbasin in the Morgan Hill area of California.

Locus will have to obtain scientifically defensible data of known quality, because of the sensitive nature associated with SCVWD’s Perchlorate Source and Background Studies. Locus will develop a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) designed to maximize precision, accuracy, representation, compatibility, and completeness of the data set, while minimizing the potential for false negatives and false positives. The work includes preparation of the
QAPP, geostatistical analyses to select representative wells for the study, sampling, isotope and geochemical analyses, and final findings and reporting. Because of the sensitivity of this work, Locus teamed with the best researchers in isotope and geostatistical analyses. Locus’s web-based, award-winning information management technologies, such as EIM and the LocusFocus portal, will be used to manage data and information associated with the project.

This award cements Locus’s reputation as a company on the forefront of the high-end environmental consulting business on complex groundwater contamination problems.

“This is an important win for us and comes to us at the time when our perchlorate-related groundwater consulting practice is rapidly expanding,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies.

Mr. Elie Haddad, Vice President of Locus’s Services and Solutions Division and the manager of the program added, “We are very pleased to be selected by SCVWD for this important groundwater study. Locus was selected through a competitive bidding process, among many fine consulting firms, because of our extraordinary project team that brought a unique approach, scientific ideas, information management technology, and program management skills to the table. We look forward to working with SCVWD and to continuing expanding on the advantage we built over the last decade as the leading consultant for complex groundwater issues in the Silicon Valley.”

Project execution will come primarily from Locus’s office in Mountain View, California.

Locus and Lancaster Labs team to bring Powered by Locus to customers

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., September 15, 2006 — Locus Technologies, the industry leader in environmental information management, and Lancaster Laboratories, one of the largest single-site commercial testing laboratories in the nation, today announced the release of Lancaster Labs “Powered by Locus” online service to help consultants, industrial clients, and regulatory agencies prepare and evaluate their analytical data.

“Powered by Locus” is an exciting new online environmental data service that Lancaster is able to offer its customers. Lancaster, one of the many analytical laboratories that use Locus’s Environmental Information Management System (EIM) to deliver electronic analytical and environmental data to their customers, was so impressed with EIM’s ability to manage electronic data from analytical laboratories, that they wanted to incorporate Locus’s
technology into their own data delivery process.

Using Powered by Locus, Lancaster provides their customers with access to analytical data and gives them the ability to download the data in customizable report formats. Customers get their data through a user-friendly online system available 24/7. Customers can work with Lancaster to customize their data interface, or they can create their own electronic data formats, with the ability to check their data with site-specific valid values.

Lancaster Labs President, Wilson Hershey, Ph.D. states, “We’re excited to offer Powered by Locus to our clients. Lancaster Labs’ strength in electronic data generation and the Powered by Locus tools will enable our clients to access and output Lancaster Labs data in the format that best suits their data reporting needs. This system provides the flexibility to create reports, sort, and summarize data to meet our clients’ many data reporting requirements. We think Powered by Locus will be a valuable tool for consultants and industrial clients and
will enable them to reduce both their time and costs associated with electronic data processing.”

According to Locus Technologies President and CEO, Neno Duplancic, “Powered by Locus is a natural extension of our leading-edge online environmental data management software services. We have developed a tool for analytical labs to better serve their customers that avoids costly and risky submittals of Electronic Data Deliverables as e-mail attachments, while improving data integrity, quality, and security. Labs already using EIM know of our capabilities and are eager to introduce our products to their customers. Powered by Locus is a perfect way to streamline delivery of laboratory analytical data through a web-based channel. We think this is a great fit for both companies and their existing customers, and we are excited to be able to reach additional customers.”

Using SEDD Files With the Web-Based Environmental Information Monitoring (EIM) System

Todd Pierce, The 20th Annual National Environmental Management Conference

Locus first EIM user conference and training day is a success!

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 28 October 2004 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in environmental information management, today announced that it successfully held its first Environmental Information Management™ (EIM™) user conference and training at ChevronTexaco’s Corporate Headquarters in San Ramon, California, on October 14 and 15, 2004. EIM is the flagship application in Locus’s award-winning, LocusFocus web-based portal, which is used to manage environmental data at thousands of sites worldwide.

The event was attended by more than 25 firms, including government groups, corporations, environmental consulting firms, analytical laboratories and professional data validators. Participants came from around the country to learn advanced EIM skills, meet EIM users and programmers, and attend presentations showing how EIM is used in a variety of applications.

The sold-out event gave the attendees an opportunity to expand their skills and work with EIM’s powerful scalable-vector graphics (SVG) module to create soil borings, cross sections, and a range of custom maps, all from within EIM. Locus also introduced new web-based reporting tool features, previewed report automation tool, and demonstrated an expanded version of eWell, Locus’s PDA application for streamlining field data collection.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to our first user conference. Attendance, interest level, the range of participants, and quality of presentations exceeded all our expectations. What was especially gratifying was to see the ‘wheels turning’ when new approaches were discussed and new features were highlighted. We are confident that users left the conference with new and efficient ways to use EIM for meeting site and enterprise environmental data management needs,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies.

1-4 Dioxane Treatment in Mountain View, Calif.

Pollution Engineering, Casebook

Mountain View, Calif. 1 July 2004 — As the consultant for a Fortune 500 semiconductor company at the San Francisco Bay Area Superfund site, Locus Technologies was facing a number of challenges. In 2003, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board requested that the effluent of all treatment facilities within the Superfund site be sampled for 1,4-dioxane. Data obtained during these tests indicated that 1,4-dioxane was present in the effluent at levels of 15 ppb, whereas the statutory discharge limit for 1,4-dioxane was 5 ppb. Additionally, local residents had raised concerns that airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) should not be discharged into the atmosphere. Based on these issues, Locus’s client desire to replace its existing air stripping/vapor carbon/aqueous carbon polishing treatmrnt technolgy with an innovative treatment technology that would:

  • Remove or destroy VOCs and 1,4-dioxane
  • Provide cost-efficient treatment
  • Be easily expandable in the future
  • Be able to meet projected EPA discharge requirements

The design flow rate for the treatment system was 50 gpm. Influent groundwater concentrations had a significant bearing on both the capital and the operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for the required treatment technology. The design influent concentrations are shown in Table 1.

During the early stages of the design process, Locus personnel brought a mobile advanced ozone/peroxide pilot treatment facility known as ozone peroxide, to the site. The engineers also ran a series of performance tests on the actual groundwater. Meanwhile, groundwater samples were sent to various UV/peroxide manufacturers and equipment suppliers so as to obtain process design requirements, capital price quotations and O&M cost for each of the various process treatment systems being considered.

Based on data from pilot studies, treatability studies and evaluations using carbon isotherms, each of the equipment suppliers was able to provide lump sum capital and guaranteed O&M costs for the influent groundwater specified (see Table 1). The scope of services specified for this treatment project were quite specific and required forfeiture of equipment costs should the treatment process not meet the discharge requirements and/or the O&M costs exceed those values provided. Plugging the design groundwater specified into its equations the manufacturers provided equipment capital cost pricing and annual O&M cost. Locus presented its findings in a Basis of Design Report that determined the construction cost and 15-year total present value for each system. Based on the strength of both pilot study results and guaranteed capital and O&M costs, the client chose to proceed with the ozone perioxide system.

Locus proceeded to order the specified equipment and begin construction. Following installation of the equipment, the manufacturers started and operated the treatment system for a period of one week. During that time, the company’s personnel carried out a detailed performance test to verify the destruction efficiency of the process and calculate the actual cost to operate the system. After completing the test phase, the manufacturer provided filed training for the Locus O&M staff.

Locus personnel discovered satisfactorily that the ozone peroxide system completely destroyed 1,4-dioxane without producing measurable air emissions. The fully automated system utilized multiple ozone injection points that increased treatment efficiency. Ozone was injected at high pressure to improve its solubility and thus reduce operational costs. The system could be easily expanded to accommodate changes in flow rates or contaminant concentration. costs to operate the system were very definable and reliable.

The ozone peroxide system has operated flawlessly since it was commissioned in December 2003 and maintained consistent effluent results. Furthermore, the O&M costs have remained below those values that were guaranteed in the original equipment proposal.

For more information about the remediation of 1,4-dioxane and the use of the treatment system at the San Francisco Bay Area Superfund Site, visit www.locustec.com.