Babylon Leaders Protect Great South Bay from Greatest Source of U.S. Water Pollution; Set Standard for Municipal Stormwater Treatment

BABYLON, N.Y., Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Village of Babylon, located on the southern coast of Long Island and AbTech Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: ABHD) ("AbTech"), a developer and manufacturer of patented innovative environmental technologies addressing issues of water pollution and contamination, announced today the results of a five-year study exploring the efficacy of AbTech's proprietary Smart Sponge® filtration technology in preventing stormwater contamination of The Great South Bay and the nearby Long Island Sound. The study, which analyzed the contents of AbTech's Smart Pak® cartridges from two outfall pipe installations located at Green and Alexander Avenues, found that Babylon's existing installations captured approximately 1,600 pounds of total contaminants from stormwater annually, including 1,400 pounds of toxic hydrocarbons.

"Untreated stormwater runoff is the single greatest source of water pollution in the United States, and The Great South Bay has been particularly affected with the intense development of Long Island," said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of the Waterkeeper Alliance.  "Municipalities are at the heart of the fight to preserve water resources for future generations and Babylon has set the bar for cities nationwide in reducing the runoff of fertilizers, pesticides, pathogens, and petroleum products."

In 2008, Babylon announced its plans to retrofit 96 outfall pipes with AbTech's stormwater treatment systems, utilizing a matching grant of $310,000 provided by Suffolk County once testing was complete.  The initiative marked one of the first efforts nationwide by a municipality to address stormwater pollution using a green infrastructure solution. It is expected that once all 96 installations are complete, collectively more than 8,000 pounds of contaminants, including 7,000 pounds of toxic hydrocarbons will be prevented from entering The Great South Bay annually. 

"When we set our stormwater management plan in motion, we hoped it would serve as an attainable model for our neighbors throughout Suffolk County," said Village of Babylon Mayor Ralph Scordino. "But after seeing these results, we are confident that our model will be employed throughout the country."

AbTech's treatment systems cost Babylon between $5,000 and $6,000 per unit to install and are retrofitted into existing stormwater infrastructure, eliminating the need for costly new construction.  The systems require no electricity and minimal maintenance, and are effective at removing over 85 percent of toxic hydrocarbons from stormwater, in addition to sediments, heavy metals and other harmful pollutants. Once absorbed, hydrocarbons are permanently bound to the Smart Sponge polymer and cannot be leached away.  Spent Smart Sponge material can be landfilled or burned as a high BTU, low emissions fuel source.

"Babylon's stormwater initiative is a perfect example of the progressive thinking that has made Suffolk County one of the best places to live, work and play in the nation," said Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone. "Our political leaders are constantly pushing the envelope to get the job done for taxpayers through innovative and cost-efficient ways."

Babylon will begin installation of additional stormwater treatment systems in November.

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ABOUT ABTECH HOLDINGS, INC. (OTCQB: ABHD) AND ABTECH INDUSTRIES, INC.

AbTech Industries, Inc. (a subsidiary of AbTech Holdings Inc.) is a full-service environmental technologies and engineering firm dedicated to providing innovative solutions to communities, industry and governments addressing issues of water pollution and contamination. Its products are based on polymer technologies capable of removing hydrocarbons, sediment and other foreign elements in stormwater runoff (ponds, lakes and marinas), flowing water (curbside drains, pipe outflows, rivers and oceans), and industrial process and wastewater. AbTech's offerings include the ground-breaking new antimicrobial technology called Smart Sponge® Plus. This technology is effective in reducing coliform bacteria found in stormwater, industrial wastewater, and municipal wastewater. Smart Sponge® Plus is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (Registration #86256-1). AbTech's teams of water treatment technology experts, civil and environmental engineers, and field operations specialists develop solutions to improve the quality of our limited water resources. AEWS Engineering (a subsidiary of AbTech Holdings, Inc.), is an independent engineering civil and environmental engineering firm partnered with top research and engineering universities. By focusing on bringing new engineering and technology innovation to the water infrastructure sector, AEWS is positioned to be at the forefront of stormwater Best Management Practices development and to deliver the latest in design excellence to its customers. For more information please visit www.abtechindustries.com. More information on AEWS Engineering can be found at www.aewsengineering.com.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are not purely historical and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE AbTech Holdings, Inc.