Containment

In April 2009, the State of Arkansas experienced severe storms and flooding, affecting 37 counties and causing damage to infrastructures. This resulted in the 16 June 2009, presidential disaster declaration, DR-184, for Public Assistance. In Lafayette County alone, four roads were washed out, necessitating repairs and mitigation. A specialist recommended using a geotextile to stabilize the embankment and make the road more resilient once repairs were completed. Read more.

LyondellBasell Industries has announced a project to cease the production of polypropylene (PP) at Terni, Italy. The company has started the employee consultation process regarding a project to permanently shut down the unit. LyondellBasell said that PP production activities in Italy will be focused on the company’s world-scale sites at Ferrara and Brindisi. The Terni plant has a nameplate capacity of 255 KT per year. In conjunction with the shutdown project, LyondellBasell has started consultation with representatives of the employees to determine the appropriate path forward for the employees at the site. The plant currently has approximately 120 permanent employees. Learn more here.;

The Prairie Star newspaper in Montana has published an article on how that state's industries and crop producers can best manage water resources following the snow pack melt. It cites recommendations from Steve Guettermann, associate director of outreach at the Montana Water Center at Montant State University (MSU). He recommends lining the worst leaking portions of canals as an economical way to stem water loss (rather than debating the cost of lining an entire irrigation district's canals at once). Learn more here.;

It's estimated that 65 percent of the dairies in New Mexico have water pollution resulting from leaking manure lagoons. New proposals would require not only monitoring wells but pond liners for containment and groundwater protection. The dairy industry is opposing this rule, however, on grounds that it would make operation in the state no longer economically viable. Learn more here.;

A power company near Louisville, Kentucky has proposed to construct a 60-acre coal ash landfill near the Ohio River. The new landfill is designed to hold 5.8 million cubic yards of waste and is planned to 16 years of service life. The design is also flexible to accommodate changes that may be mandated in future years in Kentucky, such as the potential addition of a wastewater treatment facility. A "hard plastic liner" is said to be in the design and secondary containment measures can be added. Learn more here.;

During the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Royal Ten Cate, which was held on Thursday 8 April 2010, the dividend for the 2009 financial year was declared at EUR 0.60(2008: EUR 0.85) per ordinary share of EUR 2.50 par value. The dividend is to be paid in cash, or at the shareholder's option in ordinary shares charged to the share premium reserve. The value of the stock dividend will surpass the value of the cash dividend by 0 to 3%.

The April/May 2010 issue of Geosynthetics magazine is avaiable in its digital edition for free online. Read it in PDF here. Learn more here.;

Over the past few years, the American Public Works Association (APWA) has spearheaded a new sustainability vision for the public works management field. Two key investments have been made and show great promise for the future: APWA launched a smaller, sustainability-focused conference three years ago; and, this year, it has officially launched the APWA Center for Sustainability. These issues are pretty all-encompassing, and since the initial discussions within APWA creating the APWA Center for Sustainability have become hot button points across the country. For example, low-impact development (LID), sustainability's return on investment, best management practices, and much more. The public works field needed some pro-active guidance and resources. APWA has taken that lead.

The 15,000 member Transportation and Development Institute (TDI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced its First Congress will be held 13-16 March 2011 in Chicago. The theme will be "Integrated Transportation and Development for a Better Tomorrow." Abstract submissions are invited through 20 April 2010. Five concurrent paper/presentation tracks, a technical tour and pre/post Congress workshops are planned.

The India-based Business Coordination House (BCH), which is involved in, among other things, the promotion of geotextile and other geosynthetic seminars and companies in India, has released its April-June 2010 newsletter. This issue of TechTex India includes an article on the impact of textile production and use on climate change (page 5), an interview about artificial turf markets (page 20) and uses for TenCate's fiber optic-enhanced GeoDetect system (page 40). Read the issue in PDF. Learn more here.;

Ground has been broken on a major landfill rememdiation project that will create a 132-acre park on Staten Island. A 40-mil geomembrane liner will be installed on top of the new layer of soil. A drainage net will be installed on top of the liner to collect stormwater. A 12-inch barrier protection layer of soil will be installed to provide drainage and protect the liner. Read more about this important project site.

Two years ago, when Mark Smith sold his renowned engineering firm Vector Engineering to Australia-based Ausenco, he did not want to put the proceeds, as he says, "solely in his back pocket." He founded the Smith International Foundation, a not-for-profit group with a mission dedicated to fostering dialogue between resource industries, such as mining companies, and the communities they impact. It's a natural extension of the work Smith encouraged and was a part of at Vector. Read more about this foundation and ways the geosynthetics industry might interact with it, resource industries, and communities around the world.

Forty-three countries and 700 million people are facing "water stress," according to a report from the World Bank. The report singles out Ethiopia, Haiti and Niger as nations facing the worst water shortages. The World Bank has spent $54 billion financing water projects for countries lacking water infrastructure. Learn more here.;

The 15,000 member Transportation and Development Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced its First Congress will be held 13-16 March 2011 in Chicago. The theme will be "Integrated Transportation and Development for a Better Tomorrow." Abstract submissions are invited through 20 April 2010. Five concurrent paper/presentation tracks, a technical tour and pre/post Congress workshops are planned. Prof. Imad Al-Qadi (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Scott Murrell (Port Authority of NY and NJ) are serving as conference co-chairs. Learn more here.;

The next short course from the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) will be held 14 May 2010 at the University of Florida's TREEO Center in Orlando. The FGI held its first short course on "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes" in October 2009 in Denver. That event was well-received and -attended and featured speakers from across the industry. Participants of this next edition of "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes" will be eligible to receive up to 8 CEUs. Learn more.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has recently completed work for the world's largest retailer, Walmart, on an online version of its stormwater training program. The project was an 8-month endeavor resulting in the creation of 7 training modules, with more than 6 hours of online content. IECA utilized 5 of its members to help write the content and several additional members also edited and reviewed content. Read more.

The troubled Union-Go Dairy in Winchester, Indiana has finally resolved the problem of whales (“bubbles”) in the 21-million-gallon manure lagoon’s liner. It wasn’t a joke: on April Fool’s Day, engineers moved about the lagoon on flat-bottom boats and slowly released the gas from each swollen whale. A tube and valve device was used to minimize risk of an explosive release. Learn more here.;

Consol's Bailey Mine located near Graysville, Pennsylvania in the southwest corner of the state pumps coal laden sediment water from its deep mines to settlement ponds which are typically underlain with clay. The settlement ponds have steep sideslopes ranging from 2H:1V to 2H:1V and CETCO lined 30 acres of side slopes around the perimeter of a pond in the Summer of 2009. Read more.

Propex Operating Company, LLC was recently awarded US Patent number 7,670,660 for technology related to secondary carpet backing material construction. "Receiving this patent reinforces Propex's leadership in innovation and product design," says Dave Gartshore, vice president of sales for Propex Furnishing Solutions division. "This patented technology will support new product introductions in Propex's secondary backing product line and we will work with select customers to commercialize. The high-end material construction provides improved performance, a plush feel and many other advantages that offer value to both our customers and the consumer."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a set of actions to further clarify and strengthen environmental permitting requirements for Appalachian mountaintop removal and other surface coal mining projects, in coordination with federal and state regulatory agencies. Using the best available science and following the law, the comprehensive guidance sets clear benchmarks for preventing significant and irreversible damage to Appalachian watersheds at risk from mining activity.

The much-maligned Union-Go Dairy in Indiana has finally received approval for its solution to whales in its lined manure lagoon. It's April Fool's Day, but this is no joke: they're going to pop the methane-filled geomembrane "bubbles" today. Attempts will be made to control the release. Learn more here.;

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold its 5th National AgStar Conference 27-28 April 2010 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Conference organizers have announced that the hotel cutoff is approaching (April 12). The conference program focuses heavily on the use of anaerobic digesters and making these systems profitable in the ag sector. An optional half-day tour of two anaerobic digester system at 4,000-head farms is offered too. Learn more and download a copy of the program at the AgStar Conference website. Learn more here.;

CETCO is proud to announce the promotion of Scott Solotorovsky to the position of Western Regional Manager for the Building Materials Group. Scott, who has been with CETCO for 6 years, joined the Building Materials Group as a Field Services Project Coordinator, has held the position of Market Development Manager based in Mumbai, India, and most recently was the Technical Sales Manager for Northern California.

The long history of water management in the Netherlands has rightfully given it a unique and valued expert status in engineering. Deltares has become one of the leading providers for current and new engineering information. From 25-27 May 2010, Deltares is hosting a three-day course on "Understanding Dike Safety." A focus will be placed on understanding failure, predicting it, and monitoring installations. Participants will see, learn and understand many different failure mechanisms. Learn more at the event website. Learn more here.;

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) Endowment for Innovation in Applied Water Quality Research presents the Paul L. Busch Award each year at WEFTEC. The award carries with it a $100,000 grant and recognizes outstanding individuals or teams who are conducting ground-breaking research that will lead to practical solutions to water quality problems. Nominations are due by 1 June 2010. Learn more here.;