Containment

CETCO has completed an extensive update of its website. The new content includes new tools and contacts for specification assistance, an extensive reference and document library (all available freely and without any login requirements), and key testing updates, such as to recent direct shear testing results. We encourage our readers to explore CETCO's new site. The added content is worth the time. Learn more here.;

Water has been in dwindling supply in Australia in recent years. Drought has ravished farms and rivers are drying up. Geosynthetic liners and floating covers have helped stem some water loss to seepage and evaporation. Officials now report that the month of October was the most successful month of water gain in 17 years. The long-term average of water levels in reservoirs is still 20% down; but the gaining of water at this difficult time is worth recognizing. Conservation technologies, smarter citizen use, and a bit of meteorological luck have combined to compel some needed change. Learn more here.;

Over the last few months, Solmax has been working with a consulting company, Genivar, to develop non-biased studies that would provide technical data to engineers in their lining design for mining applications. The concept is to provide engineers with data on the total construction benefits achievable through the flexibility and deformability of pvc geomembranes. We already have been conducting educational seminars to South American and African mining and engineering companies; we are currently looking to expand our visits into other regions of the world. If you would like to receive details about a potential meeting or to discuss the results of the study, you may contact Carl De Leon. Learn more here.;

Despite politicians north and south of the border pledging to continue talks on Buy America provisions, protectionism is affecting the geosynthetics trade between Canada and the Untied States. Fredericton, New Brunswick's Geomembrane Technologies, which produces many floating covers, for example, has had to break relationships with Canadian firms in order to establish distributors in the United States so that the Buy America law does not remove Geomembrane Technologies from many of its regular customers and markets. Learn more here.;

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) held its first course on "Constructing with Fabricated Geomembranes" on 23 October 2009. "The attendance exceeded our expectations for this course," stated Tim Stark. The short course was attended by 66 people and covered the design, specification, testing, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, inspection and field testing of fabricated geomembranes in a variety of applications. The course was moderated by Tim Stark and 16 other speakers presented various components to the course. One goal of the course was to give attendees a wide range of experts from which to draw from.

AMI has announced the program for Polyolefin Additives 2010, the 3rd international conference on Polyolefin Additives. It will be held at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany from 23-25 March 2010. The line-up is of interest, including Philip Jacoby's presentation on "Enhanced beta nucleant masterbatches for use in polypropylene film, molding, thermoforming and geosynthetic applications." Learn more about the event in the PDF brochure. Learn more here.;

Dubai is known for ambitious engineering projects, and in December this United Arab Emirates' hotspot will see the start of one of its most interesting and unusual projects: the World Islands. A series of manmade islands will be constructed, roughly to reflect the world map. Some amendments have been made--France and Spain, for example, will be built as one country known as "Aquitania"--but by and large the project remains quite…large. Geosynthetic water containment and dewatering technologies are expected to be used. Learn more here.;

Governor David A. Paterson today announced the start of construction on a $4.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded project to close and cap the Akey Road Municipal Landfill in the City of Plattsburgh. Crews will seal the site in a safe, environmentally-sensitive manner, saving local taxpayers an estimated $2.9 million in avoided interest expense and protecting local groundwater. Governor Paterson has certified this and seven other clean water projects, totaling $19 million in federal economic recovery funds for the North Country Region.

Professor Jean-Louis Briaud, Holder of the Buchanan Chair in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University in the USA was elected President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The election took place in Alexandria, Egypt on 4 October 2009. Read more about his appointment here.

A new study suggests that flood defenses in Wales are not keeping pace with environmental change and challenges; and that government may not have the resources to adequately defend Welsh coastal zones in a timely manner. Many people may need to relocate. Learn more here.;

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has settled with Usher Enterprises Inc. of Detroit, Mich., for alleged violations of federal hazardous waste regulations at two of its oil recycling facilities. EPA's administrative order requires the company to spend $700,000 to upgrade two of its facilities by installing new tanks, upgrading secondary containment, and decontaminating and testing the integrity of other tanks.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has recommended a remediation strategy for Mechanicville, New York's former rail yard. The site, it's hoped, will become a light industrial park; but the conversion process, which will most likely involve a geosynthetic cap and clean soil, may cost the city $1.3 million. Learn more here.;

On Tuesday, a crowd of Renfrew County officials, industry representatives, and municipal councils from across Ontario and beyond gathered at the Eganville Sewage Treatment Plant to watch as one of the 50-foot long Geotubes, the heart of the municipality's state-of-the-art biosolids facility, was opened a year after it had been filled to capacity. The revamped dewatering facility consists of six 50-foot Geotube units, a greenhouse and a pumping station linked with the plant. Learn more here.;

A new economic study conducted by the University of Tennessee’s Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group has determined there are significant market opportunities for agriculture if Congress enacts a national renewable energy standard (RES) policy. Renewable electricity standards provide an efficient mechanism to increase the share of electricity generated by renewable resources nationwide. Technologies that typically qualify for renewable energy standards include solar, wind, landfill/digester gas, geothermal, biomass (agricultural, wood, co-firing, methane recovery/animal waste), and biogas. Learn more here.;

CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, the world leader in infrastructure project identification and development, announced today the release of the Top 100 Global Strategic Infrastructure Projects. The total estimated value of the projects identified is nearly US$550 billion. The Top 100 List is released prior to the 3rd Annual Global Forum (New York City, 9-11 December 2009).

Maccaferri, a leading provider of Civil Engineering and Environmental solutions for over 130 years, has developed the MacDam™ to control ash and fine sediment runoff on burned or barren slopes. Fire is an ever present force in forests and rangeland and is an important natural process in the renewal of ecosystems. However, as human populations expand, people and their homes, businesses and public infrastructure are not only threatened by the incidence of natural and man-induced wildfires, but ultimately areas affected by fire can succumb to a secondary disaster resulting from the erosion of barren soils.

A new economic study conducted by the University of Tennessee's Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group has determined that there are significant market opportunities for agriculture if Congress enacts a national renewable energy standard (RES) policy. Preliminary results from the study also show that the increased demand for biomass feedstock is substantial under all RES policy cases considered. However, the size of the new market will vary by state and by level of the RES target, with higher targets typically resulting in a larger market for biomass.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a survey to help strengthen stormwater regulations and reduce stormwater discharges from newly developed and redeveloped sites. Stormwater discharges can harm water quality through increases in stormwater volume and pollutant loadings into nearby waterways.

The Nordic region’s mining firms and technology suppliers have not escaped the chill winds that swept through the world’s financial and trading centers. But neither have they stopped key investment programs. Mining Journal's European editor, Kyran Casteel, reports on iron ore, gold silver and other mining activity in Scandinavia. Learn more here.;

As part of an ongoing comprehensive review of dam integrity of coal ash impoundment sites nationwide, EPA has alerted West Virginia public officials and first responders that an impoundment at American Electric Power's (AEP) Philip Sporn facility requires additional safety testing. While EPA does not believe the impoundment's dam is at immediate risk of failure given the information we currently have, out of an abundance of caution the agency has notified West Virginia and Ohio officials of the need for further testing to fully determine the impoundment's integrity. AEP has committed to submitting a plan to carry out the safety tests. That plan will be provided to EPA on Monday, November 2. EPA will oversee the testing and use all necessary authority to assure the safety of the facility.

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) held its 26th annual national conference, Dam Safety 2009, September 27 through October 1 at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. ASDSO's annual meeting is one of the world's leading conferences dedicated to the safe design, construction and maintenance of dams and levees. This year's conference attracted approximately 800 attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and several nations.

The Holfaster brothers, new owners of the Beer Creek Ranch near North Platte, Nebraska, are seeking a permit to expand their operations to accommodate between 3500 and 5250 cattle head. Neighbors are ambivalent about the plan for the site only five miles from the town; but the Holfasters hope to sell residents on their design by talking about the liner system that will be used in a new, roughly $600,000 manure lagoon. Learn more here.;

This summer, EPA replaced a 43,000-square-foot section of the parking lot at its Edison facility with three different types of permeable pavement and planted several rain gardens with varying vegetation for the study. Over the next decade, EPA will evaluate the effectiveness of each pavement type and the rain gardens in removing pollutants from stormwater, and how they help water filter back into the ground. The parking lot will be functional during the study to accurately evaluate how the different types of pavement handle traffic and vehicle-related pollution like leaking oil.

When ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics meets in San Antonio, Texas (27-29 January 2010), the gathering will include a Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI)/D35 joint workshop on durability. The workshop--"Geosynthetic Material Durability: Field and Laboratory Experiences"--will be held on 29 January (8:00 am - 5:00 pm). The topics to be presented are as follows: (Read more)

The winter meeting for ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics will include a couple special events. The first of which is a Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) / D35 joint workshop on durability. The second of which is an exploratory meeting on geocell standardization. This is a fascinating opportunity. Geocell products have been used successfully for a variety of applications for decades. However, many regulators, specifiers and users have found significant market variability with regard to product characterization, market specifications and product quality. The range of geocellular system products is expanding every year. In this important inaugural meeting, all interested individuals will be invited to attend and contribute to the discussion of potential D35 standardization efforts.