Containment

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has regulatory authority over more than 31,000 facilities across the state, all of which may now be readily identified on an interactive Web-based map. ADEQ launched its easy-to-use interactive map viewer, known as "EnviroView," earlier this month. The feature is available to the public and is accessible from the department's Web site, www.adeq.state.ar.us.

KARL MAYER will appear at this year's Techtextil India with its subsidiary KARL MAYER Malimo and will thus focus on machines for the production of composites. The nonwovens from KARL MAYER multiaxial machines are currently being used in particular as glass reinforcements in the wind power sector and boat construction, where the demand is high. However, geotextiles from RS 3 MSUS-V weft-insertion raschel machines and textile materials from the RS 2 (3) MSUS machine which are used as advertising media have become best sellers on the market.

There is a new global cooperation section of the ASTM International Web site. The updated site has a new look and features more information about ASTM activities with MOU partners and other international standards development organizations. The page links to technical assistance, training opportunities, events, and much more. Learn more here.;

Frontier Refining Inc. has been fined nearly $7 million and ordered to shut down a wastewater management pond for the improper storage of hazardous waste. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes the improper storage has gone on for nine years. Ponds might not have had liners. Learn more here.;

New York State officials have completed new environmental regulations for natural gas drilling that will clear the way for well permits in New York's part of the Marcellus Shale region which covers parts of four states. One of the main changes is that handling and disposal of wastewater that comes back up from wells after fracturing must be stored in steel tanks on the site or piped to a central storage pit using a double-liner system similar to those required at landfills. Learn more here.;

After only three days on the job, the Tennessee Valley Authority's new point man for the Kingston ash spill cleanup predicted Thursday the project would be complete within three years.Officials say about one-third of the 3 million cubic yards of ash in the river has been removed so far. TVA is shipping the ash, which is wrapped in a "burrito liner" (so called because the material is wrapped inside a tarp folded like a burrito), via train to a landfill in Alabama. Learn more here.;

At Cemagref in Antony, research on qualifying the performance of geosynthetics used for landfills is carried out with many partners, both public and private. Nathalie Touze-Foltz, a researcher at Cemagref, has plans to set up a partnership with the Fraunhofer institutes (the equivalent of the Carnot institutes) in Germany or with universities. The goal of a project with Germany would be to encourage the development of partnership research on the most suitable level. Read more.

On 29 January 2010, ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics and the Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) will host a workshop in San Antonio, Texas on "Geosynthetic Material Durability: Field and Laboratory Experiences." David Suits, executive director of the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), reports that GRI's Bob and George Koerner are still open for receiving abstracts for the event. This one-day sympomsium will not require a full paper; only an extended abstract. For more information, please contact George Koerner at gkoerner@dca.net or Sam Allen at SAllen@tri-env.com. Learn more here.;

The city of Newburyport, Massachusetts discovered recently that its 470,000 gallon, underground, concrete water tank was suffereing cracks all around: floor, walls, and ceiling. The council voted to spend $250,000 on immediate repairs, which will include the installation of a plastic liner in lieu of the current soil cover. Learn more here.;

Among four recently announced infrastructure funding schemes, the Trans-Canada Highway Water Reservoir replacement project will receive $966,000, divided into three equal portions of $322,000. The aging drinking water reservoir recently had its interior plastic liner replaced in an effort to extend its life. The reservoir is suffering from extensive corrosion. Learn more here.;

On Sept. 24, the Governments of Canada and British Columbia announced 174 infrastructure projects across the province valued at just under $719 million. This funding announcement represents two programs: the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, and a fund under Building Canada called the Communities Component. See a list of the benefitting sectors and Canadian dollar amounts allocated here. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), announces the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners, to be held at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. Abstract and papers for oral or poster presentations are invited on the following topics: Application / case studies (Landfills, Canals, Reservoirs / Dams, Transportation Infrastructure) • Durability / Lifetime • Laboratory testing • Performance (Cation exchange, Desiccation, Experience from excavation • Regulations / Approvals. Abstracts must be submitted via e-mail to: gbr-c2k10@skz.de no later than 30 September 2009. View the flyer in PDF.

You can still save up to 50% on your conference costs for the 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG). The conference is offering its very early-bird rates through 10 October 2009. Add to it the early booking discount for hotel, and those who take advantage of registering now will save more than $700. The 9ICG will be held 23-27 May 2010 in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Please register as soon as possible. Learn more here.;

Recovery Act Funds (aka, Stimulus Funding) will be used to protect fish eggs at the Erwin National Fish Hatchery in Tennessee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $22,952 contract to install new vinyl raceway covers. Learn more here.;

The White Sulphur Springs Fish Hatchery in West Virginia has been awarded $500,000 for mussel propagation research. Learn more here.;

Workers are putting the finishing touches on flood repairs at the D.C. Booth National Historic Fish Hatchery and Archives at Spearfish. Stone walls and the facility's lone access road were severely damaged in June 2008. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says workers must use special techniques and materials to make repairs because the facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more here.;

Construction on the new John D. Parker East Texas Fish Hatchery near the Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper County, Texas is delayed following the collapse of large-diameter pipes beneath the facility. Learn more here.;

Trelleborg is further strengthening its presence in China and opened yesterday its fifth wholly-owned production plant in the country. The plant will manufacture products for infrastructure projects including fender systems for harbors and dredging hoses. The plant belongs to the Trelleborg Engineered Systems business area, is located in Qingdao on the east coast of China and will initially have approximately 100 employees.

Trelleborg Waterproofing introduces Electrobond, a new and revolutionary method based on a state-of-the-art induction heating technique, for fixing Trelleborg Waterproofing's advanced Elastoseal roofing system to buildings. As the system is maintenance-free with exceptional durability, it proves extremely economical over a long service life.

Waste Control Specialists, LLC, has established a new long-term radioactive waste storage facility in Matagorda County, Texas. The only previous long-term site was in Barnwell, South Carolina, but that facility closed in 2008. The Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal in Texas benefits from better waste containment understanding and technologies than previous facility attempts. Geomembranes are part of the new facility's containment system. Learn more here.;

A group of former National Recycling Coalition presidents are making a run at saving the financially troubled organization. A total of 12 former presidents of the group sent a letter to the NRC board dated September 24 seeking reconsideration of a recent decision to filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Read more. Learn more here.;

Almost a decade after states along the Mississippi River pledged to reduce pollution that leads to the perennial "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government has announced the first program to specifically target and reduce agricultural runoff into the river. Read more. Learn more here.;

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez proposed on Sunday that South American and African nations unite to create a cross-continental mining corporation to keep control of their resources. "Africa and South America are rich lands, yet their peoples are poor, because they have been exploited," Chavez told a summit attended by 28 African and South American leaders. Learn more here.;

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), announces the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners, to be held at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. Abstract and papers for oral or poster presentations are invited on the following topics: Application / case studies (Landfills, Canals, Reservoirs / Dams, Transportation Infrastructure) • Durability / Lifetime • Laboratory testing • Performance (Cation exchange, Desiccation, Experience from excavation • Regulations / Approvals. Abstracts must be submitted via e-mail to: gbr-c2k10@skz.de no later than 30 September 2009. View the flyer in PDF.

The 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG) is offering its very early-bird registration rate through 30 September 2009. Add to it the early booking discount for hotel, and those who take advantage of registering now will save more than $700. The 9ICG will be held 23-27 May 2010 in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Please register as soon as possible. Learn more here.;