Containment

Radio New Zealand reports that a new aquaculture zone has been declared off the coast of Kereta near Coromandel Harbour. The project ends a 7-year moratorium on new aquaculture initiatives. Even with the moratorium, the industry has still supplied nearly $27 million and 300 jobs to the region. In New Zealand, as in most places, aquaculture is growing in importance and scope. Learn more here.;

On July 9 (Wednesday), the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) will host a live webinar on “Composite Drainage Nets – Design and Testing.” The geocomposites-focused session will be hosted...

The third Global Waste Management Symposium (GWMS) will take place 30 September - 3 October 2012 at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix, Arizona and will serve as a forum for the presentation of applied and fundamental research, case studies, and policy analysis on waste and recyclables management. The organizers invite the community of researchers, engineers, designers, academicians, students, facility owners and operators, regulators, and policymakers to participate. The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to December 1.

Writing for NJ Biz, Shankar P. analyzes the role lobbyists are playing in influencing the spending of federal stimulus funds. Shankar's article includes mention of Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) and the company's manufacturing facility in New Jersey. Learn more here.;

WasteSafe 2011, the International Conference on Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, will be held on 13-15 February 2011 in Khulna, Bangladesh. The conference is jointly organised by Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bauhaus University of Weimar (BUW), International Waste Working Group (IWWG) and others. It represents the Second International Conference on Solid Waste Management held in Bangladesh. Abstracts due: 30 June 2010 Learn more here.;

The city of Vapi in the state of Gujarat, India, has a deep industrial history, with chemicals, pesticides, dyes, textiles, and other sectors active in the municipal area. Though such...

China is the top contributor to the global aquaculture production accounting for 67% (34.4 million tons) of the global production. India is a distant second with just 6% of the global production, followed by Thailand and Vietnam with 3.2% each and Indonesia with 2.5%. Learn more here.;

A great opportunity is approaching for the geosynthetics field to play a larger role in the environmental side of the shale energy dialogue. Through August 6, the American Society...

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.

Environmentalists this week expressed fears that Venice would face an increased risk of flooding if plans to expand the Italian city’s port are allowed to go ahead. The city’s port authority wants to develop a huge facility for bulk carriers. Learn more here.;

One of the most common needs in infrastructure is proper drainage and filtration engineering. These solutions consolidate soils to accelerate construction windows. They channel liquids into proper retention or...

The National Guard is joining forces with a contractor hired by BP to put up a protective wall along the shoreline on the north side of Dauphin Island, Alabama. A geotextile-lined unit is being used for establishing a flood protection application. Learn more here.;

Tensar International has released the latest issue of GeoTalk. This issue marks the opening of the corporate publication's 20th volume. The feature stories address how geogrids reduce overexcavation in subgrade reinforcement applications and save cost on aggregate need; an alternative to expensive overlays; the advantages in the new SpectraPave4-PRO™ software; a review of the reinforcement challenge from GeoFlorida 2010; the Triton® Marine Mattresses and Filter Mattresses system aces its "college" test; and more. Read it online today. Learn more here.;

Utilizing online event technology, SPE will present its first-ever Young Professionals Career Forum on 2 February 2011. Students and young professionals seeking careers in the plastics industry are invited to participate in this online, full-day event. Webinars on practical skills, such as interviewing and the art of negotiation, will be presented. Companies are sought as sponsors and participants in the online job fair. SPE will follow up this forum with a series of activities for students and young professionals during ANTEC 2011 in Boston. Questions? Interested in attending as a participant or sponsor? Contact Elizabeth Reagan at ereagan@4spe.org. Learn more here.;

The Senate will vote on a bill to allocate $37 billion for clean water across the country. The bill would earmark $20 billion for low-cost loans for water infrastructure, with another $15 billion for drinking water over five years. The federal authorization for the clean water fund has remained at the same levels since 1987, according to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Learn more here.;

President Obama has announced that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years in partnership with the private sector to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. The initiative responds to a directive from the President issued in March as part of his Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, the administration’s framework for reducing dependence on foreign oil. The biofuels initiative is being steered by the White House Biofuels Interagency Work Group and Rural Council, both of which are enabling greater cross-agency collaboration to strengthen rural America. Learn more here.;

From CE News' Professional Development Hours (PDHs) series of educational articles: "Geosynthetics in Articulating Concrete Block Section Design" looks at various approaches to hard armor erosion control designs that require geosynthetic separation, drainage and reinforcement protection. Readers of the article may take the quiz at the end and submit it to receive 1 PDH credit. The article and quiz are approved for use through August 2013. Learn more here.;

A photo piece for you: Riva Nortje and Jabulile Msiza of Jones Wagener in South Africa. They were out monitoring the construction of a hazardous leachate pond in Rivonia and paused for a photograph. We're always happy for views from around the world of geosynthetic practice. Thanks much to Jones Wagener and to Riva and Jabulile for sharing this shot from the field! If you have photos of your sites to share, please send them to Chris Kelsey at chris@geosynthetica.net.

Jessica Barran's piece at the University for Peace website is firmly against the mining of gold in Costa Rica's northern Crusitas mine, but it may be worth reading for understanding the ways in which communities where resources lay do not see their presence as welcomed. The environmental concerns are real and should be heard--but so should decent science and technology. The right containment materials, facility design, operations and environmental remediation plan can be done responsible. Just as a failure in one country can be cited, so too can a great many successfully managed sites. Learn more here.;

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Technical Committee on Barriers has organized a technical lecture to be included in the GeoAmericas 2016 conference program. The topic: "The Contributions of Barrier...

Duke Energy plans to spend $140 million in the Carolinas -- $365 million company-wide -- by 2013 on protective caps and liners at its ash landfills, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The liners are intended to keep ash that is laden with arsenic, mercury and other metals from contaminating groundwater. Learn more here.;

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) approved the state’s first Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) “green” projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For example, a $2 million streambank stabilization and erosion control project along the Illinois River and Eucha/Spavinaw Creek watersheds. Learn more here.;

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.;

I-CORP INTERNATIONAL's Ian Peggs served as an instructor earlier this week at the latest TRI-CORP Liner Integrity Survey and Assessment (LISA) course at the TRI/Environmental campus in Austin, Texas. He reports that 16 attendees took part. Also, TRI's A.J. Shah joined him in instruction during the April 12-13 days of TRI's Spring CQA week. The participants represented four installers (two from Canada), eight engineers (one from Canada, two from the Navy), two manufacturer/installers, and two practitioners. Read more in Dr. Peggs' review.

The mining of oil and gas in deep rock calls for the use of thousands of gallons of water. The fracturing fluids become contaminated, either as part of or subsequent to the process, and must, in many areas, be stored in lined pits. However, companies in Colorado are looking to turn away from liners and instead use underground injection disposal, in part because they are finding it difficult to dispose of liners after use. Many landfills will not accept them because of potential toxic contamination. Colorado may need to change its liner disposal rule to a bury-in-place scheme. Learn more here.;