Containment

A two-decade-old cleanup project in Yakima, Washington is about to conclude. The former asphalt and concrete production area underwent significant soil removal and petroleum contamination remediation. A liner was installed and a relfection pond created. Now, a short pathway may be added to complete the site's recreational transformation. Learn more here.;

Jonathan Shamrock of Jones and Wagener writes on "Some Implications of the New Waste Facility Regulations" in South Africa. These changes will impact municipal and hazardous waste landfill lining system designs as well as capping system designs. While these new regulations raise the bar for safety in SA's environmental engineering, they may also indicate more potential failure planes within designs. Will the stringent codes prompt more communication among construction teams? Will they warrant more CQA? Jonathan Shamrock's comments on the country's changing regulatory landscape, orignally authored for the GIGSA Newsletter, are worth reading.

The availability of natural gas pipelines is crucial to the profitability of large dairies converting manure into power in the Midwest. But with more pipelines being built across rural areas to connect major urban zones, the connection points are increasing. In states like Wisconsin, that's helping transform farms with lined lagoons into power centers. Expedited permitting is also helping. Learn more here.;

Congratulations are due to Geofabrics, which has earned a 2018 AusTrade Australian Export Award for Environmental Solutions. The company, which manufacturers geosynthetics and provides supply and design support for...

After 35 years, Land and Water is now available in a digital format. To see a few of the articles in the newest issue, please follow the link below. Learn more here.;

More than two Europeans in three see climate change as a very serious problem and almost 80% consider that taking action to combat it can boost the economy and jobs, a special Eurobarometer survey published today shows. The poll, carried out in June 2011, found that the European public is more concerned about climate change than it was in 2009 - and that climate change remains a greater worry than the economic situation. Read more.

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is accepting abstracts for its annual conference through May 15. EC10 will be held in Dallas, Texas 14-17 February 2009. IECA organizes its work into 8 technology sections: slopes, stream restoration, vegetative establishment, stormwater management, wetlands, erosion and sediment control, beach and shoreline stabilization, and wind erosion. The "Hot Topics" for 2010 are LEED for new construction, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. Learn more here.;

More than 800 attendees were on hand for the 2013 International Low Impact Development (LID) Symposium in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This was the sixth edition of this event. Dr....

David D'Souza, writing for the Goa, India-based Herald, discusses modern, double-lined landfill design but in plain language. He explains the importance of geosynthetic systems, including drainage and containment, and he does it all with easily understandable comparisons, such as geomembrane liners and bathtubs. His succinctly answered questions and plain language demonstrate one way engineers might better engage the public on critical waste designs. Read the article at the link below. Learn more here.;

The December 2009 issue of Waste Age is available online. Learn more here.;

Black & Veatch's 2012 Electric Utility Report, which summarizes a broad survey of the energy field, indicates that the industry believes "...there will be some certainty [in terms of legisation] on carbon; that prices for electricity will continue to rise; that while coal has a future, renewables have a growing but limited one; and that water is a critical environmental concern." Concerns over nuclear storage have grown, and the potential impact of renewable energy technologies on energy prices (already upwardly pressured) ranges wildly. Download the 74-page report (PDF).

This interest in rubber-based liners for SAG milling flies in the face of the previous belief that a SAG mill, using large-diameter grinding media, was just too tough an environment for rubber. But synthetic and natural rubbers are moving from secondary liner status to primary liners in grinding applications at mines. A Canadian company claims to have supplied liners to more than 300 mills around the world. Learn more here.;

Penton Media's 2010 Global Waste Management Symposium (GWMS), an international forum for the presentation of peer-reviewed applied and fundamental research and case studies on waste management, announces a new special session: "Applicability of USEPA Greenhouse Gas Rules to Landfills," to be held October 4 from 12:00 - 2:00 pm at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Learn more.

The infrastructure of the United States received horrible grades in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2005 Report Card. As Rep. Heath Shuler's (D-NC) statement to the House Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment hearing on the Water Resources Development Act of 2008 pointed out, the only passing grade given to the American infrastructure by ASCE was for waste management--the one sector in which geosynthetic technologies are required for use. ASCE estimates that it will take $1.6 trillion over 5 years to properly upgrade the troubled infrastructure. Organizations such as the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) are now working with lobbyists to bring these issues straight to legislators' desks. And on Thursday, February 14, the US Senate Banking Committee interviewed Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke about the US economy. Senators Dodd (D-CN) and Hagel (R-NB) both expressed concern about the state of the US infrastructure and how an economic slowdown could make the US fall even further behind the world in modernizing the infrastructure system. What we should take from it all is this: modern infrastructures need modern materials. The waste management's industry engineers and regulators have understood this and adapted. Keep an eye on infrastructure and legislation news developments here at geosynthetica, follow the updates to ASCE's report card, and take a look at ASCE's infrastructure blog.

Turf reinforcement mats are engineered to solve more difficult, longer-term erosion control situations on slopes and in channels. These materials retain bare soil and stabilize and nurture vegetation while...

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued updates to its April 2012 oil and natural gas standards for storage tanks, which allow responsible oil and natural...

In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, improve aging water infrastructure and protect human health and the environment for the people in New York State, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $86,811,000 to the New York State Department of Health. This new infusion of money provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will help the state and local governments finance many of the overdue improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment across the state.

Dr. George Koerner, P.E. (Director, Geosynthetic Institute) has never shied away from big challenges in research and leadership in the geosynthetics field. The IGS Brasil Em Rede network, which...

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).

Textile materials are being used in some interesting ways in the efforts to soak up oil approaching the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the explosion and sinking of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana late last month. Textile World received reports of two such efforts just this week -- one more high-tech and one less so, but also having potential to help minimize the effects of the spill on the coastal ecosystems. Learn more here.;

In December 2004, Eurocode 7: Geotechnical Design - Part 1: General Rules (EC 7-1) was ratified by the European member states. This prompted a two-year calibration period and a three-year coexistence period between EC 7-1 and national standards. It will not be mandatory to design to the EN Eurocodes in a particular member state, but a designer proposing to use an alternative design standard will have to demonstrate that the alternative is technically equivalent to an EN Eurocode solution. Read more.

The organizers for EuroGeo 6, the 6th European Conference on Geosynthetics, have made the difficult decision to relocate the event to a new country, but they will keep the...

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will spend as much as $5 billion to reduce coal-plant emissions to settle allegations of Clean Air Act violations at 11 coal-fired power plants in three states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday. Federally owned TVA also will retire 18 older coal-fired units at three power plants, totaling 2,700 megawatts, starting next year, TVA said in a release. TVA operates about 17,000 MW of coal-fired generation. Learn more here.;

25 March 2013 – The North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) is proud to announce the launch of its new website: www.igs-na.org. Featuring new graphics and navigation, cleaner display, and deeper content,...

The spike in demand for (and profit from) minerals and precious metals has caused a furious number of mining projects to be pushed. The environmental management costs--liners, erosion control, etc.--have contributed more as the scope of these mining sites expand; but a far greater cost crunch lies in the global competition for mining equipment and labor. There are shortages of both. Learn more here.;