Containment

The State of Brunei, on Southeast Asia's island of Borneo, is investing B$7 million (USD$5 million) in the construction of new aquaculture park, which it aims to generate more than B$40 million per year through. The indoor facility at the Eco Aquaculture Park in Tutong District will be the most advanced construction in this sector for Brunei. The vast Asian aquaculture industry has been undergoing dramatic changes with modernization of facilities, production techniques, and government monitoring of exports. Learn more here.;

The Tennessee state legislature may be very close to the ratification of a new bill to require the installation of geosynthetic liners in all new or future expansions to coal ash storage facilities. Kingston, Tennessee, readers will recall, was the site of a massive coal ash pond breach in December 2008. That facility’s failure released 5.4 million cubic yards of contaminated ash across 275 acres. The estimated cleanup cost, announced in mid-February, will be $525-$825 million. Tennessee’s House of Representatives has signed off on the bill (SB1559), but changes in the bill’s language means it must revert to the state senate for an approval vote or further amendments. (Continued.)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (generally known as the Recovery Act or the economic stimulus package) has led to significantly more open discussion about infrastructure needs in the United States. American infrastructure really is in disrepair, so the discussion and wide-scale funding are welcomed. One interesting result of all this attention is how it has thrown light upon projects and segments of the country that have long been overlooked. Take, for example, American Indian reservations. (Continued.)

As April 2009 opened, waste management corporation Republic Services unveiled its impressive combination of solar cell on an exposed landfill cap outside San Antonio, Texas. Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL visited the site a week before the ceremony that marked this innovative addition to waste management practice. Peggs has provided geosynthetica with a write-up about the visit, the technology he found there, and the promise of this application in other applications and around the world.

We have a few deadlines to remind you of this week: the early-bird registration deadline for Waterproof Membranes 2009; the abstracts deadline for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) 2009 conference; and the Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI) annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition entry deadline. Read about these opportunities in the weekly column.

On the northern end of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, the world's largest natural gas conversion facility is being constructed. Many challenges present themselves at this site, however: the high temperatures of the environment, the high temperature of environmentally aggressive liquids that must be contained on site, the sandy substrate, and much more. On the geosynthetic side of things, engineers have been challenged by the selection of geomembranes that will survive in the environment and meet the project's overall environmental sustainability goals. The found their answer in ethylene interpolymer alloy (EIA)-enhanced geomembranes. The expertise of Solmax International and LG Chem have combined to make the site a success. Roughly 160,000 sq. m of geomembrane have been installed by Arabian Environmental Construction (AEC). Work will be on-going through 2009.

Andrew Aho, executive director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), reports that John Henderson of Tencate Geosynthetics has been re-elected as Chairman the GMA Executive Council. This will be John's second term. "We appreciate John’s service and look forward to his continued leadership as Chairman," Aho says. In the past couple years, GMA has made great strides in communication with US Congressional legislators and infrastructure committees.

The Spring 2009 issue of MiraFacts, a publication from TenCate Geosynthetics, has been released. This issue contains stories on how geosynthetics help reduce a carbon footprint, new haul roads brochure, a technical note on loading, two case cases, upcoming events, and more. (Continued.)

Quick word out of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA): John Henderson of Tencate Geosynthetics has been re-elected as Chairman the GMA Executive Council. This will be John's second term. Writes GMA executive director, Andrew Aho, "We appreciate John’s service and look forward to his continued leadership as Chairman." In the past couple years, GMA has made great strides in communication with US Congressional legislators and infrastructure committees. Learn more here.;

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation to the Group of Eight Environment Ministers Meeting held this year in Siracusa, Italy. This marks her first international trip as EPA Administrator. Administrator Jackson will represent the United States among Environment Ministers from the Group of Eight (Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Russia) as well as 12 additional Environment Ministers and leaders of international organizations from around the world. Read more.

European Union (EU) officials are making a push to greatly improve the EU's countries' collective aquaculture industry. With more than half of the fish consumed in the world coming from aquaculture facilities, officials feel the EU has let its industry stagnate by not providing enough support despite significant technological advantages in production over many world regions. Better regulation, coastal development and investment is needed. Learn more here.;

The Netherlands-based LyondellBasell Industries, one of the giant’s of the chemical and resin manufacturing industry, has announced that it will lay off more than 3,000 employees and 2,000 contractors companywide. Roughly 20 offices and 10 manufacturing plants will be closed as well. Read more.

Professional society and business newsletters are a fantastic way to keep current on international events. Geosynthetica, for example, grew out of I-CORP International’s 1990s newsletter Industry Insight. In the past week, two interesting newsletters have come out. (Continued.)

The closing date for abstract submissions to Waterproof Membranes 2009 is NOW: 17 April 2009. We strongly encourage readers to submit their presentation proposals to Dr. Sally Humphreys (sh@amiplastics.com) at Applied Market Information (AMI), the event organizer. This year’s installment marks the third international conference for the waterproofing industry and will take place from 19-21 October 2009 at the Swissôtel Düsseldorf/Neuss in Düsseldorf, Germany. Additionally, the early bird registration rate of EUR790 (Note: 19% German VAT is added) is available through 24 April 2009. This represents a very significant 20% savings on the full registration price.

The 17th Street Canal in New Orleans is eroding at a rate significantly faster than before Hurricane Katrina. Environmental engineers and investigators are trying to determine is rehabilitation work on levees in the past couple years has produced the erosion and if it is causing additional stability problems below surface to the slopes of the canal walls and which would, ultimately, affect levee stability. Learn more here.;

On 15 April 2009, US EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced $600 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the cleanup of hazardous waste (Superfund) sites across the nation. In most cases, this recovery act funding will accelerate the hazardous waste cleanup already underway at the sites and fund new clean-up projects. It will also jumpstart the local economy by creating jobs in the site areas. (Continued.)

When the United States Congress, working with President Obama’s administration, released the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the staggering billions it opened for allocation were in part to go to “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects. Whether the nation's most polluted sites would benefit, however, was not clear. On Wednesday, April 15, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced $600 million of the Recovery Act funds would be made available to National Priorities List (NPL) projects—otherwise known as Superfund. Chris Kelsey reports.

TenCate™ Geosynthetics has made innovative improvements to the Mirafi® S-Series nonwoven geotextiles by providing improved UV resistance and introducing a variety of new color offerings. Mirafi® S-Series nonwoven geotextiles are used in a wide variety of applications in the environmental market. These include use in critical subsurface drainage systems, soil separation, permanent erosion control, protection of HDPE and other geomembranes in landfill construction. (Continued.)

During the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Royal Ten Cate, which was held on 9 April 2009, the dividend for the 2008 financial year was declared at €0.85 (2007: €0.80) per ordinary share of €2.50 par value. (Continued.)

Applied Market Information (AMI) has published the first issue of Film and Sheet Extrusion magazine, a new bi-monthly publication. The entire April/May 2009 edition is available for viewing online. This inaugural issue's stories include an analysis of global PE film markets; new developments in bioplastics; control systems for better extrusion; new lines from W&H, Berstorff and Pti; a Plast show review and Chinaplas preview; and more. Learn more here.;

The India-based Business Coordination House (BCH), which is involved in, among other things, the creation and promotion of geotextile and geosynthetic seminars, has released its April - June 2009 newsletter. This issue includes an article on page 35 on "Textiles for a Built Environment." This includes a section on landscaping materials, such as root barriers, soil stabilization materials, and greenroof support. Read it in PDF today. Learn more here.;

The London Topic (Ontario, Canada) reports that PCB contaminated soil has been discovered outside the "vault" zones where reclamation work is on-going. The contaminated soils have been moved onto a polyethylene pad and covered with a PE membrane and geotextile fabric while officials meet and a public meeting is scheduled. Longer term storage and containment will be part of the site's soil cleanup. Learn more here.;

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.;

Rebecca McWatters from Queens University (Canada) won the 2009 North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) student paper competition. The award was announced in February at the Geosynthetics 2009 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. McWatters' paper, "Diffusive Transport of VOCs through a Co-Extruded Geomembrane with a Nylon Barrier for use in Landfill Cover and Contaminant Barrier Systems," was judged on the content and her presentation at the conference. She is working for a PhD under the direction of Professor R. Kerry Rowe at Queens University. Read more about the award.

This 451-page manual provides procedures recommended by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for analyzing and designing effective highway drainage facilities. The "Hydraulic Design Manual" was originally published in March 2009. Learn more here.;