Containment

Sioux Falls, SD — Raven Industries Engineered Films Division (Nasdaq:RAVN), an innovative manufacturer of specialty plastic film and sheeting, has named Bart Brown their new Director of Sales and Business...

Waterway health and coastal resiliency are some of the most highly debated topics in infrastructure, as work or lack of addressing an issue in one locality can greatly impact...

Stormwater industry leaders Craig Beatty, John Moll, and David Mongeau have co-authored an introduction to the newly formed Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association (SWEMA). They write, "The stormwater sector needs to band together for a common cause. We need to support the regulatory and engineering communities, as well as the individual cities and states now grappling with how to implement Clean Water Act and other stormwater regulations." Read more in their message and about SWEMA here.

Environmental Connection 2013, annual conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), is the world's largest soil and water event. Combining quality education with a world-class expo, Environmental Connection 2013 is the premier gathering place for the erosion and sediment control community. Don't miss out as Environmental Connection comes to San Diego, 10–13 February 2013. Learn more about the short courses, early registration rate, and much more here.

iSmithers Rapra Publishing has release Roger Brown's "50 Years of Polymer Testing." Since the beginning of the rubber and plastics industries, an essential requirement has been that the materials and the products are tested for quality control. Testing establishes their fitness for purpose and provides design data. Brown's book gives a unique personal account--Brown has headed up Rapra's testing laboratory--of the developments in the technology of physical testing of polymers and of the changes in the working environment in which testing was conducted over the last fifty years. Learn more here.;

The construction industry in Europe has been in decline since 2008, with figures from Euroconstruct showing total spend of 1444 billion euros in 2008, 1316 in 2009 and an anticipated 1264 in 2010. Jon Nash of AMI Consulting reviewed this data in a market paper at the annual AMI conference Waterproof Membranes 2010, which took place in December in Cologne, Germany. Around 50% of construction was new build this year. The situation is expected to improve in 2011 with around 1% growth. Civil engineering has been sustained throughout this time frame by government expenditure.

The W. T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award is granted to a person of widely recognized eminence in the voluntary standards system who may or may not be a member of ASTM International. The title of Honorary Member is bestowed upon recipients of the award. No more than two award recipients shall be named in a calendar year. Deadline: 1 April 2010. Learn more here.;

The US Government's General Accounting Office (GAO) has released its report on the 22 December 2008 surface impoundment failure at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston, Tennessee facility. That failure released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash across 300 acres. TVA nows estimates cleanup costs north of $1 billion, with final cleanup to be completed in the next two to three years. The GAO's October/November 2009 report identifies the number and locations of coal ash surface impoundments in the United States; problems, if any, with the storage of coal ash, and how those problems are being addressed; and the type of federal oversight that exists for this segment and what, if any, issues need to be resolved. Read the full briefing here. Learn more here.;

By Preston Kendall – The International Geosynthetics Society has set a goal of getting geosynthetics engineering information into undergraduate civil engineering programs. This is being accomplished in part through...

Propex Operating Company, LLC was recently awarded US Patent number 7,670,660 for technology related to secondary carpet backing material construction. "Receiving this patent reinforces Propex's leadership in innovation and product design," says Dave Gartshore, vice president of sales for Propex Furnishing Solutions division. "This patented technology will support new product introductions in Propex's secondary backing product line and we will work with select customers to commercialize. The high-end material construction provides improved performance, a plush feel and many other advantages that offer value to both our customers and the consumer."

The new issue of Land and Water magazine includes Ian Peggs' article on geomembrane action leakage rates. He writes: "The objective of using a geomembrane liner in a potable water reservoir, a waste water treatment plant lagoon, a CAFO pond, or any other kind of liquid containment facility is, of course, to prevent loss of liquids which are obnoxious or valuable. Leaks are most undesirable, to say the least. But we have learned over the years that while non-leaking facilities can apparently be built, we should not rely on single liners to be totally impermeable, for nothing is." Read a PDF copy of the article from Land and Water.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) today published offshore wind energy statistics for the first half year of 2011, showing a comfortable 4.5% increase in installations of offshore capacity compared to the first half of 2010. EWEA reports that 101 new offshore wind turbines, with a total capacity of 348 Megawatt (MW), were connected to the power grids in the UK, Germany and Norway during the first six months of 2011. Read more and download the report.

Australia-based engineer Siamak Paulson (ADE Consulting Group Pty Ltd) has published the latest episode of his eponymously named podcast series: Siamak’s Geosynthetics Podcast. This time out, he checks in...

The North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) has issued its 2015 Election Ballot to all members, via email. The voting period, which opened December 3, will close on December 17. All...

During the co-located Geosynthetics 2015 and Environmental Connection 2015 conferences in Portland, Oregon (15 – 18 February 2015), North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) held a drawing in the exhibit...

Environmental Specialties International (ESI), the largest contracted installer and provider of geosynthetic lining materials in the United States, is getting bigger. The company announced in late June the acquisition...

California's two main river basins and the aquifers beneath its agricultural heartland have lost nearly enough water since 2003 to fill Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir, new satellite data has shown. California's 500-mile-long Central Valley is home to one-sixth of all irrigated U.S. cropland. Central Valley farms have increasingly tapped into aquifers during the past few years. Learn more here.;

Tri-Tech Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIT), a leading solutions provider to China's water resources, municipal wastewater and industrial pollution control markets, announced today the appointment of Bernstein and Pinchuk LLP, an independent member of the BDO Seidman Alliance, to serve as the company's independent auditing firm, effective 23 April 2010.

The demand for performing geoelectric integrity surveys as the final stage of liner construction quality assurance (CQA) has significantly increased. This has been spurred not only by regulator understanding and wide-spread use in the waste management sector but also by other closely monitored, environmentally concerned industries such as mining, wastewater and fuel/oil storage. This in-demand skill is taught at only one place in the United States, and the next opportunity takes place during CQA Week (April 12-16) at TRI's Austin, Texas campus. Read more about it here.

In Millsboro, Delaware, a proposed carbon-injection system for the generating units at a power plant is being greeted with concern from area residents. The carbon injection should remove mercury for air emissions: a good thing; but the mercury then must be mixed with fly ash: the concern. Residents would be more comfortable, they say, if the on-site landfill had a liner or cover. Learn more here.;

Published by Thomas Telford, the latest issue of Geosynthetics International (volume 12 issue 6) contains six technical papers.

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is accepting abstracts for its 2010 conference and exhibition through 16 October 2009. The event will be held 16-18 August 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. It will be co-located with the American Public Works Association's (APWA) annual event. Learn more about WASTECON in the Call for Presentations PDF. Learn more here.;

Independent energy producer Chief Oil & Gas has been fined $180,000 by Pennsylvania regulators for environmental violations in the Marcellus Shale, the Department of Environmental Protection said on Tuesday. Chief Oil & Gas has paid the civil fine, which was related to a hydraulic oil spill and the failure to maintain a drill pit at a natural gas well in Somerset County, the Pennsylvania DEP said in a statement. Learn more here.;

Dredging Today reports on the disappearance of numerous islands in the Chesapeake Bay due to erosion. One island, Poplar Island, is bucking the trend thanks in part to a dike system made of sand, geotextile and armor stone. With this protective barrier, the island is rising a few feet per year. Learn more here.;

Foi permitida a construção do Terminal de Contêineres e de Grande Volume de Combustível da Embraport na costa norte do Porto de Santos (Brasil), estuário numa zona de maré...