Containment

TenCate Geosynthetics’ has announced some organizational changes for 2009: Wally Moore will relocate to Austria as Managing Director of TenCate Geosynthetics Europe; Lee Bryan will be promoted to President of TenCate Geosynthetics North America; and John Henderson will become Senior Vice President, responsible for all sales and marketing activities at the North American office. Congratulations are due to all three for their years of accomplishments for TenCate. We look forward to working with them in their new capacities. Learn more here.;

If you can't win the lottery, you might as well apply for its funds. Villagers in Wrexham, United Kingdom, secured a £10,000 grant from The Big Lottery Fund's "Breathing Spaces" program. The money has been used to restore and line a local pond. Learn more here.;

It seems like the broadcasts began only yesterday, but indeed the truth of the matter is that the Erosion and Sediment Control Network (ESCN.tv) has reached its 200th episode! Congratulations are due to Land and Water magazine and the ESCN team for their years of work on this unique service to the industry. This week's online broadcast includes not just the week's news but a nice montage of the path to 200 and various congratulatory statements from industry figures such as Laurie Honnigford, Marc Theissen, Scott Nelson, Mark Myrowich and Russ Adsit. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica posts its first CEN Standards Watch: a breakdown of the standards currently under development or up for approval with Europe-based CEN's Technical Committee 189 (CEN/TC 189), which focuses on geosynthetics. Other important groups will be monitored as we move forth in this tracking of international standards formation. Read the first update here.

PGI members voted to grow the PVC Geomembrane Institute to the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI). The FGI—like the PGI—is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the use of fabricated geomembranes through education, research, and technology transfer. PVC geomembranes will continue to be an important part of the FGI, but the FGI will also include all geomembranes that are factory fabricated. Read more about it.

We've found that the 13-19 December 2008 issue of the UK-based newspaper The Economist is loaded with engineering-ready fodder, from an extensive report on India and China's needs (and what the world economy needs from those nations) to an editorial and coverage on President-elect Barack Obama's proposed massive spending on improving American infrastructure. Some articles are available free online. Learn more here.;

CETCO Oilfield Services has announced that it is set to expand its presence in the growing market of Libya. The country is moving towards doubling its output of oil to 3 million barrels per day. Investment in Libya's oil and gas industry has increased 64% over the past few years. CETCO Oilfield Services is a sister division of CETCO Lining Technologies, which provides geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs), geomembranes and other geosynthetic materials and expertise. Learn more here.;

A new ASTM standard developed by ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics fills the need for an internationally recognized standard to ensure that EPDM sheet material received by customers is consistent regardless of the manufacturer. The new standard, D7465, Specification for Ethylene Propylene Diene Terpolymer (EPDM) Sheet Used in Geomembrane Applications, is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D35.10 on Geomembranes. Read more in the release.

Sediment erosion into streams is a large concern even for trails in parks. Increasingly, districts are turning to long-term corrections of pathways through the use of geotextiles and geocells in trail construction. Over at the United States Forestry Service's "Success Stories" website, Dianne Berry writes on the rebuild of stream crossing in Manistee National Forest. Learn more here.;

Chemical Waste Management (CWM) owns a hazardous waste landfill in New York, but the facility is at an end of permitted life. The company is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and is seeking to add a six-inch geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) cap instead of two feet of clay while also extending the facility life one more year. GCLs have been shown to be more dependable than simple clay caps and significantly save on volume in waste cells. Learn more here.;

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 5th National Conference for Nonpoint Source and Stormwater Outreach seeks abstract and workshop proposals through 30 January 2009. The event will provide practitioners from around the country the opportunity to learn and share ideas on developing and implementing nonpoint source and stormwater outreach strategies that produce positive, measurable outcomes, comply with NPDES requirements, and can be successfully implemented with modest budgets. The conference will take place 11-14 May 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Learn more in the call and conference PDF. Learn more here.;

The 185-mile-long, historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal--more familiarly known as the C&O Canal--was compeleted in 1850 and served as a major transport corridor for goods such as lumber and grain. Today, it is a national park surrounded by more than 12,000 acres of land. Not long ago, a towpath began to fail when drainage pipe broke. The saturated slope gave way and exposed a main water line for Arlington County, Virginia. Repair of the slope was key both for the preservation of this historic canal and for the safety of Arlington's water supply. Maccaferri's Green Terramesh® system was selected to provide slope stability and vegetation for the natural look park patrons and officials seek along the C&O. Construction was quick, economical and effective. Read Pino Cignarella's case study.

Propex Geosynthetics has released a new website in support of its ArmorMax™ Anchor Reinforced Vegetation System product line. The site features a wealth of information about ArmorMax, including features and benefits, case studies, a downloadable product brochure, and how the product is used as a permanent solution for structural and non-structural applications. Read more in and link to the site from the release.

The 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG) has extended its Call for Papers to 15 January 2009. Abstracts are sought on key topics such as drainage, mining, durability and long-term performance, transportation, hydraulic applications, new products and much more. The 9ICG will be held 23-27 May 2010 in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Learn more here.;

Sonoma County, California is renowned for its pinot noirs and numerous other wines. New regulations are going into effect that will put a development and expansion scrutiny upon vineyards very similar to what home builders must live up to. It's all part of bringing the state's powerful agriculture industry under the water protection regulations of the California Environmental Quality Act. Learn more here.;

Seaman Corporation is investing $7 million in expanding capabilities at its Bristol, Tennessee manufacturing facility. The company makes, among other things, geomembranes. This latest round of investment is part of a three-year improvement in the Bristol site. Learn more here.;

The Barrie Examiner (Ontario, Canada) reports that a $4.5 million investment in the Sandy Hollow Landfill is helping extend the landfill's capacity until 2024. The old system involved considerable sand separation layers. The new system involves removing excessive sand, better compaction, modern lining and monitoring technologies, and more efficient daily cover layers. The overall 9-year plan will cost around $44 million and will be a much-welcomed addition to the region's waste management plan. Learn more here.;

India-based Fibre 2 Fashion has published an interview with Suresh Kannan, Vice President, SRF Limited. Mr. Kannan comments on the importance of growing sectors in India. Of note, he cites Indian government support for research and development and new spending initiatives to produce an infrastructure capable of sustaining growth. Road construction, waste management, airport runways and coastal erosion control are expected to be major sectors. Agrotech also shows promise. Read more. Learn more here.;

The latest conference update from the Asia Mining Congress 2009 is available. The current issue includes information on the latest speakers from mining, manufacturing, governments, and investment groups; workshops; sponsors; and the most current event brochure. The conference will be held 23-27 March 2009, Singapore. Read the newsletter online. Learn more here.;

Canada's wealth of oil is considered the world's second largest supply by many measurements, but the lionshare of it is trapped in sand and rock. Oil sands extraction and conversion is energy intensive and, especially in the suddenly affordable oil market, costly. But oil will remain a high demand item, and oil sands are a major extraction point for the future--and that means significantly better environmental controls are needed. A report released by the Canadian non-profit group Environment Defense indicates that 11 million liters leaks from oil sands tailings pits and processing cycles each day. If the major planned sites go online, that daily rate could rise to 72 million liters per day. Learn more here.;

The Board of Directors of ADS Inc. has announced the company's financial results for the third quarter ended 26 October 2008. The company's sales volume increased 4.7% in the quarter, and for the first nine months of the fiscal year ADS posts an 11% increase. Sales volume is up due to growth in the company's Afitex Texel Geosynthetics Inc. joint venture. Of note, the company reports success in the Draintubes product line. Learn more here.;

The organizers of GeoAfrica 2009 have opened the registration section of the conference website. The event has received tremendous support in abstract submissions--more than double the expected and from 26 countries--and exhibitors (all space nearly sold out). This is shaping up to be a can't-miss event. Visit the conference website's new registration page. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association's (IECA) monthly e-news update includes word that Peter Mulroony, founder of Geosynthetic Systems (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has retired. Mulrooney has been involved in IECA for more than 20 years. We wish him the best. Learn more here.;

The Associated Press reports that Idaho-based Hecla Mining Co. pay $102,000 in penalties following a spill of mine tailings at a zinc and lead facility near Mullan, Idaho. More than 22,000 gallons of hazardous material was released. Of greatest concern in the incident is the roughly 900 gallons of liquid mill tailings that spilled into the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River during a heavy storm in 2006. That accident occurred at the ironically named Lucky Friday Mine. The company has taken numerous steps to correct these matters and prevent them from being repeated. Learn more here.;

Organic dairy farming has become controversial due to the fact that loopholes in regulations defining "organic" have qualified many concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to produce officially "organic" milk. This has depressed pricing and threatened the survivability of small farms, which previously defined the organic market. Now, proposed rule changes from the United States Department of Agriculture may curb CAFO qualifications in this dairy sector--but the rules are so narrowly defined that they may eliminate small farms instead. It's another example of how large farms are becoming the true norm, and why stronger environmental controls, such as lined waste lagoons, are even more important. Learn more here.;