Containment

Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will hold a joint press conference with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester to make an announcement on a public health issue. The press conference will be held June 17, at 1:20 p.m. EDT.

Amec Environmental is involved in the PCB cleanup project of the New Harbour dumpsite near Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, Canada. During a public meeting on June 11, Amec representatives said that a second liner may be needed to properly close the site. Learn more here.;

UK-based Electrokinetics, which combines geosynthetic and electrokinetic technologies for drying out soils, was launched five years ago out of research and development work conducted at Newcastle University. The company has made its first major deals now and is very close to turning profitable. Electrokinetics has also received extra funding to further refine its technology. Plans are being made to export the technology. Learn more here.;

Applied Market Information (AMI) will host "The Middle East Plastics Industry Strategy Seminar" on 19 October 2009 in Cologne, Germany. This event has been offered twice already in 2009. This next session is your final chance in 2009 to take part. With an estimated 15 million tons of additional polymerization capacity coming on line in the Middle East in the next three years, the region stands to become a major plastics processing center. Will geosynthetics be part of this boom in production? How will the Middle East's growth affect global markets? The one-day seminar aims to tackle these subjects. Download the PDF brochure. Learn more here.;

Solmax International announced that all European customers will now benefit from a 7-day grace period free-of-charge for on-site deliveries (DDP). All fees due to merchandise pick up delays will be covered by Solmax for up to 7 days for deliveries transiting via Liverpool, South Hampton, Anvers, le Havre and Hamburg port. Read more about this benefit. Learn more here.;

We've seen the number of geotextile tube projects growing, particularly for beach protection and renourishment. Major projects have been announced in India, Nigeria, Grand Isle (Louisiana, USA), etc. Now, in Surfside Beach, Texas, officials hope to host a Texas General Land Office (GLO) demonstration project using submerged, sand-filled geotextile tubes. Learn more here.;

Arab Water World, which covers water, wastewater treatment, canal lining and other markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), now offers its issues in PDF. Visit the magazine's website--www.awwmag.com--to register for free. A PDF link is included below (but free registration may be required). Learn more here.;

Pipe and Profile Extrusion is a bimonthly digital magazine from Applied Market Information (AMI), a leading provider of market intelligence and events for the global extrusion markets. The magazine is distributed electronically to the producers of plastic pipes, tubes and profiles around the world. Access to the magazine is free-of-charge and readers can download pages as PDFs for printing, storage and sharing. Read the issue online today. Learn more here.;

The Minnesota Erosion Control Association (MECA) is planning its 2010 Annual Erosion Control and Stormwater Management Conference and Trade Show. The event will be held 11-12 March 2010 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Organizers seek presentations of two types: local projects completed for stormwater management or erosion and sediment control; new innovative products for stormwater management or erosion and sediment control. Abstracts and titles are due by 31 July 2009 to meca@mnerosion.org.

Arab Construction World, which covers multiple construction markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, now offers its issues in PDF. Visit the magazine's website--www.acwmag.com--to register for free. A PDF link is included below (but free registration may be required). Learn more here.;

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the compliance date for all facilities and established a new compliance date for farms subject to the oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) regulations. This final rule is part of EPA's multi-phased strategy to address concerns with the SPCC regulation. Specifically, this SPCC rule amendment extends the dates by which the owner or operator of an SPCC regulated facility or farm must prepare or amend and implement an SPCC plan to 10 November 2010.

Creating a new company called Tuberias Tigre-ADS Limitada will combine ADS corrugated pipe and Tigre's mining, solid wall pipe to expand sales of both products in South America. The financial arrangements of the new joint venture were not disclosed.

ADS also announced that it has reached agreement to acquire the assets of Century Plastics, Inc. of Hayfield, Minnesota. Century manufactures corrugated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipe used mainly for agricultural drainage systems.

TenCate™ is pleased to announce the appointment of Lancer Textiles as Master Distributor for the Industrial Fabrics division effective immediately. Lancer Textiles' role as Master Distributor will be to service those TenCate™ customers that may not be able to meet the minimum order quantity requirement, who typically buy small quantities, who order infrequently and to fulfill special converting needs and requests, such as slitting, re-rolling, etc.

Tensar International recently installed a magnetic fuel treatment system from Maxsys to one of their gas-fired, steam-raising boilers. The project has reported cut gas consumption by 5.78%--a considerable financial savings in the manufacturing process and an admirable environmental benefit. Also, extensive analysis by the Blackburn-United Kingdom facility's chief engineer has found that boiler efficiency has improved by 5.46%. Read more in the release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to require livestock agriculture to report manure-related greenhouse gas emissions is not well thought out and could increase environmental problems, according to the National Pork Producers Council. Among the NPCC's concerns is that reporting requirements may actually deter the installation of methane-harvesting systems, such as geosynthetic covers.

The Dallas City Council has approved $29 million for a levee damage study and transportation improvements. The levees have been treated with erosion control measures, but significant improvements are thought to be needed, including reinforcement and internal seepage control. Learn more here.;

Waste & Recycling News has posted some photos from Day One of Waste Expo 2009. See them here. Learn more here.;

The Times of India reports that villagers in Candolim are working with a water resources department on a 1.5-km-long beach erosion control project that will use sand-filled geotextile tubes. Monsoons have caused considerable erosion in India this year, and increasing the country is turning to geotextile tubes to provide better protection. The project is expected to cost Rs 6 crore (USD $1.27 million). Learn more here.;

In Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada, a biocell facility has been granted approval to proceed with construction after a three-year permit battle. The asphalt-topped site will treat fuel-contaminated soils and will have a geomembrane for containment. Learn more here.;

Textile World reports that Summerville, South Carolina-based Thrace-Linq Inc. has commissioned a state-of-the-art needlepunched nonwoven manufacturing line from NSC Nonwoven. Greece-based Thrace Plastics Co. S.A. manufactures woven and nonwoven geotextiles. The company acquired Linq in mid-2007 to form Thrace-Linq. Learn more here.;

The Associated Press reports that another round of billions from the federal stimulus package in the United States will be released to the states over the summer. Among the many projects targeted, approximately 200 projects in rural waste and water systems will be performed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expedite cleanup at 20 Superfund sites. US Vice President Joe Biden has added to the discussion that the stimulus work in the coming months will add roughly 600,000 jobs. A significant portion of those jobs will be part of the 1500 road projects aided by the next round of stimulus. Learn more here.;

As of 1 June 2009, Axter Coletanche, makers of bituminous geomembranes, has discontinued its main distributor relationship in Quebec and is heading up its own distribution of the Coletanche bituminous liner in Canada. Bertrand Bruel is leading this effort from his office in Montreal. He reports hightened interest in the use of bituminous geomembranes in global dam construction after the company's recent visit to the ICOLD conference in Brazil. Learn more here.;

Oasis State Park in New Mexico is a popular fishing spot in Portales along the eastern border of the state. The lake was recently restocked with catfish and reopened to the public. The man-made lake was restored after two failures of clay liners--the first of which (February 2008) was a failure after 20 years of use, and the second after about two weeks when a company attempted to rehabilitate the old clay. A geosynthetic lining system was acquired and now promises renewed, long-term use. Learn more here.;

In Cumberland County, Tennessee, a company has proposed using coal ash in the reclamation and beneficial reuse of a 300-acre former mining site on Smith Mountain. A public hearing has taken place during which residents expressed considerable concerns. Tennessee, as many readers know, is where more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled when a Kingston-based facility's ash pond failed last December. The proposed project on Smith Mountain would use liners, samples of which were shown at the hearing. More is expected from the County Commission after its June 15 meeting. Learn more here.;