Containment

The annual Environmental Connection conference and exhibition from the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is the premier educational event for the erosion, sediment control and stormwater industry. Environmental Connection, which will next be held 10-13 February 2013 in San Diego, California, combines intense, full and half-day training courses with topic-focused technical sessions and the largest expo of its kind. In our latest update on the event, learn about volunteer opportunities, short courses, a student scholarship, and more.

Geosynthetics veteran Ian Peggs was in Abu Dhabi, UAE in November for the annual Geosynthetics Middle East conference. He writes of the fifth installment of the conference, "One day was devoted to geotextiles, geogrids, and geocells, while another was devoted to geomembranes. Approximately 350 people registered and represented 30 countries including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UK, USA, Germany, Switzerland, India, Iran, China, Slovakia, and Poland. There were more than 30 exhibitors. The conference is organized by SKZ (Germany) with the assistance of BMC-Gulf." Read more.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Parkland Pipeline (Parkland), an Alberta-based company that serves the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. The company specializes in the technical support, engineering support, and construction of pipelines and oilfield facilities. Parkland has about 900 staff and approximately C$140 million in annual revenue. "Like other previous acquisitions, Parkland enables Tetra Tech to provide additional core water, environmental and engineering work to the pipeline industry while better serving these customers," said Tetra Tech's Chairman and CEO Dan Batrack.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) has announced that it has acquired solid waste management specialist American Environmental Group, Ltd. (AEG) of Richfield, Ohio. AEG provides environmental, design, construction, and maintenance services to solid and hazardous waste, environmental, energy, utility, and other industrial clients. The company has more than 500 employees and approximately $95 million in annual revenue.

Group CTT publishes a broad resource for the greater geosynthetics and textile industries: Textile Journal. Each issue examines market trends, changes in tests and standards, new opportunities for growth (e.g., nanotechnology), and much more. Read it online. Learn more here.;

ASTM International, together with the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), will conduct a one-day workshop on geotextiles on 22 January 2013, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at BTRA's facilities in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. This free technical workshop will feature two speakers: Sam Allen, vice-president of TRI/Environmental Inc. and a longtime member of ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics; and V.K. Patil, senior scientific officer in charge of the geotextile lab at BTRA. Learn more.

Last October, professionals and partners of the HUESKER Group received the Milton Vargas Award. This award is an initiative of the Brazilian Magazine Fundações and Obras Geotécnicas that aims to recognize the work of professionals responsible for planning, design and implementation of large construction projects and whose works have already been mentioned prominently in the pages of the magazine. The awarding took place in São Paulo in the presence of hundreds of professional engineers representing the Brazilian geotechnical consultants and companies including the honourees, their friends and families.

Engineers at District 2 of the Illinois Department of Transportation were busy preparing plans for a major project in the Quad cities area in Rock Island County of Northwestern Illinois. The project, an extension of the Milan Beltway, was to include a long and highly visible drainage channel. They sought out a vegetated solution for this project, and the ideal solution they found was with composite turf reinforcement mats (C-TRM) from Tensar North American Green. Read about the exemplary and cost-saving performance from this site.

Yamba is a small coastal community on the northern beaches of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. and is known as the "Jewel in the Crown" for Clarence Valley Council, a point which was reinforced when it won "The Best Town in Australia" in 2009. In early 2012, undermining in the southeast corner of Whiting Beach was exposing key infrastructure, including the footpath, road, stormwater pipe work and chamber, pressurized sewer and a car park. ELCOROCK® Geotextile Sand Containers were seen as an ideal solution to fit these criteria and were adopted after consultation with Geofabrics Australasia, Fisheries and Crown Land.

Did you know that Brandenton, Florida-based Engineered Coated Products (ECP) is a division of Intertape Polymer Group? Within ECP's diverse product offerings you'll find NovaThene AquaMaster™ for water containment and barrier membranes. ECP sells to many growing end user markets in Canada and the United States. Visit ECP's web site to learn more. Learn more here.;

Titan Environmental is sponsoring the 2013 "GeoSolutions for the Mining and Heavy Construction Industry" seminars throughout Canada. These gathering will address Roads, Embankments, Dams, Landfills, and Mining Caps. The specific agendas will also be shaped by the primary needs where the seminar sessions are taking place. The Western Canada sessions will take place January 21–25 with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. The Eastern Canada sessions will take place January 28–February 1, with stops in Toronto, Greater Sudbury, Frederichton, Halifax, and St. John's. Stay current with seminar agendas and registration information via Titan's website. Learn more here.;

The International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has published the third issue of its 2012 volume of newsletter. Issue 28.3 delivers 40+ pages of stories from around the world, summarizing events, detailing opportunities in geosynthetics, profiling society activities, and more. Key stories in this issue include a reboot of the "Educate the Educators" initiative, results from the IGS Elections (2012 - 2016 term), the members-only proceedings library online, and much more.

TRI Environmental, Inc. (TRI), a leading international geotechnical, geosynthetic and erosion control materials services company, has announced the hiring of Abigail Beck, a design and CQA engineer with considerable experience in geomembrane-lined containment facilities in waste management and mining. She also has extensive experience with liner integrity surveys (also known as leak location/detection), an increasingly important and required environmental protection service in containment facility construction. In her new position, Ms. Beck serves as a Senior Engineer and will introduce a new role to TRI as its Director of Liner Integrity Services. Learn more.

In a joint effort HUESKER Synthetic, INORA and NEOSTRAIN have documented the outstanding technical solution for sinkhole reinforcement as well as the detection and monitoring of deformations of the new constructed motorway A1 near Katowice, Poland. The solution was presented in the paper "Fully automated system for monitoring of deformations and settlements of embankment body of motorway A1" and presented at the 16th Polish Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering held in Breslau, Poland in September 2012. The technical Committee of the Conference thanked the authors and awarded the paper for its high level of innovation and quality.

American Environmental Group Ltd. (AEG) has announced the promotion of John Beeman, a 25+ year veteran of the field, to Division Manager – Geosynthetics. Beeman's new responsibilities include estimating, project management, field operations, and business development. The Geosynthetic Division, staffed with over 300 experienced team members, is AEG's largest division and operates throughout the United States. John will continue to report to Carl Apicella, AEG's President, and will remain based in the Richfield, Ohio, corporate office.

Freecycling is the act of recycling what is destined for a landfill by giving it away to those who can still utilize the original materials. For the manufacture of geosynthetics, this may represent a huge opportunity to reduce the amount of material that is landfilled simply by default of being "waste" from the perspective of the conventional manufacturing, shipping, and storage side of the business. Geofabrics Australasia recently engaged in a highly successful freecycling trial in the Albury/Wodonga area of New South Wales, thanks to a strong freecycling organization and the dedicated efforts of a Geofabrics employee.

The Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association drafted a new Maintenance Agreement for use by state and local government agencies in setting an ordinance requiring the maintenance of all stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). A sample Operation and Maintenance Agreement is contained in this document that includes templates for inspection checklists for each type of BMP, including water quality buffers. The inspection checklists can also serve as an inspection report for each facility.

American Environmental Group Ltd has grown to become one of the largest suppliers and installers of geosynthetic materials in North America, with offices across the country and multiple divisions. The company currently has a Geosynthetics Technical Manager position open at its Richfield, Ohio headquarters. Learn more about the qualifications and expectations here. And please share this opportunity with the geosynthetics experts you know who may be right for the position.

The International Erosion Control Association's membership voted to re-elect Charles R. Riling, Jr., and Brock Peters, CISEC to the Region One 2013 Board of Directors. Joining Riling and Peters to the 2013 Board of Directors is new board member Craig S. Benson. The IECA Region One Board of Directors is made up of nine members, each serving a three-year term. Board positions will be decided at the Board meeting to be held at Environmental Connection 2013, IECA's annual conference and expo, February 10-13, 2013, in San Diego, CA, USA.

Terrafix Geosynthetics is sponsoring a workshop with internationally renowned geotechnical and geosynthetics practitioner Dr. R. Kerry Rowe. The event has limited space so pre-registration is a must. Register now for a spot at the January 8 session in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Contact bherlin@terrafixgeo.com for registration information and visit the event information page for more details. Learn more here.;

On 1 November 2012, Dr.-Ing. F.- Hans Grandin took over as Managing Director of HUESKER Synthetic GmbH based in Gescher (Westphalia). Thus, after just ten months, Mr Grandin succeed Mr Wolfgang Huesker who, from now on, will return to devote his full attention to his tasks in the Advisory Board of the company. Established in 1861, HUESKER today is a company which pioneers the development and production of geosynthetics, agricultural and technical textiles for applications used throughout the world.

HUESKER has just published a video on dewatering with the company's SoilTain® tubes. Learn more here.;

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has released its White Paper #26: "Need for and Justification of Quality Management Systems for Successful Geosynthetic Performance." In it, the Institute notes that despite 30+ years of literature documenting the great many successes with geosynthetics, three areas still have experienced types of failures that may "set the stage for the justification of quality management systems." These areas: holes in geomembranes, geotextile filter failures, and MSE wall failures.

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.

The annual Waterproof Membranes conference from Applied Market Information (AMI) gathers 11-13 December 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany. This year's program includes a strong mix of geotechnical and architectural influences, covering research and market updates, manufacturing advances, applications, new technologies, and more. The early registration bonus for the conference is significant. This year, attendees who register by November 9 can save €100 on registration. Learn more.