Containment

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) has announced the winners of its 2008-2009 scholarships. Congratulations are in order for Garrett Graybill, Brian Carlton, Rachel Ernst and Joe Tom on their deserved recognition. Read more about their work and the 2009-2010 call for nominations.

MC Endeavors, Inc. has announced that its subsidiary CENTIUUM Holdings, Inc. has signed a Joint Venture agreement with OneSource Company Ltd. of South Korea to support the installation of their underground storm water retention chambers manufactured by StormTech LLC for projects in South Korea. OneSource is the premier outsourcing company in Korea with offices in Seoul and Hong Kong. StormTech LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) which is the world's largest producer of corrugated HDPE pipe.

SOPREMA is proud to announce that its factory located at 1675 Haggerty Street, is the first site in Canada and first of the SOPREMA group to have successfully completed the certification process for EN 16001 Standard - Energy Management Standard (energy efficiency). Offered by the BSI group, a world-leading independent professional services organization, this standard ensures that the company complies with the most current practices in terms of energy management.

CSX Transportation is seeking permission to place caps over contaminants from the old Creosote Works that settled in the West Pascagoula River and Bayou Pierre in Gautier, according to company officials and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The proposed cap will include layers of reactive core mat, silty sand isolation area, non-woven geotextile and poorly graded stone. The cap would be overlaid with a veneer of fine sand and indigenous wetland vegetation within the intertidal zone to mitigate the seven-tenths acre of tidal fringe wetlands that would be affected. Learn more here.;

The world's largest waterproofing and roofing group is forming. GAF, which has an extensive roofing membrane portfolio, has acquired ICOPAL Group, which is globally involved in roofing, waterproofing, and civil...

As Nearly 80 years of erosion data in the United States informs the massive RUSLE2 database, led by the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. In this...

EPA has awarded $520,400 to Wayne, Nebraska, for improvements to its wastewater treatment plant project. Wayne's existing 25-year-old facility continues to generate odor complaints regarding the sludge treatment system. The grant will help construct a wastewater treatment plant which will address odor concerns.

The Mt. Washington mine remediation project is progressing steadily in Canada's Comox Valley. The site has long been a source of severe pollution for Tsolum River, but work is now in motion to prepare the area for the installation of a drainage system and bituminous geomembrane cap. Learn more here.;

The Environmental News Network (ENN) reports that the world faces less of a water shortage than it does proper water system management. This includes a need to fix leaking pipes and to utilize containment technologies such as barriers for conserving water in canals and reservoirs. Poor management means that 40 to 60 percent of water fails to reach the intended consumers. Learn more here.;

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced that it will release details from its 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure on 28 January 2009--two months ahead of the full report's release. The association has decided to release some information now, as the new Congress and incoming presidential administration have both placed new infastructure projects high on the list of priorities for the United States. ASCE will release letter grades and short conditions summaries for each of 15 categories, solutions for infrastructure improvement, and an overall cost to improve the nation’s infrastructure. Read an important letter from ASCE president D. Wayne Klotz on the report card (and renew your membership!).

The Second Pan-American Geosynthetics Conference and Exhibition (GeoAmericas 2012) will provide a forum for geosynthetics engineers, practitioners and academe to explore current and potential applications for geosynthetics, while offering an active marketplace for the promotion of geosynthetic products and technology to users throughout the Americas.The event will be held 1-4 May 2012. Abstracts are currently being sought. Due date for abstract submission: 31 May 2011. Learn more.

Over at the Aiken Standard, writer Mike Gellatly reports on the closure of the General Separations Area Consolidated Unit (GSACU) in the Savannah River Site, a 310 sq. m. section of land owned by the US Department of Energy. The site managed radioactive materials for government, industry and other endeavors during the Cold War Era. It was added to the National Priorities List in 1989 and has now been successfully capped with geosynthetics. Learn more here.;

VANCOUVER - Two short courses will be offered on Sunday, September 22 prior to the Heap leach Solutions conference. These short courses are specifically designed to help participants get the...

ASTM International's Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced work item WK31090, "Standard Guide for Installation of Geosynthetic Clay Liners." It is a work item revision to existing standard D6102-06. Any approved changes to the standard are expected to be minor. Learn more here.;

During the Geo-Frontiers 2011 conference, there was some whispering that Mark Smith, who founded Vector Engineering (now Ausenco Vector) would be coming out of retirement to retake the reins of his old firm. This is not true, Mark reports. While he may be taking up more engineering-related speaking engagements in 2011, he is not retaking a management role at Vector. He continues to be most active with the Smith International Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to opening dialogs between the resource industries and the communities they affect. Visit the Foundation on Facebook. Learn more here.;

In 2003, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) rejected more costly solutions to fix the coal-ash landfill at TVA's power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. These solutions would have included the types of walls and containment liners used in other waste facilities but which are not required in most states for fly ash. After rejecting options that cost up to $25 million, the TVA installed trenches and other drainage mechanisms in an attempt to relieve the water pressure. Last month, the walls burst and flooded 300 acres of land with contaminated coal ash. Learn more here.;

Western Environmental Liner, an online supplier of custom fabricated pond liners, PVC liners, pit liners, field liners, canal liners and polypropylene liners,has been recommending reinforced products over un-reinforced products for most common applications. Their reinforced polyethylene also known as the Aqua seriesconsists of a very strong high density polyethylene scrim coated with a low density polyethylene coating. Western Environmental Liner's Aqua series consists of the best woven coated reinforced polyethylene available in the market today. The Aqua series has excellent tear and good u.v. resistance, excellent for long term applications. These products often make for a perfect pond liner.

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.

The first quarter of the year is a time of renewing professional society memberships, and it is also often a time of elections. Readers are encouraged to renew their North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) memberships now…as well as take part in the NAGS Elections. From now through February 21, members of NAGS—the North American chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS)—will be able to vote for the President Elect position and a Vice President spot.

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced work item WK30563, "Test Method for Determining Integrity of Seams Produced Using Thermo-Fusion Methods for Reinforced Geomembranes by the Grab Method." There is no current standard test method for this test since it was removed from an ASTM guide. Learn more here.;

One of the world’s biggest manufacturers of geosynthetics seems set to go private. The multinational Royal Ten Cate NV (AMS:KTC), based in the Netherlands and listed on the NYSE...

Following Congressional pledges for EPA regulation of coal waste after the catastrophic waste spill in Tennessee and a second spill in Alabama, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has outlined what it believes are the minimum safeguards necessary to protect the environment and public health and safety from coal waste. Among the SELC's recommendations: double-liner systems. Read more in the release and link to a report.

Permathene's December 2009 Newsletter is now available in PDF. The issues contains a review of conferences and events in 2009, issues raised during the year (such as water infrastructure concerns), an impressive project note with gabions in Sydney, an update on the growing use of gabions in landscape architecture, and baffle curtains in New Zealand. Read the latest from Permathene today. Learn more here.;

The construction of a 'Park and Ride' facility at a site in Cork City, Ireland has been proposed. The former landfill ceased operations more than 30 years ago. The proposed park-and-ride facility would sit upon 18,914 sq. m of the site. Some ground remediation and dynamic compaction would be required, and a geosynthetic barrier system would be installed to control any gas and leachate. Learn more here.;

A global push is on to certify aquaculture operations. The group that appears to be leading the drive is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). By June 2011, an independent body co-founded by the WWF - the Aquaculture Stewardship Council - will be fully set up to do certifications, the organization reports. It's thought that by 2040-50, the aquaculture industry will have to increase production 50 per cent from current levels to meet demand. Learn more here.;