Containment

As the second week of the oil spill cleanup begins, EPA staff are optimistic about receding water levels in the Yellowstone River, which will allow access to previously inaccessible portions of the river. This news comes as data becomes available from testing and monitoring conducted last week. A map for both water and air monitoring data is now available at http://www.epa.gov/yellowstoneriverspill. The validated data confirms preliminary information indicating the water is safe and shows no elevated levels above instrument detection for volatile organic compounds.

On the occasion of the opening of the Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (OICAM) in Nijverdal, the Netherlands, TenCate and Pentair X-Flow are set to launch the first demonstrator project developed in open innovation, which is known as GreenSource. In this project a synthetic turf system from TenCate has been combined with water filtration technology from Pentair X-Flow). This combination will make it possible to use drinking water and other water management worldwide for both sports complexes and landscaping with synthetic turf, particularly in areas where water shortages prevail or where only polluted water is available.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the selection of Nicholas DiPasquale of Harrington, Del. as the new Director of EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program. Pasquale has extensive environmental and regulatory experience, having served as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control from 1999 to 2002. He has also served as Deputy Secretary in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and as Director of the Environmental Management Center for the Brandywine Conservancy in Chadds Ford, Pa.

The inaugural Carbon Management Conference conference from the Society of Petroleum Engineers will focus on engineering solutions. Drawing professionals from all engineering disciplines, the event will be held 7-9 February 2012 in Orlando, Florida. Perspectives will be presented on greenhouse gas reduction, climate change adaptation, case studies, life cycle assessment, technologies, and much more. The deadline for abstract submission is July 18. Learn more here.;

The site chosen for a new Walmart location was a difficult north-facing site on the side of a steep forest/meadow area along State Route 443 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The project involved cutting into a steep slope and moving 550,000 cubic yards of soil to create the new store pad, parking area, and access driveway. The cut and fill operation resulted in terraced 2:1 (H:V) slopes above the store pad and similar slopes below the site. Erosion control was essential, but a degradable product was demanded. Read more.

Waterproof Membranes 2011 will be the 5th in AMI's annual series and will take place at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany from 15-17 November 2011. The program for the event has just been released and includes a number of key presentations on barrier geosynthetics, including Raven's Gary Kolbasuk on "Solving complex barrier problems by using coextrusion and lamination to create multi-polymer membrane" and Firestone's Ir. Bernat Amat and Ir. Pascal Meirsschaert on "Condition of the EPDM geomembrane in the El Golfo water reservoir on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands)." A presentation from Leister Process Technologies and speakers addressing polyethylene geomembranes and tunnel membranes and drainage are also on the schedule.

The Army Corps of Engineers has finally unveiled a long-awaited $446 million plan to rebuild the Caminada shoreline south of Port Fourchon and the mostly disappeared Shell Island to the east of Grand Isle, Louisiana. The atypical design calls for using sand deposits miles offshore to restore a sand dune that would reach 7 feet above sea level along the Caminada shoreline, and deploying a 12-mile pipeline to move sand from the Mississippi River to rebuild the large barrier island to 6 feet above sea level. Grand Isle has previously used miles of geosynthetic tubes in dune reconstruction. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds (OWOW) has released its 2010 annual report titled "Sustainable Communities, Healthy Watersheds." The report contains information about EPA's work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the development of new draft guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act (also known as the Waters of the U.S. Draft Guidance), progress in better protection of water quality in Appalachia from the harmful effects of surface coal mining operations, and advancement in the work of the National Ocean Council. The report also includes information about OWOW's response to the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, polluted runoff, Chesapeake Bay watershed rules, and much more.

At approximately 11:00 PM on Friday, July 1 a break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by ExxonMobil that resulted in a spill of crude oil into the Yellowstone River approximately 20 miles upstream of Billings, Montana. According to the company's estimates, 1,000 barrels of oil entered the river, which is in flood stage, before the pipeline was cut off.

At the Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) 40th annual Western Regional Symposium (May 2011), Chris Richgels of Golder Associates presented on the utilization of a synthetic grass - geomembrane hybrid exposed geomembrane cap system used to cover the Crazy Horse Landfill (Monterey County, California). The system uses Agru America's Closure Turf product. Learn more in Richgels' presentation (PDF).

Carlisle Energy Systems' Ron Sturgeon presented in May 2011 at the Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) 40th annual Western Regional Symposium. His talk introduced the audience to the beneficial impact of an exposed geomembrane cap with solar energy-generating capabilities (the Spectro PowerCap system). Download Sturgeon's presentation (PDF).

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has made all of the presentations from its 40th annual Western Regional Symposium (May 2011) available in PDF format. (Audio of the discussions is NOT included.) Download the presentations here. Learn more here.;

The Pennsylvania DEP announced yesterday that Chief Oil and Gas has paid a $180,000 fine for a spill at a site in Somerset County more than a year ago in March 2010. Chief had a small spill of hydraulic oil at this site last summer. Hydraulic oil is used to operate machinery onsite. The spill did not leave the perimeter of the pad site and all soil samples showed no environmental impact whatsoever. While no harm was done to the environment, Chief takes all incidents seriously. In late 2010, we made many changes to our best management practices. One improvement included lining all site operations with a protective plastic liner so that small spills like this don't come into contact with the environment at all.

This is the third in a series of primers on geosynthetic barrier systems, relevant applications, affiliated issues from the field, and more. In this installment, Ian Peggs offers criteria for effective use of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design. These designs have had some problems, but almost entirely due to inappropriate soils being used for subgrade and ballast. It has NOT been because of GCL inadequancy. How to design in a drainage layer without damaging the GCL? Read more.

Canada's Yellowknife wrestles with a difficult far-northern environment, but that's no excuse for not properly managing its waste, say its officials. The current landfill is being closed and a new cell opened. Modern, geosynthetic design is utilized even in this cold region engineering. Learn more here.;

Saving money by spending it may sound like the punch line of a joke, Bristol, Virginia city leaders are dead serious that $1 million worth of improvements to the city landfill has already created substantial savings. A new, wider access road down into the large, city-owned waste facility was made by city workers using waste from the old landfill. The new road allows large trucks to drive down into the site to dump refuse, rather than have city crews transfer the trash into smaller trucks for dumping. The design change should save almost $500,000 per year while increasing waste acceptance traffic. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today, in keeping with the Administration's focus on ensuring that domestic resources are leveraged safely and responsibly, announced the next steps in its congressionally mandated hydraulic fracturing study. EPA has identified seven case studies to help inform the assessment of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. The sites identified were selected following extensive input from stakeholders, including the public, local and state officials, industry, and environmental organizations. To ensure the agency maintains the current timeline for the study, the EPA will begin field work in some of the selected regions this summer.

Terram, a Fiberweb plc company, is pleased to announce the next phase of their development strategy with an order being placed for a brand new, state-of-the-art Needlepunch geotextile line. The investment of over six million euros, follows the acquisition of Boddingtons and Tubex by Fiberweb and the formation of a specialist Geosynthetics Division which includes the Terram business, and represents the largest single investment in new technology for the Geosynthetics business.

The Thirteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium (Sardinia 2011) will be held 3-7 October 2011 in Santa Margherita di Pula, Sardinia, Italy. Themes include wastewater, waste management strategies, climate change, decision tools, legislation and more. Event organizers have released a preliminary program. View it here. Learn more here.;

This paper looks at the use of fabricated geomembranes and the numerous cost advantages of these materials. The reduction of installation time and testing is particularly important in harsh environments and fabricated geomembranes can be used to extend the “field installation season.” Further the reduced installation cost is derived from the use of large factory fabricated panels that reduces the amount of field seaming and field personnel time that is required. Additional savings can be found in the reduction of third party Construction Quality Control costs. The paper describes how Construction Quality Control standards are maintained by conducting CQC prior to the geomembrane being shipped to the jobsite. Learn more here.;

When Sardinia 2011 convenes in Santa Margherita di Pula, Sardinia, Italy 3-7 October 2011, it will mark this event's 13th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. Themes include wastewater, waste management strategies, climate change, decision tools, legislation and more. The preliminary program has now been released, and among the many presentations can be found geosynthetic technologies. A sample of these papers (and their specific session designations) is as follows.

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.;

The PA Department of Environmental Protection announced today that Chief Oil and Gas LLC has paid $180,000 in civil penalties for a hydraulic oil spill and for failing to properly maintain a drill pit at a Marcellus Shale natural gas well in Jefferson Township, Somerset County. A June 10, 2010 site inspection by DEP found evidence of the discharge of hydraulic oil onto the ground. Operators are required to notify DEP of any spills of that nature because the oil is classified as a residual waste. Chief did not notify DEP of the spill and was not permitted to discharge residual waste at the site. Chief Oil and Gas has since successfully remediated the site.

The City of Spokane will receive the prestigious PISCES Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for successfully demonstrating innovative stormwater control strategies on West Broadway Avenue in Spokane, Washington. Polluted stormwater now is considered the leading cause of urban water pollution and the largest source of pollution in the Spokane River. Read about Spokane's innovative responses.

Tensar International Corporation, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, today announced its manufacturing facility in Morrow, Ga. has returned to full operation following a fire on June 22. The plant was cleared for re-entry by the Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services Department on Saturday June 25. The Tensar team conducted a thorough site evaluation and restarted manufacturing on Sunday, June 26. Shipping began today.