Containment

Bernama has published a story on NAUE's new Bentofix plant in Selangor, Malaysia. The Malaysian Minister of Works, Datuk Shaziman, officiated the opening ceremony. Learn more here.;

Raven Industries, Inc. has announced record sales and earnings for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, which ended April 30, 2011. All divisions posted strong increases in sales, driven by demand for the company's precision agriculture and engineered film products, as well as military parachutes. Daniel Rykhus, president and CEO, commented that the company is "making a concerted effort to increase capacity for [the Engineered Films Division] in the coming year." He noted that Raven has upgraded its cast extruder line to produce texturized films for geomembrane applications and that capacity for specialty film capabilities have been significantly increased.

In a WATERWORLD article, Jim McMahon writes: "By 2012, EPA regulations will require a higher level of compliance for disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water. This has prompted a number of water districts to install tank covers to reduce algae growth in process basins, launders and tube settlers….One of the more versatile cover designs is the retractable, structurally supported geomembrane cover system, which provides not only sunlight blockage to reduce algae growth, but facilitates easier access to water treatment processes for maintenance and repairs – a critical factor in systems like GAC contactors that require frequent maintenance." Read it online. Learn more here.;

The Business Times reports on NAUE's new Bentofix GCL factory in Malaysia. Learn more here.;

APWA's Sustainability in Public Works Conference offers a meeting place for professionals in both the public and private sectors for the sharing of innovative ideas in sustainability. With the industry's newest processes and technologies available at this event, attending can prove to be a truly important investment in your community's (or business's) future. The event takes place 27-29 June 2011 in Portland, Oregon. A discounted registration rate is available through May 27. Learn more here.;

Three companies are competing for the contract to repair Tampa Bay's 15.5-billion gallon reservoir, which has experienced cracks in the soil-cement surface layer since 2006. Water has been trapped between the liner and the membrane. Problems are particular apparent when the confining pressure changes as water is drawn down. Repair of the facility may necessitate liner replacement. Learn more here.;

BTL has posted a video on its website of the Muscle Wall system for flood control, oil and gas containment, stormwater management, dewatering and other applications. Constructed on interlocking, stackable units of lightweight low-density polyethylene, the Muscle Wall barricades can be quickly set into place--even floated into place. Flexible liners can be draped over the walls for various containment sceneraios. View the video online. Learn more here.;

A severe drought along the Yangtze River region in central China has rendered nearly 1,400 reservoirs in Hubei Province temporarily unusable, devastated farm fields and made drinking water scarce, according to a report on Monday by Xinhua, the state news agency. One-fourth of all small reservoirs had what officials called “dead water” remaining, which could be pumped for use only in an emergency. Learn more here.;

The Tunnelling 20Twenty event will be held in Hong Kong 19-22 September 2011. The conference explores the opportunities in tunnelling and what the international market may look like for the next 20 years. Currently, the Tunnelling 20Twenty website offers a downloadable map with 20 case studies that will be highlighted during the event. These include tunnel projects such as 18km Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link under the Baltic between Germany and Denmark, lessons learned from cave-ins in Beijing, Switzerland's Gotthard Tunnel, Brazil's boom, and more. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing action plans developed by 20 electric utility facilities with 70 coal ash impoundments, describing the measures the facilities are taking to make their impoundments safer. The action plans are a response to EPA's final assessment reports on the structural integrity of these impoundments that the agency made public last May. Coal ash was brought prominently to national attention in 2008 when an impoundment holding disposed coal ash waste generated by the Tennessee Valley Authority failed, creating a massive spill in Kingston, Tennessee, that released more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash to the surrounding area and is regarded as one of the worst environmental disasters of its kind in history. Shortly afterwards, EPA began overseeing the cleanup, as well as investigating the structural integrity of impoundments where coal ash waste is stored.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC) and the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are teaming up to present the Advances in Hurricane Engineering Conference in Miami, October 24-26, 2012. This is the second joint conference of these two organizations in a growing partnership to benefit the engineering community regarding natural hazard issues. A Call for Papers has been issued. Abstracts due by September 9. Learn more here.;

If you are interested in presenting at EC12, you only have until Friday, 27 May 2011 to submit your 400-word abstract. Details on how to submit along with recommended topics may be found on IECA's website. EC12 will be held 26-29 February 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

EPA Region 7 announced today that it has issued administrative compliance orders to seven concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, directing those operations to correct a range of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Region 7's latest round of CAFO enforcement activity, aimed at encouraging producers' compliance with the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, involves seven beef feedlots, including four in Iowa, two in Kansas and one in Nebraska.

Iran has announced that it has launched its first underground natural gas storage facility. The Qom reservoir, which is located in the Sarajeh region, has the capacity to store 3.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. Iran has the world's second largest gas reserves after Russia but has struggled for years to develop its oil and gas resources. Learn more here.;

The US EPA will host a free Construction General Permit (CGP) Webcast on Tuesday, May 24 from 1:00 to 3:00pm Eastern to discuss the proposed CGP. There will be time dedicated to answering questions posed from the webcast participants. To register for this free webcast, go to www.epa.gov/npdes/training. Public comment period ends May 25 on the extension of the 2008 CGP to January 31, 2012. Learn more here.;

The floods affecting American waterways in 2011 have been, for many communities, historic, as have the engineering solutions being utilized. American Environmental Group, Ltd. (AEGL) has been part of a first-of-its-kind emergency levee protection effort in Mississippi that has used impermeable geomembrane liner to help secure the backside of the Yazoo River Backwater Levee. This emergency strategy, directed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is designed to prevent catastrophic erosion and failure of the levee in the event the flood water overtopped the levee.

AMI's "Plastics in Photovoltaics 2011" will be held in Philadelphia 20-21 September 2011. The conference will cover renewable energy as an expanding global market to provide sustainable power sources, while offering a unique networking and sourcing opportunity for module manufacturers, solar power companies, polymer and processing experts, and suppliers to the industry. Organizers have announced the program. Visit the conference website for details. Learn more here.;

More than 400,000 cubic meters of containment soil has been removed Toronto's TTC Light Rail Train Yard. The $51-million (including taxes) soil remediation and soil capping project involves rammed aggregate piers and a GCL-lined temporary sediment-control pond, among other site solutions. 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.;

Of the two large-scale, experimental sediment control projects the US Army Corps of Engineers is conducting near Mount St. Helens, one of them does seem to be succeeding and may lead to a larger installation next year. The "cross valley structure" involes a series of weirs. Trapped sediment volumes have not been announced, but the Corps is now considering similar structures for the upper Toutle River. Learn more here.;

Gundle/SLT Environmental, Inc. (the "Issuer") today announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer and consent solicitation with respect to all of its outstanding $150,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 11% Senior Notes due 2012 (the "Notes") on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Issuer's Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, dated as of May 12, 2011 (the "Offer to Purchase").

"They figured they only had about 75 hours," USACE's John Neville writes. He was referring to the window of time before the city of Smithland, Kentucky might be flooded. The US Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District office joined this flood fight in late April, taking on a scale of flooding that hadn't been experienced in nearly 75 years in some parts of the region. For Smithland, the Corps used a new flood wall strategy: Defencell.

British non-woven fabrics maker Fiberweb Plc said it expected first-half profit to be hurt by higher raw material costs, but remained confident of making progress in the second half as it increases prices. Also, the company has said it would look for small deals in Western Europe and North America to expand its geotextiles, agricultural fabrics and filtration businesses. Fiberweb operates 16 production sites in eight countries. Learn more here.;

StockMarketWire reports that Fiberweb has made a solid start to 2011 with volumes up 4%. Chairman Malcolm Coster said the firm had seen strong trading in its European industrial business but that the construction market remains challenging in North America. He added that the acquisition of Boddingtons and the formation of a core Fiberweb Geosynthetics unit was progressing well and is on-track to deliver annualised cost synergies of more than 1 million pounds. Learn more here.;

GSE is excited to release the New Interactive Online Drainage Design Manual site. This site is in collaboration with our Drainage Design Manual to assist in specifying the most cost-effective drainage systems on the market, provide product review and selection, and preparation of construction details. The Drainage Design Manual was written collectively by industry design professionals with the 1st Edition released in July 2004 then the 2nd Edition in June 2007. A 3rd Edition is forthcoming. Learn more here.;