Containment

No significant differences in corn yield were found between organic and chemical sources of nutrients, but a Texas AgriLife Research economist said manure generates higher economic returns than anhydrous ammonia. It's possible that this multi-year analysis may further boost arguments for manure management systems that also produce more readily usable fertilizer and perhaps even generate power. Learn more here.;

The 26th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management (ICSW) 27-30 March 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, invites abstracts for both oral and poster presentations. This wide-ranging event is affiliated with the Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management and Widener University's Department of Civil Engineering. Abstracts due: 31 October 2010. Learn more. Learn more here.;

As part of the process for restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the EPA has reaffirmed the federal-state commitment to establish the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)--or pollution diet--by the end of this year. Learn more here.;

According to a new report titled “Mine- Back to the Boom” from Pricewaterhouse- Coopers, it was a tale of two halves in 2009 for the global mining industry. The trends seen at the end of 2008 continued into the beginning of 2009, with commodity prices continuing to fall, tough price negotiations with customers an issue and challenging market conditions overall. As the year went on, however, companies responded by restructuring their balance sheets, closing mines and cutting production to reduce costs. As a result, the market capitalization of the top 40 global mining companies increased 118%, returning to the heights of 2007. Learn more here.;

This interest in rubber-based liners for SAG milling flies in the face of the previous belief that a SAG mill, using large-diameter grinding media, was just too tough an environment for rubber. But synthetic and natural rubbers are moving from secondary liner status to primary liners in grinding applications at mines. A Canadian company claims to have supplied liners to more than 300 mills around the world. Learn more here.;

The People's Republic of China (PRC) needs 413.5 billion yuan (CNY) (or roughly $60.5 billion) in investments over the next 10 years to harness its biomass energy potential in rural areas, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report issued today said. According to Rural Biomass Energy 2020 in the People's Republic of China, the country needs CNY413.5 billion through 2020 to fully implement its rural biomass energy development plan. Of the total, CNY314.3 billion will be used to help rural household beneficiaries, CNY16.5 billion for centralized gas plant projects, and CNY82.7 billion for power generation and liquid fuel production. An additional CNY1.5 billion is needed for research, development, demonstration, and piloting.

The 5th AgStar National Conference was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin in late April 2010. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now made most of the presentation PowerPoint files available online for free. Scott Tudman's presentation, "Lagoon Covers on Hog Farms in North Carolina," focuses on project experiences utilizing cover systems such as 60-mil HDPE. His short presentation includes cost, scope, benefits and more. Learn more here.;

To close out the 5th AgStar National Conference, which was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin in late April 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Chris Voell spoke on "The Future of the Anaerobic Digester Industry in the US." His presentation PowerPoint and others are now made available free online for download. Learn more here.;

In late 2009, the formation of an American Biogas Council was debated to promote this rapidly growing (and still significantly under-utilized) industry. The Council has since been formed. It facilitates networking with stakeholders involved in the successful development and operation of anaerobic digestion facilities. Additionally, they provide members with outreach and educational materials, as well as news updates related to regulations and policies at the federal and state level, funding/grant opportunities, and project developments. More information is available on the American Biogas Council website. Learn more here.;

The National Association of County Engineers (NACE) will hold its 2011 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 17-21 April 2011. As the event comes to the North Star state; and, appropriately enough, will run with the theme, "Guiding with Vision." Learn more at the association website. Learn more here.;

The deadline for the early-bird registration rate to the American Public Works Association (APWA) 2010 conference and exhibition is 28 June 2010. The event will be held 15-18 August 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. It will be co-located with the Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) annual WASTECON event. Learn more here.;

The American Public Works Association (APWA) 2011 conference and exhibition is accepting presentation proposals through 30 September 2010. The event will be held 18-21 September 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Learn more here.;

ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced a number of interesting work items, in the wake of the recent meeting in St. Louis. This includes five items covering areas such as nominal thickness of geosynthetics, geocomposites and pavement edge drains, soil-geotextile clogging, and more. Also, Committee D18 on Soil and Rock has items on hydraulically-applied erosion control (HECPs) products and gabions. See the latest here.

WasteSafe 2011, the International Conference on Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, will be held on 13-15 February 2011 in Khulna, Bangladesh. The conference is jointly organised by Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bauhaus University of Weimar (BUW), International Waste Working Group (IWWG) and others. It represents the Second International Conference on Solid Waste Management held in Bangladesh. Abstracts due: 30 June 2010 Learn more here.;

It's not too often that major media take up aquaculture issues. But MSNBC is finally getting in on the act with a piece about growing population and how aquaculture's importance will only get stronger. Learn more here.;

In Montezuma, Ohio, floating wetlands are being installed in the latest effort to stem phosphorous pollution in Grand Lake St. Marys. This week, 4-by-700 foot floating wetlands are being placed in front of the geotextile tubes at Windy Point. The mats increase nitrogen and phosphorous removal efficiencies by expanding the root biomass in direct contact with the water column. The funds for the floating wetlands stem from a $50,000 Conservation Innovation Grant that was used for the geotextile tubes--using the leftover funds from the grant of approximately $34,000. Learn more here.;

The effort to permanently protect public assets at Kingscliff, NSW, Australia from the encroaching sea is expected to cost about $500,000. Erosion scarp will be battered and backfilled with sand. It will then be covered with a high-grade geotextile material, secured at the bottom with a combination of concrete blocks and sand-filled geotextile bags. Learn more here.;

In a blog posting, Stormwater editor Janice Kaspersen notes that StormCon 2010 (1-5 August 2010, San Antonio, Texas) still needs some moderators. Read more. Learn more here.;

The European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX) has invited IFAI to organize its fourth advanced textiles conference alongside its machinery exhibition on three consecutive morning sessions: 26-28 September 2011. ITMA, owned by CEMATEX has been held every four years since 1951, and is the world's largest international textile machinery exhibition. Miss Maria Avery, Secretary General, CEMATEX, said, "Technical textiles is a very important sector and we welcome IFAI to organize the Advanced Textiles conference at ITMA 2011. We see it as a win-win partnership."

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced a work item, WK29211, "Standard Test Method for Measuring the Nominal Thickness of Geosynthetics." It is a work item revision to existing standard D5199-01(2006). The posted rationale behind the work item is "to bring the Terminlogy Section in line with the Form amd Style Manual." Learn more here.;

BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemical maker, plans to increase revenue to more than 90 billion euros ($110 billion) by 2020, led by growth in Asia and South America. Revenue is expected to swell to 20 billion euros in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the decade, the German chemical maker said in a presentation today. That compares with targeted sales of 49 billion euros in Europe, Africa and the Middle East and 17 billion euros in North America. BASF’s sales totaled 50.7 billion euros last year. Learn more here.;

Researchers at Hiroshima University in Japan have developed a polypropylene (PP) sheet that has a tensile strength of 230 MPa, and whose relative strength is two to five times higher than that of steel, and six times higher than that of aluminium. Learn more here.;

Many experts say the days of the local dump are gone--and that may be a good thing for the environment. It's increasingly common to send trash away, and to store it in modern landfills with geosynthetic lining systems. A look at the case in Northern California. Learn more here.;

Federal regulators are concerned that a dam built by Monsanto Co. earlier this year to trap phosphate mine runoff may be stopping more than just pollution. They say the dam has also halted millions of gallons of water in Sheep Creek that would otherwise help fill the Blackfoot River. The Environmental Protection Agency now wants the maker of Roundup herbicide to begin a costly treatment to remove selenium and heavy metals, then discharge clean water downstream, instead of capturing it in a 50-million-gallon lake behind the dam and using it for dust control on its mining roads. Learn more here.;

In Nevada's Nye County, the Calvada Duck Ponds are being lowered and the wildlife moved elsewhere. Officials note that the ponds need to be remediated and cleaned and properly lined. Proposals for liners will soon be submitted. Learn more here.;