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Tensar International, the manufacturer of North American Green® erosion and sediment control products, today announced the release of ECMDS® 5.0 -- the improved, web-based version of their popular Erosion Control Materials Design Software. ECMDS® 5.0 ensures the proper evaluation and design for soil-loss prediction,product specification and project planning.

Carlisle Energy Services, Inc. (CES) announced that as of Wednesday, August 17, 2011, its Spectro PowerCap™ Exposed Geomembrane Solar Cover system in Madison County, New York is completed. It is expected to be interconnected and fully operational within a month. Consulting engineer of record Barton and Loguidice submitted, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation permitted, the installation as a 20 to 30 year long-term interim cover. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided a grant in order to demonstrate this technology to other landfill owners in the state.

Penton Media's Waste 360 interviews Republic Services about the exposed solar geomembrane cap being installed on the Hickory Ridge Landfill in Georgia. Learn more here.;

The closed Hickory Ridge Landfill in Georgia is being converted into the world's largest and first full-scale exposed solar geomembrance capping project on a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill. The 48-acre site is owned and operated by Republic Services. American Environmental Group (AEG) Ltd. handled the installation of the Carlisle Energy Services membrane system, which utilizes factory-bonded, thin-film photovoltaic cells to generate power. More than 6,900 cells have been installed across the surface of the Hickory Ridge site. See photographs from Waste 360. Learn more here.;

More than $30 million of funding has been announced for protection of a key landbridge in the New Orlenads, Louisiana region. The project will use 86,807 cubic yards of geogrid mats weighing more than 217,000 tons to help protect the shoreline. Rather than buying this material, the project will use material from the twin spans, which was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina – resulting in $11 million in cost savings for the project. Learn more here.;

Green building that focuses on the energy efficiency of buildings and other green building efforts could help the U.S. save $1.2 trillion by 2020 and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by about 1 gigaton per year, finds a study sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. The council says millions of jobs could be added for green building initiatives and that over four years, $500 billion could be added to the economy. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced that it has joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as an Organizational Stakeholder (OS), becoming a member of GRI's global network of organizations and companies that are committed to transparency, accountability and sustainable development.

The NY Times writes: "Waiting lists for selective colleges, fine restaurants and overbooked flights are familiar enough — but Singapore may have the only landfill with a four-month wait once you sign up to visit." Read about this unique $360 million site with 4.4-mile-long sea wall and polyethylene geomembrane containment measures. Learn more here.;

Tensar International announces that the company is hard at work programming (Erosion Control Materials Design Software) ECMDS® 5.0, the industry's first software to provide a design and product selection tool offering everything from rolled erosion control products (RECPs) to hydraulic erosion control products (HECPs), and even transition mats to modular mattresses. It's designed specifically to make your life a little easier when you're specifying erosion/sediment control and turf reinforcement projects – and it's right around the corner! Learn more here.;

Tensar International Corporation, the leader in geosynthetic soil reinforcement and stabilization, today announced it appointed Libby Hungerford to the Central Area regional sales manager team. In her new role, Hungerford will manage technical promotion, design support, sales and distribution for the central U.S. She will partner with construction product distributors, Carter Waters and ASP Construction while also supporting the needs of the engineering public within her region.

Hanes Geo Components, of Winston Salem, NC, announces that they have reached agreement to acquire Price and Company. Founded by John Price in 1986, Price and Company has long been recognized as a leader and pioneer in distribution services for site development contractors. Price and Company operates from two locations near Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the designation of 14 additional biobased product categories which are eligible for federal procurement preference. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's BioPreferred program's Round 7 finalization adds 2,500 biobased products for a total of more than 8,900 products now offered for preferred purchasing consideration by federal government agencies and contractors. Among the products added: erosion control materials.

In Madison County, New York, the municipal solid waste landfill is about to power the adjacent the nearby recycling center with energy generated by an exposed geomembrane cap. CETCO Contracting Services spent July installing the thin-film, flexible photovoltaic cells, which are adhered to the exposed membrane. It's part of Carlisle Energy Service's Spectro PowerCap system. Learn more here.;

Construction of the basement car park and foundations for a superstore, on a steep site in Sheffield, meant building over and in front of an existing Victorian wall which could not be structurally loaded. Tensar International designed an innovative Tensartech wall solution over a TriAx® foundation mattress to overcome poor load bearing soil conditions, which also helped to reduce the project's CO2 footprint.

Colorado Lining International, Inc. is proud to announce and welcome Tim Haran as the new Production and Fabrication Manager to oversee our Colorado Plant production. Tim brings with him over seventeen years of experience in the manufacturing industry. He comes to us from Protecto Wrap, where he served as Manufacturing Director of Operations for four years. He also served 13 years as a Maintenance/Reliability Leader for Owens-Corning.

Each year the StocExpo conference and exhibition covers a variety of fundamental issues facing the storage tank farm and ports industry. The exhibition boasts a diverse range of products and services form the world’s top tank construction, automation, metering, engineering, valve, fire prevention, mixing, steel and vapour recovery companies among many other disciplines. StocExpo 2012 will be held 13-15 March 2012 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Learn more here.;

Chattanooga-based Propex Operating Company, LLC, announced today that its Geotextile Laboratory at its Ringgold, GA, manufacturing facility has achieved the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) lab accreditation for Quality Control Mechanical Testing. A2LA accreditation demonstrates technical competence for a defined scope and operation of a laboratory quality management system. It is in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

Integra Plastics is expanding its operations with a new 49,000 square foot plant now under construction in the Corson Development Park in Brandon, South Dakota. The multi-purpose site will include manufacturing, storage and office space for the environmental and agricultural liner manufacturer. Learn more here.;

Macleod Dam in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, is getting a new liner. The project, which is expected to last about two months will see contractors install a new liner along the east side slope of the dam's headpond to replace the existing liner. The original liner has deteriorated since it was installed when the dam was built in 1979. Learn more here.;

Work on Warasgaon Dam in India began in 1976, and since that construction some leakage has been observed. From 1994 to 2008, steady leakage was reported. To halt this trend and allay public fears of a dam breach, strategies for repair have been collected. One that has garnered great support comes from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), which visited the site in December 2009 to assess the dam. NGI recommended geosynthetic techniques to address the problem, similar to what has been done at Kadamparai Dam in Tamil Nadu. Learn more here.;

Cooley Group, the global leader in the design and manufacturer of specialty materials for the commercial and military markets, announced today the appointment of Daniel R. Dwight as President and Chief Executive Officer. The 85-year old company's flexible materials are used in everything from outdoor advertising, water, fuel and chemical containment, to military fabrics and commercial roofing.

Organized by INDA (Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry), the second installation of the RISE conference series will cover all aspects of the development, production, marketing and sales of nonwovens and engineered fabrics. Sessions will include growth markets, construction/geotextiles, sustainability, raw materials, and more. RISE will take place 3-6 October 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Army Corps of Engineers said it will expedite the permitting process for the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District to enable the district to start its $161 million project to upgrade the region's levees as soon as possible. Les Sterman, an executive with the district, said he is doubtful if the "permitting process will be as streamlined as it needs to be to get this project done." However, Corps of Engineers Col. Tom O'Hara said the Corps is working very hard to assist the district "[b]ecause we have a shared vision of where we want to go with this." Learn more here.;

Work at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site (Channelview, Texas) is progressing steadily, with a special dioxin-containing geosynthetic-barrier system being installed to provide not only the vital cap but drainage control against high water threats of the nearby river. Capped zones, utilizing geotextiles and geomembranes, are also found in submerged zones. Learn more here.;

Veteran editor John Trotti has never been too interested in overblown rhetoric in construction and engineering discussions. And he has used his editorial columns at times to take issue with too much non-practical discussion. But at the American Public Works Association's (APWA) Sustainability in Public Works Conference, he found himself pleasantly surprised at how focused and useful the sessions were. (As a previous attendee, Geosynthetica can attest to the event's strength.) Read his latest blog entry about the event. Learn more here.;