Ground Improvement

A New Zealand-based wastewater plant has become the target of considerable resident anger now that an oxidation pond installed in 2006 for temporary silt dewatering seems to have become more permanent. The South Taranaki District Council (STDC) allowed the installation on a temporary basis but both the council and the wastewater plant seem content to continue the use of geotextiles for dewatering at the site and may now even burry the material on site. Residents are angry that the plan has changed from what they originally approved. Learn more here.;

In the United Kingdom's Midlands, the Site 41 landfill in Simcoe County is seeking numerous amendments to its certificate with the Ministry of Environment, including the replacement of a gravel layer with sand. Tests on the chosen geotextile separator have indicated that it may sustain damage beneath the type of gravel layer that had been specified. To ensure the geotextile's performance and the overall protection layer's performance, site operators would like to use sand instead. Learn more here.;

HAZGARD 535 by Layfield is now listed by ULC as a secondary containment liner for fuels in Canada. Manufactured in Layfield’s Vancouver geomembrane plant, this new material meets all of the ULC requirements for above ground secondary containment of flammable and combustible liquids (Class IA). HAZGARD 535 is fire retardant, UV stable, and has a -40 C handling temperature. HAZGARD 535 uses a next-generation non-halogenated fire retardant that is not harmful to the environment. This material can be placed under tanks in all types of facilities including earthen, concrete, and steel secondary containments. Section 4.3.7 of the National Fire Code (and most provincial Fire Codes) requires that secondary containment liners meet specific ULC requirements. The company has tested HAZGARD 535 liner material tested and listed by ULC to fully meet the Fire Code requirements. Suitable for above-ground tank farms containing gasoline, diesel, jet, and other fuels. Learn more here.;

As of 6 April 2009, the Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA) has officially changed its name to the Energy Recovery Council (ERC). The ERC will continue the work of IWSA, which has heavily invested its efforts in the promotion of renewable energy technologies, such as waste-to-energy.

The reflecting pond in Greer, South Carolina's new $20 million, 12.6 acre combination development of a civic park, city hall, and police and courts office has received a $50,000 heavy-duty liner to hault water loss. The new park opens officially for July 4th celebrations. Engineers had sought for months to determine the source of water loss but ultimately decided the site soils weren't proper. The liner completes the development. Learn more here.;

Defiance County, Ohio, was in the news frequently for a landfill fire last year and concerns about the damage the fire may be doing to the geosynthetic containment system. This year, the county is becoming known for a more positive geosynthetic issue: construction of a bridge with geosynthetic reinforcement on the abutments. The 130-foot-long steel beam construction bridge over the Tiffin River will cost under $1 million. It has received federal dollars due to its use of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS). The footprint for GRS use is larger than conventionally used. Learn more here.;

Though the global economy has battered construction and construction services companies, Aspect Environmental Lining Ltd of Frankton, Hamilton, New Zealand is a welcomed exception. The fledgling firm--just 16 months old--is run by Craig McMillan and Greg Terrill. They began with only one installer but now employ six. The decorative and agricultural liner markets have largely gone away, but larger, more complicated installations, such as for landfills, remain strong. Read about their success in Nikki Preston's article for the Waikato Times. Learn more here.;

Ed Majkowski of ACT Erosion Control has resigned as executive director of the Hartford Area Development Corp., where he had served for the past year in a part-time role following the retirement of Werner Wolpert. Majkowski cited the need to tend to his own company. Learn more here.;

The Netherlands-based Royal Ten Cate, which is the parent company of TenCate Geosynthetics (North America), has announced that Chief Financial Officer Jan Wegstapel has decided to step down to pursue other interests. Jaap Lock, the former CFO of TenCate, will temporarily fill the position. TenCate global interests involve geosynthetics, synthetic turf, aerospace composites, protective fabrics, and more.

During the Geosynthetics 2009 biennial conference in Salt Lake City, Utah (25-27 February 2009), the former PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) officially launched its new identity as the much more-expansive Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI). The FGI’s inaugural meeting was deemed a great success, and we expect news soon about initial membership and research projects. We now find that within the last seven days the FGI has launched a new website at www.fabricatedgeomembrane.com. Read more.

Not long ago, Brian Horne, owner of SLRD Company Mullica Hill LLC, bought the Henry Harris Landfill in New Jersey for $10. The site's waste operations were ceased in 1980. Horne, a 25-year veteran of landfill remediation, hopes to build an outlet mall or business park on the 50-acre site. But he'll first need to add a $3 million geosynthetic cap, amend tears in the the old liner, and address local concerns over disturbance and disposal of site soils. Learn more here.;

AMI's magazine Compounding World has released its April 2009 issue online. The current issue contains articles on new developments in titanium dioxide, an analysis of PVC Compounding market trends, a listing of Europe's Top 20 PVC compounders, faster formulation with combinatorial compounding, advances in extruder technology for recycling plastics, and a look ahead to this year's big Masterbatch event. View it online today. Learn more here.;

Scott Barker of the Knoxville News Sentinel has published a nice update to the Kingston, Tennessee coal ash spill from December 2008. That reservoir break released 5.4 million cubic yards of contaminated fly ash. Some 25,000 pages of TVA records from the facility have been released and tell an interesting story of a dredge pond suffering continual leaks and breaks for decades. Cleanup may exceed $800 million. Learn more here.;

United Kingdom-based geosynthetics firm ABG Ltd. Has been cited and fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for improper equipment guards that led to two employees suffering hand injuries. Learn more here.;

geosynthetica's Chris Kelsey writes on the benefit of seeing and handling geosynthetic materials up close, whether it's on a project site or at a trade show or seminar. "We receive a great deal in the post each week: short course announcements, industry magazines, and the occasional product sample. As last week closed out, we received…." Continued.

Tensar International Corporation introduces Tensar® TriAx™ Geogrid to North and South America. With its proven performance, TriAx Geogrid offers the engineering and construction industries an advanced solution for lower cost, longer lasting and more reliable trafficked surfaces. This geogrid was released in Europe in 2007 and has won numerous awards. Read the full release on its arrival in the Americas.

Harold Bade has retired from his years of with and for the American Public Works Administration (APWA) and the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), but he's not sitting idle. Bade is running for Ward 1 alderman in Fenton, Missouri. Learn more here.;

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student conference opens on Saturday in Helena, Montana, and one of the teams competing in this year's concrete canoe competition is using geogrid reinforcement within their team's design. The host school, Carroll College, is entering a 300-lb canoe that uses sealant over an acid-based stain, concrete, two layers of geogrid reinforcement, and Styrofoam sheets. The team's canoe split in half last year. They hope the addition of geosynthetic reinforcement will keep it together (and afloat). Learn more here.;

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is entering into a $50 million agreement with the state of Louisiana to repair the Grand Isle storm-surge protection barriers. Governor Bobby Jindal signed the agreement on Thursday, April 2. The project is to be fast-tracked and will use geotextile tubes packed with sand to form the core flood defense measure along much of a seven mile stretch. The previous storm-surge defenses were destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) and Gustav and Ike (2008). The barrier system will be 13 feet high and will be composed of central, sand-filled, six-foot-diameter geotextile tubes with additional sand packed around them.

The 12th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium (Sardinia 2009) will be held in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) from 5 - 9 October 2009. Though organizers have received more than 700 abstracts, they are extending the call to 15 April 2009, in part out of deference to potential authors/presenters who were overlooked in emailings from the conference organizers and scientific committee.

The 3.2km walkway in Dunedin, New Zealand is being rebuilt with geotextile separators, geogrid reinforcement and gravel. Delays to a track realignment project have interrupted the timeline for the walkway's completion, which was originally intended to be completed ahead of an anniversary week celebration. (That took place last week.) But the final stages have been initiated and completion should follow shortly. Learn more here.;

Pond skimming is the "sport" of building up speed on a ski slope and then using that speed to try to ski (or snowboard) across a relatively small open stretch of water--usually just large enough for most competitors to fall in. It often takes place in the waning days of a ski season. Some events ban the use of ski poles, however; for those who fall in the water, if holding the poles, may inadvertently puncture a pond liner! This is definitely a type of threat most designers anticipate…though perhaps it is something installers and suppliers should warn facility owners / operators about if they intend to allow pond skimming at their site.

Erosion during India's monsoon season is a major concern. The state of Goa is dealing with a double-edged problem: a grounded vessel and erosion (the latter being connected in part to the presence of the grounded vessel and what may occur if the ship is moved during monsoon). To remedy all of the this, funds are being made available to halt further problems along a 1.1-km shoreline on Dando-Sinquerim beach. Project partners hope to use submerged geotextile tubes to break the waves and control erosion so that some dredging and reclamation work may be performed around the ship. Learn more here.;

A first announcement and call for papers has been issued for Landfill 2009, the 8th Bienniel Seminar on Waste Disposal by Landfill from the Landfill Interest Group - Western Cape. LIG is part of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA). Landfill 2009 will be guided by the theme "The Functional Landfill." The event takes place in Cape Town 19-20 October 2009. Abstracts are requested by 30 April 2009. For more information, see the following short article.

Recreational trails that are subject to tougher wear and tear are increasingly being constructed with separation geotextiles to keep their paths intact. Mountain bike trails are of particular interest in this regard. In the Lancashire area of England, the organization Sport England is part of a £180,000 (USD $259,000) trail-building project for mountain bikes. Included in that final cost is up to £60,000-worth (USD $86,000) of in-kind material donations, including drainage pipes and geotextiles. Learn more here.;