Ground Improvement

On 11 May 2009, US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) adminstrator Lisa P. Jackson's testified before the United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to defend the administration's $10 billion+ budget. The new budget, as proposed, includes $3.9 billion for water infrastructure.

Closure activites at Gould Electronics' former battery landfill in Throop, Pennsylvania are nearly complete. A geosynthetic capping system has been installed over a concentrated 10-acre portion. Contaminated soil was moved from the 43-acre site (and adjoining 100-acre woodland) to this focused cell beginning in 2008. Eventually, the area might be converted into a 200-acre park. Learn more here.;

By Dr. Yoshihisa Miyata and Dr. Toshifumi Mukunoki - Soil reinforcement has been a significant geotechnical concept since the ancient era. The oldest example is the ziggurat, built by...

About the Feature Image: This illustration was created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Spikes adorn the outer surface...

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has announced the winners of the 2016 – 2017 GSI Fellowships. The annually awarded research grants are giving out, in consultation with the GSI...

Held under the patronage of the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, the 6th Geosynthetics Middle East (GeoME 2013) conference from SKZ will take place 29-30 October 2013 in Abu...

More spunbond polyester capacity for Freudenberg Nonwovens Group has installed another production line for spunbond polyester at its plant in Durham, North Carolina. The line supplies various uses such as filtration, industrial, and landscaping

Thousands of Minot, N.D., residents were told to leave their homes as the Souris River swelled and threatened severe flooding. The water is expected to breach a dike system built in 1969 after severe flooding that year. New dikes are being built and others are being reinforced. Learn more here.;

The Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association drafted a new Maintenance Agreement for use by state and local government agencies in setting an ordinance requiring the maintenance of all stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). A sample Operation and Maintenance Agreement is contained in this document that includes templates for inspection checklists for each type of BMP, including water quality buffers. The inspection checklists can also serve as an inspection report for each facility.

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has just published its White Paper #22: "Selected Geosynthetic Opportunities Associated with Energy Production and Transmission." The 16-page paper (available here as a PDF) from Drs. Robert and George Koerner looks at global energy use, geosynthetics in key sectors (e.g., oil and gas, mining, hydroelectric), and geosynthetics in renewable energy. The authors write, "...the geosynthetics community should focus efforts by being proactive with respect to the various energy sources as applies to federal and state agencies, public advocacy groups, local citizen groups and all related stakeholders." A chart of energy sources and the geosynthetic applications associated with them is included. Read more.

With the aid of MultiView, Inc., the Society of Plastics Engineers has launched a new iPhone app: SPE Mobile. The app is designed to help SPE keep its members connected to the association anytime, anywhere through one convenient portal. App functions include industry product and service searches, weekly news, SPE event information, SPE store and membership information, and easy access to the SPE website.

Located throughout the U.S. and in 6 other regions of the world, the Chapters of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) are instrumental in providing the erosion and sediment control community with education and networking opportunities through regional conferences, workshops, field days, newsletters, websites and other services.IECA is proud of the following Chapters for their achievements. (Continued.)

IECA is inviting partner organizations for their annual conference in Long Beach, CA., February 20-24, 2006. Show EC06 conference attendees the link between erosion control and your organization’s mission or cause.

Levees in the New Orleans area are being decertified at the moment. Faced with an estimated need of $100 billion to properly fix the region's levee system and prevent another disaster such as the failures that occurred during 2004's Hurricane Katrina. Decertification will affect zoning and property issues. The US Army Corp of Engineers has made repair proposals, but those plans are contingent upon significant funding increases necessary to take on responsibility for the larger system and correct it. Learn more here.;

Having determined it can more efficiently serve its South American market through its other international manufacturing operations, geosynthetics producer GSE Environmental has announced it will close its plant in...

Danosa, a leading Spanish producer of geotextiles, waterproofing and insulation materials, is rapidly expanding its foreign business with export sales up by 35% so far this year. Danosa products include non-woven polyester geotextiles, flat-roof synthetic PVC water proofing membrane, flexible noise insulation membranes of non-foamed reticulated PE and high density polyethylene nodular sheet for wall and floor drainage. The company has entered the renewable energy field, developing a product range dedicated to solar energy. Learn more here.;

EDANA, the association serving the nonwovens and related industries, has released a list of its new Board of Governors. The original release about the Board changes may be found here.

The Journal of Environmental Quality's (JEQ) most recent issue includes "Can Urban Tree Roots Improve Infiltration through Compacted Subsoils for Stormwater Management?" The researchers who produced the article examined the effects of root penetrations on water infiltration and examined water detention system using special soil arrangements and geotextile separation fabrics. “Manipulating root penetration through these separation geotextiles could potentially play a large role in bioretention system function and design," says the project lead, Susan Day of Virginia Tech. Learn more here.;

It's not often that someone responds to criticism of landfilll proposals (in newspapers) with actual civil engineering information. In the area of Grand Forks, North Dakota, that has happened. Dr. Harvey Gullicks, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of North Dakota, has waded into the fray to explain why the placement of garbage in a landfill is not, as previously published in the paper, like pushing a sharp object into a thin, home garbage bag. Gullicks note is appreciated by the engineering community--though, to judge by one of the vituperative responses, not by landfill critics in Grand Forks.

Military efforts along the Gulf Coast continue today as part of the federal response force to clean up the oil spill. About 1,900 Defense Department and associated personnel are deployed to the Gulf. They are providing ongoing support to contain the leak and clean up the spill, including military-owned skimmers and pollution control equipment. The American Forces Press Services has published a piece that shows one of the many ways the military is combatting the oil spill: through the installation of separation and erosion controlling geotextile underlay with rock wall berms.

WaterWorld Magazine offers a weekly video news cast hosted by its online editor, Angela Godwin. It's called WaterWorld TV. This week's headlines include the steady, annual erosion of Alaska's shoreline; NASA technology aids in river volume flow predictions; and a study shows that nutrient enrichment with waterways may actually disrupt the food chain. Watch it online today. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has announced that Becky Gauthier has resigned from the IECA Board of Directors. The Board has appointed Lee Johnson, CPESC to serve the remainder of Gauthier’s term which ends in February 2012. Read more in the release.

Americhem, Inc., a global provider of custom color and additive solutions for polymer- based and synthetic-fibers products, recently introduced nDuramax™, an advanced family of high-performance UV stabilizers. The product line includes a new UV stabilizer solution for PET fibers that offers significantly improved weathering compared to traditional technologies. The sectors for which these UV stabilizers may be used include geosynthetics. Learn more here.;

“Proper design and installation are essential for geosynthetic structures to perform effectively,” says Dov Leshchinsky, a professor at the University of Delaware. Leshchinsky, who many in the geosynthetic user community know through his reinforced structures software, is the subject of a profile in the 20 April 2009 issue of U Daily. Learn more here.;

Large-scale working platforms have become important solutions to infrastructure projects. grown in use in infrastructure, such as for situations in which load transfer enables more efficient construction or makes...