Mining

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has extended the window for proposals to EC10 through 29 May 2009. IECA organizes its work into 8 technology sections: slopes, stream restoration, vegetative establishment, stormwater management, wetlands, erosion and sediment control, beach and shoreline stabilization, and wind erosion. The "Hot Topics" for 2010 are LEED for new construction, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. EC10 will be held in Dallas, Texas 14-17 February 2010. Read more at IECA's site. Learn more here.;

Barrick Gold's North Mara mine in Tanzania has encountered some leakage problems that villagers believe is the cause of some cattle and fish deaths. In a May 14 statement, the company notes that theft at the site involved vandalism and damage to key geomembrane liners. Rains have also caused increased acidic runoff from a temporary ore stockpile. Learn more here.;

GeoAfrica 2009 is the first African regional conference on geosynthetics. The event, to be held under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) and hosted by the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), will take place 2 - 5 September 2009 in Cape Town. Organizers have just announced an extension of the early-bird registration rate to 30 June 2009. The conference is shaping up to be a grand one, with more than 100 papers over three days, a sold-out exhibit hall and plenty of networking opportunities.

With an estimated 15 million tons of additional polymerization capacity coming on line in the Middle East in the next three years, the region stands to become a major plastics processing center. Will geosynthetics be part of this boom in production? How will the Middle East's growth affect global markets? Applied Market Information (AMI) is presenting a one-day seminar to tackle this subject: "The Middle East Plastics Industry Strategy Seminar." AMI's Strategic Research Manager John Nash writes on the event, which will be offered three times (In Dubai and Brussels in June; and in Cologne in October). Read more.

Applied Market Information (AMI) has released the program for Waterproof Membranes 2009, which will be held in Duesseldorf, Germany from 19-21 October 2009. On the geotechnical side of things, the speaker list includes Chris Kelsey of geosynthetica, Vladimir Nosko of Sensor, Gottfried Niederkrattenhaler of Agru Austria, Catrin Tarnowski from GSE, Roland von Ah of Leister, Jose Miguel Munoz Gomez of Sotrafa, and Stefan Ultsch of Dow (Europe). See the full list in the program PDF. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is accepting abstracts for its annual conference through May 15. EC10 will be held in Dallas, Texas 14-17 February 2010. IECA organizes its work into 8 technology sections: slopes, stream restoration, vegetative establishment, stormwater management, wetlands, erosion and sediment control, beach and shoreline stabilization, and wind erosion. The "Hot Topics" for 2010 are LEED for new construction, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. Read more at IECA's site. Learn more here.;

Penton Media, organizers of the very successful Global Waste Management Symposium (September 2008), has sent out finalized information for the Waste Tech Landfill Technology Meeting, which will take place in June in Las Vegas. In closing the email announcement, Rita Ugianskis-Fishman, a group show director with Penton, indicated that the company was close to announcing dates for a 2010 edition of the Global Waste Management Symposium. September is a likely month. Learn more here.;

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.

The week opens with two work item announcements from ASTM International. Both items are revision proposals from Committee D18 on Soil and Rock and are related to rolled erosion control products: WK24125, Revision of D6459-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Product (RECP) Performance in Protecting Hillslopes from Rainfall-Induced Erosion; and WK24126, Revision of D6460-07 Standard Test Method for Determination of Rolled Erosion Control Product (RECP) Performance in Protecting Earthen Channels from Stormwater-Induced Erosion. Track the latest on our ASTM Update page.

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), announces the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners, to be held at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. Abstract and papers for oral or poster presentations are invited on the following topics: Application / case studies (Landfills, Canals, Reservoirs / Dams, Transportation Infrastructure) • Durability / Lifetime • Laboratory testing • Performance (Cation exchange, Desiccation, Experience from excavation • Regulations / Approvals. Abstracts must be submitted via e-mail to: gbr-c2k10@skz.de no later than 30 September 2009. View the flyer in PDF.

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has announced a worldwide call for requests-for-proposals (RFPs) focusing on "innovative" geosynthetics research and development projects. This will be the second class of awardees in the GSI Fellowship series, the having been awarded in 2008. Multiple awards of up to $10,000 per year will be given. Each is renewable, pending an annual written report, to a total amount of $25,000 per student. Read the call from Jamie Koerner and Robert Koerner.

Approximately 50 people from North America, the United Kingdom, Austria, Spain and Norway, attended Applied Market Information's (AMI) "Plastics in Underground Pipe 2009" conference in Orlando, Florida on 6 and 7 May. Pipe conferences are invariably good events to learn about the performance characteristics of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for extension to geomembranes and other geosynthetics. This conference was no exception. Read Ian Peggs' review.

Terrafix Geosynthetics is among the five finalists for this year's Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Mind to Market award, with the winner to be announced during events on May 11 and 12 events. OCE's release singles out Terrafix for "making the world's landfills safer with its geosynthetic clay liner." Read the full release here.

Sally Humphreys of Applied Market Information (AMI) has announced a call for papers for PVC Formulation 2010. She invites you to take part in the 2nd international conference on PVC Formulation, which will take place 16-18 March 2010 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany. There will be a drinks reception and registration on the first day, followed by a 2-day technical programme. Read more about the event and the topics sought for presentations.

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) has experienced dramatic membership growth since the kick-off meeting held on 26 February 2009 in Salt Lake City. (The meeting was held in conjunction with the Geosynthetics 2009 conference.) Andrew Mills has headed the membership recruitment efforts for FGI. As a result of Mr. Mills' efforts, 15 companies have joined at the manufacturing membership level; six companies have joined at the fabricator/installer membership level; and five companies have joined at the associate level membership. Read more in the release.

Because of a political union between the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the United States, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel from Region 9 help monitor issues such as environmental contamination and erosion and provide or propose programs for implementation within the CNMI. Officials from the EPA are currently conducting a mid-year review of CNMI Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) programs for erosion control, wastewater management, brownfields, and more.

Ian Peggs writes on the four criteria of performing a successful geoelectric integrity survey on a double-liner system, and ways in which designs may hinder or prevent a proper leak location survey.

The massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is having a considerable (and beneficial) impact on construction markets and the environment. Few projects are so ready to be tackled than those on the National Priorities List (NPL)—aka, Superfund projects—and more proactive environmental management designs. The effect of this is certainly being felt in the geosynthetics industry, which provides many of the vital containment, reinforcement and erosion control technologies that these environmentally sensitive and environmentally damaged sites need. (Continued.)

We have a few deadlines to remind you of this week: the early-bird registration deadline for Waterproof Membranes 2009; the abstracts deadline for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) 2009 conference; and the Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI) annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition entry deadline. Read about these opportunities in the weekly column.

On the northern end of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, the world's largest natural gas conversion facility is being constructed. Many challenges present themselves at this site, however: the high temperatures of the environment, the high temperature of environmentally aggressive liquids that must be contained on site, the sandy substrate, and much more. On the geosynthetic side of things, engineers have been challenged by the selection of geomembranes that will survive in the environment and meet the project's overall environmental sustainability goals. The found their answer in ethylene interpolymer alloy (EIA)-enhanced geomembranes. The expertise of Solmax International and LG Chem have combined to make the site a success. Roughly 160,000 sq. m of geomembrane have been installed by Arabian Environmental Construction (AEC). Work will be on-going through 2009.

Andrew Aho, executive director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), reports that John Henderson of Tencate Geosynthetics has been re-elected as Chairman the GMA Executive Council. This will be John's second term. "We appreciate John’s service and look forward to his continued leadership as Chairman," Aho says. In the past couple years, GMA has made great strides in communication with US Congressional legislators and infrastructure committees.

The Spring 2009 issue of MiraFacts, a publication from TenCate Geosynthetics, has been released. This issue contains stories on how geosynthetics help reduce a carbon footprint, new haul roads brochure, a technical note on loading, two case cases, upcoming events, and more. (Continued.)

Quick word out of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA): John Henderson of Tencate Geosynthetics has been re-elected as Chairman the GMA Executive Council. This will be John's second term. Writes GMA executive director, Andrew Aho, "We appreciate John’s service and look forward to his continued leadership as Chairman." In the past couple years, GMA has made great strides in communication with US Congressional legislators and infrastructure committees. Learn more here.;

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation to the Group of Eight Environment Ministers Meeting held this year in Siracusa, Italy. This marks her first international trip as EPA Administrator. Administrator Jackson will represent the United States among Environment Ministers from the Group of Eight (Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Russia) as well as 12 additional Environment Ministers and leaders of international organizations from around the world. Read more.

“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.;