Special Series

Maccaferri will be occupying a booth in the following conferences: - Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association in Boca Raton, FL - New Mexico Mining Association Convention in Albuquerque, NM - ACI Convention in Fajardo, PR (#65) - IECA Northeast Chapter Annual Conference & Trade Exposition in Burlington, VT Please stop by and visit if you are attending these events.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality website migrated to a new address earlier this year. All of the new links to the Solid Waste Landfill Guidance Document can be found on this page. Learn more here.;

Erosion Control Blanket and East Coast Erosion Blankets both offer blanket calculators on their websites. Find ECB's on its page for designers (http://www.erosioncontrolblanket.com/designer.aspx) and East Coast's on its home page at the link below. Learn more here.;

Edmond, Oklahoma is the latest city to implement its own erosion and sediment and control policies. While municipalities have lagged in compliance with the Clean Water Act and various National Pollution Discharge Elimination System mandates, monitoring (and administering fines!) on the local level is growing rapidly. Learn more here.;

"Minneapolis resembles greatly so many other bridges in the country. The roads leading to these bridges have their problems. The cities connected by these roads have their problems." Read Chris Kelsey's editorial on the recent bridge collapse and infrastructure problems in the US.

The Times-Republican paper of Marshall County, Iowa has published a piece on a landfill's role in the community, from the difficulty of siting to the cost of monitoring to its unofficial role as wildlife preserve. Learn more here.;

At Technical-Textiles.net, Reena Mital reports on the challenges and growth potential for geotextiles in India. Unfortunately, the 3000-word article is available only on subscription or pay-per-view basis. For geosynthetic users, it's important to note that "geotextile" in this article may apply solely to coir-only products. In India, geotextile is not always geosynthetic. Learn more here.;

A lakefront homeowner in St. Cloud, Minnesota may face criminal charges after he extended his property into the lake by adding fill. The property owner did this despite having been in contact with city officials and told not to do it. On the bright side: the man actually made a smarter installation than most defiant property owners. He used geotextile underlay with riprap. Learn more here.;

The artificial surf reef at Boscombe, Dorset, England is moving forth. The components--a webbing and geotextiles--will be manufacturered in New Zealand and Australia and shipped ot England for installation. A number of updates on the project have appeared online. See Wavefreaks at http://www.wavefreaks.com/boscombereef.html, 24Dash at http://www.24dash.com/communities/15292.htm, and the Bournemouth government site at the link below. Learn more here.;

The Kwazulu-Natal Landfill Interest Group will be hosting a site visit to view current developments at the DSW Bisasar Road Landfill, including the rehabilitation and closure of areas of the site, as well as the Electricity from Gas Project.

A conventional pond liner is being used to create a small, stage-sized ice rink for a production of Swan Lake. The performance, which heads to Japan now, features numerous Russian skaters and takes place in a rink one-eighth the size of a competitive rink. Learn more here.;

Lake Wapello in Drakesville, Iowa has been in need of cleanup for many years. While the current plan is on hold while paperwork is taken care of, sediment control operations will soon be put in place. Officials estimate they'll need 20 to 30 sediment catch basins installed in key areas around the lake. Learn more here.;

The New York Times reports on the state of America's infrastructure. "We have a major infrastructure problem in this country,” said Maureen L. McAvey of the Urban Land Institute. Problems are outlined in their recently published a report (cut and paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.uli.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search%A7ion=Policy_Papers2&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentFileID=27598) on global infrastructure issues. In 2005, ASCE shared a shocking report card (cut and paste the following URL into your browser for the overview: http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103) describing the grades for America's infrastructure. The link below will lead you to the New York Times article. Learn more here.;

The Morning Call has published a story about the PVC geomembrane installation at Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania's newest development. The article includes a nice photo of the flexible liner being installed. According to the piece, 70-foot-wide sections were placed and glued together. For more, read the article here. Learn more here.;

Ada County, Idaho has opened a new landfill with a modern lining and leachate collection system. The 20-acre, $15.5 million site is expected to serve the area for 50 to 100 years. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the conclusion of Phase I. Learn more here.;

Waste News reports that Rumpke Consolidated Companies has won approval to expand its Medora, Illinois landfill. The 83-acre project involves vertical and horizontal expansion. The site is expected to provide 17 years and 11 million cubic yards of space.

AMCOL International, the parent company of geosynthetics-manufacturer CETCO, has reported its second quarter earnings. A 26% increase in diluted earnings per share is noted in the release. Read the CNN-Money story here. Learn more here.;

The Clarion News, Clarion County, Pennsylvania reports that a local farm has won a national stewardship award. The Shippenville farm was nominated for its continued innovative and environmentally friendly practices. Currently, the farm owners are participating in a study to use geotextiles and crushed limestone in well-trafficked feeding areas, such as around troughs. Learn more here.;

Once again, it seems someone has confused a landfill's service life with the service life of an installed geosynthetic lining system. A letter to the editor of the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, Tennessee notes that the landfill's liner will fail because it has reached its 30-year service life. The landfill is the center of a debate due to elevated radiation in its waste. But panic letters such as the one in question never help debate. Learn more here.;

Writing for Construction, Christina Fowler reports on four large stormwater ponds being built in Maryland. The ponds range in size from 19,000 to 50,000 sq ft. Construction involves HDPE pipe wrapped in geotextile, filter fabrics, heavy-duty geogrids, geotextile cushioning, and 40-mil liners. Read the article here. Learn more here.;

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) is pleased to announce Perry Ninger has been named Director of Finance for the non-profit organization. Before coming to IECA, Ninger preformed various financial functions at American Express including three years as treasurer in Canada. Recently, Ninger owned and managed a building products company based in Steamboat Springs where he has resided since 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. “We are very excited to have Perry join our team,” said Meg Tully, IECA’s interim executive director. “His experiences with a global organization such as American Express coupled with his interactions with the construction industry make him a perfect fit for IECA. His insights will help take our organization to the next level.” “It’s exciting to join an environmentally-minded organization at a time when proper resource management and control is such a global concern,” said Ninger. “I look forward to supporting the association’s focus on delivering timely, high quality information to assist our customers in these efforts.”

In Morgan County, Indiana, stormwater managers are racing to catch up to federal and state requirements on well and waterpipe mapping, erosion control monitoring, and educating contractors. One stormwater manager hopes that contractors will give compliance on erosion control ordinances the same importance that highway contractors do the steps in their projects. Learn more here.;

Fifty two attendees from California to Massachusetts attended the June 13-14 T-CLIC (TRI-CORP Liner Integrity Center) geoelectric Liner Integrity Survey (LIS) certification course sponsored by the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management. Read a review of the course here.

A hard rain following a vegetation-clearing fire has caused a mudslide in Tooele County, Utah. Area officials are now debating strategies to prevent further problems on the charred hill. One option being considered is the installation of erosion control blankets that will allow water to sink into the soil, prevent soil sliding, and allow vegetation to take hold. Learn more here.;

Find your geogrid product and product data at geosindex.com's ASTM-spec ready geogrids page. The data table is interactive: you can close and open only the criteria fields you need for selection. For example, creep limited strength and elongation at break. Learn more here.;