Special Series

NAGS AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FEBRUARY 14 2001 1. PAULSON INTRODUCED KAREN HENRY (INCOMING NAGS PRESIDENT AND FIRST WOMAN PRES) JOHN INTRODUCED THE NEW ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, TECHNICAL COMMITTEE, SESSION LEADERS AND PRESENTED EACH WITH A COPY OF “WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?”. The NAGS Board of Directors is: John Paulson, Past President; Karen Henry, President; David Suits, President Elect; Mark Meyers, Treasurer. Vice Presidents: Dean Sandri, Shobha Bhatia, Mark Sieracke and Mark Cadwallader 2. NATALIE TOUZE-FOLTZ – WAS PRESENTED WITH THE AWARD SHE WAS AWARDED LAST YEAR WHEN SHE WAS PREGNANT. (WHAT AWARD) 3. DAVID ELTON RECEIVED AN IGS AWARD OF SERVICE FOR THE FIVE YEARS HE WAS EDITOR OF THE IGS NEWSLETTER. KARINA LABINAZ IS THE NEW EDITOR. 4. STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION AWARD PRESENTED BY SHOBHA BHATIA TO DON SAUNDERS (CANADA) 5. MARK MEYERS PRESENTED THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO GEORGE ARMSTRONG FOR “INNOVATIVE HYBRID RECP-LINED DRAINAGE CHANNEL: DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE”. 6. SHOBHA BHATIA PRESENTED THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AWARD TO JOE DOVE, MATTHEW ADAMS AND MAX JOHNSON FOR “MANUFACTURING VARIABILITY OF COEXTRUDED GEOMEMBRANE SURFACE TEXTURE”. 7. KAREN HENRY PRESENTED THE GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO ANDREW VESSELY, NESTOR MIRAFUENTE AND WILLIAM SHALLENBERGER FOR “GEOMEMBRANE LINER FOR SPILLWAY APPROACH CANAL SEEPAGE REDUCTION”. 8. JOHN PAULSON PRESENTED THE STATE OF PRACTICE TECHNOLOGY AWARD TO JOHN BOVE AND JOHN BARNARD FOR “IT’S TIME TO UPDATE CQA TESTING OF GEOMEMBRANES”. 9. THE GRAND AWARD OF $10,000 WAS WON BY MARK GLEASON, MICHAEL HOULIHAN AND JEFFREY PALUTIS “EXPOSED GEOMEMBRANE COVER SYSTEMS: TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY”. (FIND OUT WHERE THEY WILL SEND THE AWARD) 10. DAVE SUITS CELEBRATED HIS 31ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ON THIS DAY

GSI's Continuing Education Short Courses will be offered as follows: Course #1 - Thursday, April 5, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Waste Containment, Course #2 - Friday April 6, 2001 - QC/QA of Geosynthetics, Course #3 - Thursday, April 12, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Transp./Geotech., Course #4 - Friday, April 13, 2001 - Geosynthetics in Private Development. Location for all 4 courses: Geosynthetic Institute, 475 Kedron Avenue, Folsom, PA 19033, +1-610-522-8440 (vox), 8441 (fax)

The IAGI Certification Program recognizes individuals who have hands-on skills, knowledge and experience in the welding and installation of polyethelene (PE) geomembranes. The certification program’s goal is to promote the professionalism of the industry. Certification encourages generally acceptable installation methods and it provides a reward to individuals who have developed a certain level of expertise and professionalism. This program will be helpful to those regulators and engineers on job sites who want to verify that the installation personnel working on their jobs are qualified to do the work. We have completed the Pilot Test for the Certification Program. At this point, we are scoring the test to determine our first group of IAGI Certified Welding Technicians. The test is also being reviewed and a few minor adjustments are being made to the written and hands on portion of the test. Please be sure to read the Industry News in the next GFR to find out who are the IAGI Certified Welding Technicians. If you would like further information on the IAGI Certification Program, would like to take the certification test or would like to be a registered proctor of the test please contact Beth Landen, IAGI Managing Director via phone at 651.225.6952 or via e-mail at melanden@ifai.com.

Golden Software announces the release of Grapher 3, a graphing package designed for Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4, and Windows 2000. Grapher 3 has an easy to use interface that makes graphing effortless. Easily produce Line/Symbol, Step, Bubble, Function, Hi-Low-Close and Polar plots, Bar charts, Floating Bar charts, Rose or Ternary diagrams, Pie charts, Histograms and Box-Whisker plots. Create publication quality graphs in an instant with Grapher 3. Graphers 3 is available from Golden Software, Inc. for $299. You can place your order by going to http://goldensoftware.com/frames/grapherframe.htm or calling +1-800-972-1021.

Written Portion IAGI will score the written portion of the certification exam. The passing criteria as determined based on the data collected from the pilot test. The candidate will be notified of a pass/fail score. The actual scores will not be released to the candidate. Hands-on Portion The hands-on portion will be a pass/fail criteria based on industry accepted standards. The sample will be tested for peel and shear. The passing score for HDPE is determined by the specifications set by IAGI – see IAGI specification. The test value must exceed the standard and achieve film tear bond (FTB). The VFPE/LLDPE score for passing seams was set by the IAGI Certification Committee. The values for 40-mil smooth VFPE/LLDPE are 50 lbs/inch for shear and 45 lbs/inch for peel. These values will be used until an industry accepted standard is produced. These numbers were the average of the numbers published by the manufacturers. Only 40-mil smooth can be used for VFPE/LLDPE hands-on section. A third party testing lab, as approved by IAGI Board of Directors, will test these samples and the results will be sent to IAGI. The candidate must pass all samples to pass the hands-on portion of the test. Passing the Test The candidate must pass the written portion and the hands-on portion to become a Certified Welding Technician.

Call for Papers - Sustainable Services & Systems: Transition towards Sustainability, October 29 - 30th, De Rode Hoed, Amsterdam, Netherlands. For more information see "Sustainable Services & Systems" at www.cfsd.org.uk

October 21-24 Philadelphia, PA, -Abstracts are encouraged from all areas of solid waste technology and management. The home page is: www.widener.edu/solid.waste

TC Mirafi announced today the completion of a Master Distributor agreement with Colbond Geosynthetics of Enka, North Carolina. Effective January 1, 2001, TC Mirafi will become the exclusive marketing and distribution organization for Colbond’s geosynthetic products in North America. The agreement includes Enkamat® 7000-Series erosion control products, Enkagrid® laser-welded geogrids, and Colbonddrain® vertical wick drains.

IFAI Expo 2000 drew to a close on October 28, recognized as the most successful exposition in the event's 88-year history and strengthening its position as the world's largest annual event serving the many markets of the technical fabrics industry. All told, a show-record 486 exhibiting companies showcased their latest products and services to a diverse crowd of 7,376 total participants. The show took place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., from October 26-28.

Euro Geo 2 ran from 15 -18 October 2000 in Bologna. Hosted by the Italian Chapter of the IGS, chaired by Mr. Daniella Cozuffi and brought together by many others including Suzanna A. The Congress presented 156 papers, from 30+ different counties. (290 papers were submitted) Attendance was in excess of 700, 400+ exhibitors and 300+ attendees. The congress was very pleased with the unprecedented attendance by the Eastern European delegates.

Colas Inc. is branching out into a new market. Bituminous liners, in North America. Managing the New Business Development is Greg Langley. Liners are currently being manufactured in Ireland and imported, however, should things develop well a North American Facility is possible. Contact: Greg Langley +1-687-1717 (vox), +1-316-689-4218 (fax), +1-316-371-0500 (mobile) glangley@colas-inc.com

8/ 4/2000 - GSE announces expansion into nonwoven geotextile manufacturing. Estimated at $17M (USD), this project will extend GSE into new markets as well as provide an in-house source for nonwovens materials. Phase I begins mid-August in Kingstree SC with the construction of a new 156,000 sq. ft. facility, capacity of 16M lbs., completion is expected in the spring of 2001. Phase II involves further expansion creating a second nonwovens manufacturing line. Loren Collins will be the General Manager of the nonwoven textiles division. Contact: Roger J. Klatt (281) 230-6732

ASTM has released, for purchase, a CD ROM containing all of ASTM's geosynthetics standards. The cost of the CD will be about US$120.00.

The NAGS tour for GEO2001 in Portland OR (weather permitting) will take in the Arnold Canal sections A-1 through A-8 and the Ochoco Canal sections O-1 through O-4

TC Mirafi has released the second version of "The World of Innovation" CD-ROM, which utilizes a web browser format for easier navigation and access to products and application information. It also includes a new software package MiraSPEC® - compiles few data requirements and generates geosynthetic specifications for applications. Contact: John Henderson +1-706-693-2226 (vox),

Tips on making websites more readable Lets assume you have a PC with Windows and Internet Explorer, you can adjust your browser to override font settings and make everything larger. This will make all websites conform to your preferred font sizes. In Internet Explorer, select the 'Internet Options' submenu of the 'View' pull down-menu and click on the 'Accessibility' button. Check the box for 'Ignore font sizes specified on WebPages.' Then fine-tune the font sizes in the 'Fonts' submenu of the 'View' pull-down menu.

GeoSoft software developed exclusively for Geofoam applications Including: Retaining walls, Embankments & bulkhead, Insulated panels and plates. It analyzes static/seismic/spectrum gravity and cantilever retaining walls. Solves stress distribution, uplift/net stress, excavation depths, settlement/deformation, and slope stability. To learn more about GeoSoft:

Wanted: Sales representative with geotextile and geosynthetic sales experience based in the Baltimore and Washington area. A growing $25 million company, leader in its market. Base salary plus bonus, car expenses, and benefits. Call Richard Bober at MRI-Shelby, NC +1-704-480-7889

Janet Schneider, currently the Assistant Managing Director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) and Technical Session Coordinator of the Geosynthetics Conference 2001 will resign her positions on January 12, 2001. She has accepted a position outside of the geosynthetics industry. Her new position is with a financial services institution and her new title will be team lead in the RTA customer services area. When asked what she will miss most, Janet replied "I will miss working with the membership and the volunteer leadership of GMA. I will miss working with the volunteers on all of the Geosynthetics Conference 2001 committees as well as the exhibitors and authors. I will also miss working with the talented staff at the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). And I will miss working with Danette R. Fettig. I cannot thank her enough for making everyday an adventure and for making each day a day I looked forward to coming to work."

IGS Welcomes New Spanish Chapter The Spanish IGS Chapter was formed in the fall of 1999 and the Chapter Council Members are: President-Mr. Vicente Cuellar, Vice President-Mr. Angel Leior, Treasurer-Mr. Julio Garcia-Mina, Council Member-Mr. Mario Garcia. Two committees have been created to report on: Landfill Capping: Design Alternatives and Reinforcement Materials: Reduction Factors. Four more chapter members are working on: Geotextiles: Filtration, Separation and Protection, Geomembranes, GCLs, and other Geosynthetic Liners, Reinforcement Geosynthetics, and Drainage and Erosion Control Geosynthetics.

The December 2000/January 2001 issue of Waste Age Product News contains Liner and Geosynthetic Specifications - it includes Donnelly Fabricators, Cetco, Colbond Geosynthetics, SI Geosolutions, Agru America Inc., GSE Lining Technology, Huesker Inc., Poly-Flex Inc. and Serrot International Inc.

4th seminar taking place on the 11th & 12 of September 2001 at the Milnerton Library in Cape Town. Prospective authors for oral papers on landfill related matter (max. 8 x A4 pages/30 min. presentation should complete and return form plus a one page abstract, no later than Feb. 23, 2001 and accepted papers must be submitted no later than June 29, 2001.For more information: vhok@iafrica.com

Distinguished global environmentalist Dr. Asif Faiz of the World Bank will be the keynote speaker at the Air & Waste Management Association's Annual Conference & Exhibition on June 24-28 in Orlando, Florida. The American Society of Civil Engineers, US Transportation Research Board and Purdue University have recognized Dr. Faiz for his academic, technical and professional activities. He is Operations Adviser in the World Banks Nepal Country Department and he has held advisory and management positions in the areas of infrastructure and environment at the World Bank. For detailed information about this event visit www.awma.org/ace2001

COLAS geomembrane installation on the Ochoco Canal in Oregon can now be viewed at www.pn.usbr.gov/project/wat/watercon Coletanche membrane is currently being introduced to the North American market. Coletanche has been successfully used in Europe for over 20 years.

GEOSYN will publish a free Who's Who Directory of GEOSYN members. This will be advertised throughout the industry as a free resource of geosynthetic information provided by industry experts. For inclusion in the GEOSYN directory please forward: Your Name/ Title, Company, University Affiliation/ City/State/Country/ Phone and Fax number to: listmanager@geosyn.org