Transportation

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.

The 185-mile-long, historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal--more familiarly known as the C&O Canal--was compeleted in 1850 and served as a major transport corridor for goods such as lumber and grain. Today, it is a national park surrounded by more than 12,000 acres of land. Not long ago, a towpath began to fail when drainage pipe broke. The saturated slope gave way and exposed a main water line for Arlington County, Virginia. Repair of the slope was key both for the preservation of this historic canal and for the safety of Arlington's water supply. Maccaferri's Green Terramesh® system was selected to provide slope stability and vegetation for the natural look park patrons and officials seek along the C&O. Construction was quick, economical and effective. Read Pino Cignarella's case study.

The Quality Data Oversight and Review (QDOR) program is accepting rolled erosion control products for review during the August 2009 meeting of the Erosion Control Technology Council. All products received by 3 July 2009 will be eligible for review. Anything submitted after that would be reviewed during the December 2009 meetings. Read more in the release.

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.

In 2008, Oregon-based BTL moved into a cavernous new facility--one that can finally meet its project demands. This is the second facility expansion move for BTL in only a few years. One project that underscores the advantages of the new headquarters is the 105,000 sq. ft. single-panel of 20-mil geomembrane that the company fabricated for a pond liner project in Wisconsin. Read the case study here.

Chattanooga-based Propex Holding LLC has named Stan Brant, Jr., as President, Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Brant is a proven leader with experience as a chief executive, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Propex, Inc., responsible for directing all of the company’s geosynthetic, concrete, furnishing and industrial fabrics and fiber manufacturing activities. Prior to joining Propex, Brant spent 17 years with Duracell, where he held several key manufacturing and engineering leadership roles and ultimately served as Vice President of Engineering for Duracell Batteries.

Propex Inc. announced today the sale of substantially all of its assets to Propex Holding, LLC, an entity owned by a fund managed by Wayzata Investment Partners, a Minneapolis based private equity firm. Bankruptcy Judge John C. Cook approved Wayzata’s bid for Propex’s assets on 30 March 2009. (Continued.)

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.)

The Tennessee state legislature may be very close to the ratification of a new bill to require the installation of geosynthetic liners in all new or future expansions to coal ash storage facilities. Kingston, Tennessee, readers will recall, was the site of a massive coal ash pond breach in December 2008. That facility’s failure released 5.4 million cubic yards of contaminated ash across 275 acres. The estimated cleanup cost, announced in mid-February, will be $525-$825 million. Tennessee’s House of Representatives has signed off on the bill (SB1559), but changes in the bill’s language means it must revert to the state senate for an approval vote or further amendments. (Continued.)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (generally known as the Recovery Act or the economic stimulus package) has led to significantly more open discussion about infrastructure needs in the United States. American infrastructure really is in disrepair, so the discussion and wide-scale funding are welcomed. One interesting result of all this attention is how it has thrown light upon projects and segments of the country that have long been overlooked. Take, for example, American Indian reservations. (Continued.)

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.

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.;

Professional society and business newsletters are a fantastic way to keep current on international events. Geosynthetica, for example, grew out of I-CORP International’s 1990s newsletter Industry Insight. In the past week, two interesting newsletters have come out. (Continued.)

The closing date for abstract submissions to Waterproof Membranes 2009 is NOW: 17 April 2009. We strongly encourage readers to submit their presentation proposals to Dr. Sally Humphreys (sh@amiplastics.com) at Applied Market Information (AMI), the event organizer. This year’s installment marks the third international conference for the waterproofing industry and will take place from 19-21 October 2009 at the Swissôtel Düsseldorf/Neuss in Düsseldorf, Germany. Additionally, the early bird registration rate of EUR790 (Note: 19% German VAT is added) is available through 24 April 2009. This represents a very significant 20% savings on the full registration price.

On 15 April 2009, US EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced $600 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the cleanup of hazardous waste (Superfund) sites across the nation. In most cases, this recovery act funding will accelerate the hazardous waste cleanup already underway at the sites and fund new clean-up projects. It will also jumpstart the local economy by creating jobs in the site areas. (Continued.)

When the United States Congress, working with President Obama’s administration, released the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the staggering billions it opened for allocation were in part to go to “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects. Whether the nation's most polluted sites would benefit, however, was not clear. On Wednesday, April 15, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced $600 million of the Recovery Act funds would be made available to National Priorities List (NPL) projects—otherwise known as Superfund. Chris Kelsey reports.

Strata Systems has released a new StrataSlope® brochure. The publication offers technical data and application references designed to help civil engineers, site developers and construction firms identify available soil reinforcement technologies that address difficult geotechnical engineering challenges. 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 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. Learn more here.;

Dr. David J. Elton reports from the annual ASCE / Geo-Institute MSE Wall GeoCompetition, which pits numerous university engineering student teams against one another in an MSE load-test model competition. This year's winning team hails from the University of Missouri - Columbia. We congratulate them and invite our readers to learn more about this event in Dr. Elton's write up.