Thursday, May 17, 2012
EPA Announces Stormwater Management Competition
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new design competition called the Campus RainWorks Challenge to encourage student teams on college and university campuses across the country to develop innovative approaches to stormwater management. The competition will help raise awareness of green design and planning approaches at colleges and universities, and train the next generation of landscape architects, planners, and engineers in green infrastructure principles and design.
Learn more.
Fagan Named IECA's 2012 Presenter of the Year
The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) has announced that Barry Fagan, PE/PLS, CPESC has received the 2012 Presenter of the Year Award. This is familiar turf for Fagan, who also earned this honor in 2011. The award is determined each year based upon presenter evaluations at the annual IECA conference and expo. Fagan's course "Environmental Leadership – Active or Passive Treatment" from EC 2012 (February, Las Vegas) earned him this year's honors. He serves as a Environmental Program Engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation.
Read the release.
World Highways Interview with PRS
World Highways magazine has just published an interview with Hadas Levin of PRS-Med, a manufacturer of cellular confinement systems (geocells) that has increasingly made its mark with transportation application. In the interview, Levin discusses the development of Novel Polymer Alloy (NPA) geocellular materials, growing adoption in the transportation sector, adapting the renowned Giroud-Han design method to geocell use, and more.
Read it online.
Maccaferri Wins "International Project of the Year"
Maccaferri took home the title of "International Project of the Year" on Friday, May 4 at the Ground Engineering Awards in London. The awards, hosted by actor and presenter Robert Llewellyn, were presented at the Grosvenor House Hotel, on London's Park Lane. The award recognized the reinforcement work utilized on the construction of a new airport at Pakyong in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in North East India.
Design of the slope used BS8006 for static design and FHWA (AASHTO) methodologies for the seismic design. Maccaferri's reinforcement technologies were used for this extraordinary design, which involves wall heights up to 74m and along 1480m.
Read more in the release
Read a description of the design and construction
Nanda Strengthens Tensar in Asia-Pacific Region
Tensar is appointing Mala Nanda as Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific. Based in Shanghai, Nanda brings deep experience in the construction supply sector in Asia and Australasia. Her previous work at Owens Corning saw her serve as General Manager, Asia Pacific South and earned her company awards. While with Owens, she developed and invested in the Indian sub-continent and developed the Australian market. Tensar sees the Asia Pacific region as a key component in its growth and will look to Nanda for furthing its presence in China, South East Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand.
May 23 Webinar: MSE Wall Design and Installation
On Wednesday, 23 May 2012, at 2:00 pm EDT, Maccaferri will host a free instructional webinar on MSE Wall Design & Installation. This presentation, with Q & A time allotted, will offer a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate to participants. Key topics include: Wall and reinforced soil slope (RSS) components and design details; Code of practice and method of design for MSE walls; Design difference between MSE walls and RSS; and Installation of MSE walls and RSS.
Learn more and register.
Two June Inspection Certification Short Courses from GSI
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has announced two June short courses, each of which will offer eight (8) professional development hours (PDHs) as certified by the Geosynthetic Certification Institute (GCI) and an exam that leads to Certified Inspector status:
- Geosynthetic Reinforced MSE Walls, Berms and Slopes - Inspectors Course (June 6)
- Construction QA/QC of Geosynthetics in Waste Containment - Inspectors Course (June 7)
Both courses will be held in Folsom, Pennsylvania at GSI. Learn more.
South Africa: "Some Implications of the New Waste Facility Regulations"
Jonathan Shamrock of Jones and Wagener writes on "Some Implications of the New Waste Facility Regulations" in South Africa. These changes will impact municipal and hazardous waste landfill lining system designs as well as capping system designs. While these new regulations raise the bar for safety in SA's environmental engineering, they may also indicate more potential failure planes within designs. Will the stringent codes prompt more communication among construction teams? Will they warrant more CQA?
Jonathan Shamrock's comments on the country's changing regulatory landscape, orignally authored for the GIGSA Newsletter, are worth reading.
May's MSE Wall Course Canceled
We've been informed that the May 22 "MSE Walls, Slopes and Berms Inspector Training Course" scheduled for Anderson, South Carolina has been canceled. No details are available at this time.
Joe McCullough Joins CLI
Colorado Lining International, Inc. is excited to announce the addition of Joe McCullough as its newest Regional Sales Manager. Joe will be located in southern California and will be focused on sales and service for flexible membrane projects in the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. He previously worked for Watersaver Co., Inc.
Learn more.
Waterproof Membranes 2012: Deadlines, Discounts, Opportunities
The 6th edition of AMI's Waterproof Membranes conference will be held 11-13 December 2012 at Hotel Nikko in Düsseldorf, Germany. This annual gathering focuses on the exchange of technical information on geomembranes and roofing membranes. Research updates, market data, case studies and manufacturing advances are presented.
Learn more about the key deadlines (abstracts, early registration) and sponsorship opportunities.
Sustainability in Public Works
The American Public Works Association's (APWA) Sustainability in Public Works Conference series provides a key link between public sector engineers, municipal leaders, and design and construction professionals. This wide-ranging event approaches cutting-edge and established designs from perspectives of economics, effectiveness, regulation, and more. The 2012 conference will be held 25-27 June 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and address life-cycle cost analysis, practical sustainability, energy efficiency and conservation practices, low impact development (LID), best practices case studies, and more.
Pipeline Protection in Iran
Manasanat's Mohammad Reza Ashgbousi has shared with us some notes from a pipeline protection project in the Persian Gulf's South Pars/North Dome Gas Field. (With 51 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 7.9 billion cubic meters of condensate natural gases, South Pars/North Dome is the largest gas field in the world and is shared by Qatar and Iran.) Here, a 650m-long, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline for water outfall was protected by a geotextile-backed, flexible concrete block mattress (CBM) system.
Read more about this pipeline protection application from the oil and gas sector.
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