April 1, 2014
The DOT allocates funds for important transportation projects The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that $600 million will be made available to fund transportation projects across the country under a sixth round of the DOT’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The 2014 TIGER grant program will place an emphasis on …
February 1, 2014
By Katie Westfall Introduction U.S. Highway 50 crosses the central portion of Nevada through several large desert valleys, basins, and mountain passes. The road climbs steep 8% grades and carries travelers around hairpin turns and through pine forests. In some places, erosion of the slopes adjacent to the highway is a problem for motorists who …
First large-scale landfill closure in California to use artificial turf closure system By Christopher M. Richgels 1.0 Introduction The Crazy Horse Landfill (CHLF) is located on a 160-acre parcel west of, and adjacent to, Crazy Horse Canyon Road about nine miles north of the city of Salinas in northern Monterey County, Calif. The landfill, owned …
October 11, 2013
EPS geofoam fills void for Chicago metro airport and train station Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam has been used in several recent Windy City construction projects, among them, Millennium Park, Soldier’s Field and, most recently, the Gary Chicago International Airport roadway expansion and the Metra 35th Street train station adjacent to the White Sox U.S. Cellular …
October 1, 2013
By Chris Eichelberger, Gerald Hersh, and Shabbir Pittawala 1.0 Introduction The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is located 55 miles west of downtown Phoenix and is the largest power producer of any kind in the United States. Its three units are capable of generating more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity. The facility provides power to …
Usage, regulations, concerns, and challenges By Theresa Andrejack Loux and Archie Filshill 1. Introduction Natural gas has long been used to heat buildings and, more recently, to fuel internal combustion engines and power plants. With natural gas providing an alternative to oil, gasoline, and coal in these applications, it promises a marked decrease in the …
August 1, 2013
By Terry Meier About 30 miles east of Salina, Utah, nestled in the western bituminous region of Sevier County, is Convulsion Canyon (Photo 1). This is home for a productive Southern Utah Fuel Co. (SUFCO) underground coal mine, where a longwall mining system and continuous miner units extract more than 6 million tons of coal …
By Fransiscus S. Hardianto, Robert Lozano, John E. Sankey, and David K. Hughes Introduction The Los Vaqueros Dam was originally built in 1997, creating the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, to improve the quality and reliability of water available to the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) in Northern California. In 2011, the CCWD expanded the reservoir from …
We don’t always have to use all virgin materials for new projects. By Kurt Kelsey Introduction Stormwater management is a necessary task that confronts every municipality. But how the stormwater is actually managed can differ. Typical gray-pipe solutions get the job done, but they do not provide filtering of the stormwater and they are not …
June 1, 2013
Shale oil and gas open sustainability opportunities. By Timothy D. Stark, Jennifer Miller, David LaFiura, and Scott Fought Introduction Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) officials have welcomed the recent emersion of companies that collect and reprocess geomembranes used in various aspects of Marcellus Shale oil and …
