Members Only  
Lessons learned in alternative coal ash pond closure design and construction

October 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Anna M. Saindon Coal ash pond closures often face unique challenges due to location, available borrow soils and construction constraints. These challenges can lead to alternative methods of closure to comply with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D and coal combustion residua…
Remediation case study of uranium ore residues settling basin

September 30, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Laura Carbone, Ole Syllwasschy and Lilma Schimmel In the past, the Soviet-German stock company Wismut carried out an intensive uranium mining operation resulting in a large amount of polluted tailings containing daughter nuclides of uranium (Koß 1997) that were released into industrial sediment …
An innovative cover system to close an ash/sludge impoundment

August 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Paul C. O’Malley, José L. Urrutia and Don DiGuilio The two projects (confidential client) are industrial sites consisting of coal ash and by-product sludge located in the southeastern United States. The projects included 70 and 67 acres (28 and 27 ha) in closure areas, and the waste source con…
Reviving the Palos Verdes Reservoir—Part 4

August 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By John Heap and Chris Kelsey The active site work for the Palos Verdes Reservoir’s substantial update began in late 2016, advanced primarily throughout 2018 and concluded in the second quarter of 2019 with the filling of the reservoir. The project was immense for everyone involved, and with that …
A minitube blanket for landfill gas collection and containment

August 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Stephan Fourmont, Pascal Saunier and Toraj Ghofrani Landfill gas (LFG) is produced during the decomposition of putrescible material in landfills. Often referred to as biogas, LFG is a source of odors and fugitive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. LFG is typically 40%–60% methane, which is 25 time…
Stabilization of subgrade soils during Interstate 95 lane widening

August 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Bryan C. Gee, Eric Klein and William T. Maier The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is implementing a multiyear, multiphase project to add express toll lanes (ETLs) to Interstate 95. The ETLs are providing significant congestion relief in one of the most heavily trafficked corridors in the…
Geogrid reinforced soil structures reach new heights

June 1, 2019  |  Features

By Sachin Mandavkar and Mehari Weldu Reinforced soil structures are geotechnical systems consisting of reinforcing elements and primarily include mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls and reinforced soil slopes (RSS) (Figure 1). MSE walls and RSS are constructed by placing alternating layers of …
Streambank restoration using engineered bank stabilization

June 1, 2019  |  Case Studies, Features

By Jeffery T. Hoilman and Stanley M. Miller Mountain Creek flows through the community of Red Bank near Chattanooga, Tenn., to the Tennessee River. Mountain Creek has been identified by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC 2018) as a 303(d)-listed stream, meaning that its p…
Using geosynthetics in flexible airport pavements

June 1, 2019  |  Features

By Benjamin Mahaffay, Jeremy Robinson, Jeffrey Gagnon and Gregory Norwood In recent years, there has been an increasing interest to improve pavement structures through mechanical stabilization by incorporating geosynthetic products within the structure. The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) h…
Large-scale studies to evaluate the resilient modulus of geocell-reinforced pavement

April 1, 2019  |  Features

The 2017 ASCE report card (ASCE 2017) on civil infrastructure assigned grade “D” for America’s roads, and this rating necessitates the adoption of more sustainable and resilient approaches in design and construction of transport infrastructures such as highway embankments and pavements. Reclai…