From our readers: Mark Smith

April 1, 2015  |  News

Dear Editor, Kudos to Rick Thiel, Ed Kavazanjian and Xuan Wu on their excellent article, “Design considerations for slip interfaces on steep-wall liner systems” (February/March, 2015). My consulting practice is principally heap leaching and most of my work now is reviewing designs for complex sy…
Read More
Notes, quotes and anecdotes from Geo 15

April 1, 2015  |  Editorial

By Ron Bygness Arousingly successful combo event that partnered the Geosynthetics 2015 conference with the annual Environmental Connection show in Portland, Ore., Feb. 15–18, deserves more recollections. Attendance was good? No, it was fantastic! A number of technical sessions were full-house, SRO…
Read More
Part 2: Geosynthetics

April 1, 2015  |  News

2014 state of the specialty fabrics industry By Jeffrey C. Rasmussen Introduction The U.S./Canadian geosynthetic market includes geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, drainage materials, geocells, and erosion control materials. In terms of value, geomembranes made up 51% of …
Read More
Geosynthetic opportunities in shale gas fracking (revisited)

April 1, 2015  |  Case Studies

By Robert M. Koerner, George R. Koerner, and Archie Filshill Introduction Energy is clearly the driver of almost every activity that the world and its inhabitants rely on and fully utilize. At issue is “what type of energy?” and the answer (as if there even exists a single answer) is largely geo…
Read More
Part 2: The first double geomembrane liner 40 years later

April 1, 2015  |  Products

Constructed in June 1974, it’s been in continuous service ever since then. By J.P. Giroud and J.P. Gourc Introduction The first double liner with two geomembranes was constructed in June 1974 and has been in continuous service since then. The double-lined structure is a water reservoir located in …
Read More
Geosynthetics facilitate construction of 10,000-ton tunnel in two weeks

April 1, 2015  |  Case Studies

Construction of the new Nowolazurowa Street tunnel in western Warsaw, Poland. By Jakub Bryk Introduction Nowolazurowa is a new road in the western part of Warsaw, Poland, built to connect burgeoning suburbs with the highway ring road S8. It was designed as a two-roadway, dual-lane artery with sidewa…
Read More
The status of coal ash regulations … four months out

April 1, 2015  |  News

EPA’s ruling on Coal Combustion Residuals. By Boyd Ramsey Introduction On December 19, 2014, the United States Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy signed the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) from Electric Utilities final rule. The rule will take full effec…
Read More
Water woes addressed by newly lined reservoir

April 1, 2015  |  Products

Chowchilla pistachio farm By Raphael Bennett Introduction Situated on 600 acres of pistachio farmland located in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California, this farm management conglomerate wanted a solution to its water accessibility issues. Due to the current water climate in California, the w…
Read More
Celebrating 10 years of government relations advocacy

April 1, 2015  |  News

Building on successes, more work ahead By Lucie Passus, IFAI Division Supervisor At the recent Geosynthetics 2015 Conference in Portland, Ore., GMA celebrated a decade of government relations advocacy success. Here are some highlights: 2005—GMA hires a professional lobbying firm—Whitmer & Wo…
Read More
Unreinforced sand working platforms

April 1, 2015  |  News

By Bob Koerner Back in the early 1960s I was the very young resident engineer on a sand drain/surcharge project requiring the use of a large pile driving “rig” that was made even more massive than usual with leads hanging over the front and a compressor in the back for counterweight. The first p…
Read More