Monday, November 22, 2010

Green Erosion Control Solutions

Green Erosion Control Solutions and pollution prevention practices, remediate contaminants in mediums such as soil, sludge, slag, sediment, dust, flyash etc.

Ex situ soil separation processes (often referred to as "soil washing"), mostly based on mineral processing techniques, are widely used in Northern Europe and America for the treatment of contaminated soil. Soil washing is a water–based process for scrubbing soils ex situ to remove contaminants.

These include the requirements to develop erosion and sedimentation control plans, specifying plan content and erosion control structures for runoff harvesting, "best management practices" &: "best available techniques".

You will scour remedial action programs, environmental laws & regulations and erosion consulting & contracting services to develope comprehensive Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) as solutions for environmental contamination.

These methods protect families and the environment from toxic contamination.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Degraded rivers, unsustainable farming catalysts for soil erosion

Western Cape rivers are generally degraded and unstable, said Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s (DoA’s) Hans King.
He explained that this was caused by the flourishing invasive alien plant species in rivers, the disappearance of indigenous riverine plants, the narrowing of river channels, owing to developments in the flood plains, and the bulldozing of river beds by landowners.
King was one of the speakers at the International Erosion Control Association Southern Africa Chapter conference, recently held in George, in the Western Cape province.
He said that a clear dynamic of the rivers is the knock-on effect of erosion. Runaway erosion

Read this and 13 more erosion articles that cover desertification, climate change and much more

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Please spend a few minutes and send us your feedback as we strive to improve your viewing experience of both your blog and erosion website.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010

"That's the million-dollar question."

If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet completely melted, the East Coast of North America would experience sea levels more than four feet higher than had been previously predicted – almost 21 feet – and the West Coast, as well as Miami, Fla., would be about a foot higher than that. Most of Europe would have seas about 18 feet higher.

“If this did happen, there would also be many other impacts that go far beyond sea level increase, including much higher rates of coastal erosion, greater damage from major storm events, problems with ground water salinization, and other issues,“ Clark said. “And there could be correlated impacts on other glaciers and ice sheets in coastal areas that could tend to destabilize them as well.“
As the contours of climate change have started to come into focus, glaciologists — a tiny band of scientists in a long-neglected field — have suddenly found themselves briefing Congress, consulting with the United Nations. Perplexed graduate students, stuck in the field in Greenland, were asked to educate visiting dignitaries. The dawning realities of global warming made it evident that one of the gravest threats facing the planet depended upon a field of science that most people had never even heard of. "How fast will the ice sheets lose their mass into the sea?" asks Dr.Peter Clark, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University. "That's the million-dollar question."
… read more

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dust Control | Soil Stabilization | MIDWEST

We'd like to welcome Dust Control | Soil Stabilization | MIDWEST to your growing list of advertisers who choose to expand their product line and improve their Prime Viability and Google Rankings.

Midwest lives in, manufactures for, and delivers Earth-conscious solutions around the world to clients in the quarry, mining, construction, iron/steel, rail/mass transit and dozens of other industries whose success depends on overcoming dust, erosion, ice, or unstable soil conditions.

Our “Yes” is Your Guarantee

One phone call to Midwest is all it takes to be on the way to effective and environmentally-sound dust control, erosion control, soil stabilization and anti-icing solutions. Midwest is the can-do company that sees green as a primary color. We develop environmentally-safe products in our own lab so that our customers fulfill regulatory requirements as well as their own and their customers’ wishes to be gentle on our planet while getting the job done. Not so gentle on ourselves, we tenaciously pursue groundbreaking solutions for simple and complex problems and strive to deliver them with standard-setting service so our customers will never have to turn elsewhere.

www.erosioncontrolforum.com is proud of the products they supply as they truly represent the theme of this erosion website.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Water – essence of and for life!

Five things I learned at the Global Water Summit
Published 29th April 2010

1. There is no such thing as economic water scarcity, only political water scarcity. Ek Sonn Chan told the story of how the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority had been transformed between 1993 and 2009. The number of connections increased seven-fold, non-revenue water fell from 73% to 6%, collection efficiency rose from 48% to 99.9%, and total revenues increased from $300,000 to $25 million, with an $8 million operating surplus. After receiving initial grants and soft loans from international financial institutions, the utility is now self-financing. Tariffs increased steeply in the early years, but they have been held constant at around $0.24/m3 since 2001, because the combination of service expansion, reduced water losses and high collection rates has guaranteed a sufficient cashflow for debt repayment as well as capital expenditure. It is a great story that should be reproduced across the developing world – if politicians allow it to happen.

2. The oil companies are waking up to water. Joppe Cramwinckel of Shell explained that his company is one of the largest producers of
… read more

New Wetland Class

Whenever the drama ends at BP's Macondo well, the company still will be on the hook for the environmental harm from the spill, and teams of state, federal and BP scientists are meticulously gathering data about where the oil is landing.

Their goal is to figure out what restoration projects might be needed to make up for all the damage the oil is causing. Then the government will present BP with a plan of what projects are necessary. BP can do the restorations itself, or it can ask the government to handle them.
Nailon's glove is oily after sticking his finger into the soil.
Elizabeth Shogren/NPR

Nailon's glove is oily after sticking his finger into the soil. When oil soaks into marsh soil, the plants become more vulnerable to dying.

"At that point, we put a price tag on the … read more

NPR

I wanted to be the first to let you know about a new wetlands class we are offering this fall. It is entitled "Southeast Regional Supplement Wetland Training." The class is offered as a two-day classroom and field workshop. It is an intensive review of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain and the Eastern Mountains and Piedmont Regional Supplements to the US Army Corps of Engineers 1987, Wetlands Manual.

The class is being offered in Raleigh, NC on October 20-21, 2010. For more information please visit our website by clicking ==> HERE

Many thanks,

Marc Seelinger
The Swamp School

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Erosion–Control Project

The river has been severely eroding into the Miskowic property for years, taking away soil, fencing and trees.

Now, a major shoreline restoration, erosion-control project has been nearly completed on the Miskowic property and it shows promise in checking the erosion, according to Mille Lacs County Soil and Water Conservation District conservation technician Lynn Carter.

The project was made possible with the help of:

• A Minnesota Clean Water Fund matching grant of close to $39,007, in which the Miskowics had to put up 25 percent of that in money or in-kind contribution.

• Organizing by the Mille Lacs County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), with input from the Department of Natural Resources.

• Engineering by a Joint Powers Board of Engineers.

• A week of labor by a youth group from the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa. Also labor from master gardeners and people involved with conservation agencies during the afternoon of Aug. 2. The latter had attended a workshop on shoreline restoration during the morning of Aug. 2 at the Princeton Area Library. Part of the mentioned grant funded the workshop.

• Labor by the Miskowics and use of their equipment, which counted toward their 25 percent grant share.

The erosion at the Miskowic property has been occurring where the Rum River makes a sharp U-turn, typical of rivers in a mature age. When moving water makes a turn, the water speeds up on the outside part of the arc and that causes erosion of the river bank.

The shoreline is also at the bottom of a slope that had been devoid of deep-rooted vegetation.

The anti-erosion plan for the Miskowic property was developed over late 2009 and into the spring of this year. Joint board of Engineers/Technical Service 3 engineer Michelle Sternquist and engineer technician Al Bernhardt came up with the plan with input from the DNR, Carter said. The engineering group was established to help with such projects at a lower cost than what private engineers would usually charge, according to Carter at the Mille Lacs SWCD office.

Here’s what was done in the project:

• Excavation work was done in late July this year to reduce the steepness of the slope and build terraces on it. Terraces are flat, bench-like plateaus to slow the advance of draining water.

• Posts were sunk deep into the toe of the slope, around which uprooted trees and shrubs were attached with cables to make what is called a tree/shrub revetment. That breaks up the energy of the current as it passes by the bottom of the slope.

• Willow wattles were installed on the first bench at the bottom of the slope. Willow wattles are made by twisting long branches of willow together and tying them end to end. The two longest willow wattles were about 100 feet long. They are designed to help keep river water from pulling away embankment soil as the river level rises and falls.

• The entire slope was also seeded with native grasses and flowers and some oats, the latter to begin immediate growth to check erosion until the permanent plants can take over.

• A landscape fabric was laid out over the whole slope and then native plants that grow deep roots (some as much as 15 feet long) were planted. Holes were punched through the fabric and the roots placed through them and into the soil. In all, 6,400 native plants and 325 native shrubs were planted.

• This fall dormant willow stakes will be planted just behind the tree/shrub revetment with the idea they will become willow trees to also help check erosion along the river bank.

Attention was also paid to the lawn that lies atop the slope. About 10 feet back from the top of the slope, the shallow-rooted turf grass that has been growing there, was replaced with prairie grass and native vegetation.
The city of Princeton, as part of the state permit rules for its planned expansion of the Princeton wastewater treatment plant, must reduce a certain amount of bank erosion along the Rum River in the Princeton area. The purpose is to reduce phosphorous going into the river, which happens when river bank soil goes into the river, according to wastewater project engineers. A project like this could help work toward that end. Whether or not the city would ever use this particular plan, it did check it out, with Princeton Public Works Director Bob Gerold visiting the Miskowic site to look it over.

Comment from landowner

“I hope it works,” said Randy Miskowic last Thursday. “We spent a lot of time and money. If it doesn’t stop the erosion, we’ve enhanced it.”

Miskowic explained what he meant about enhancing it. He stated that when excavation was done to redo the slope, a lot of sand was removed from the slope’s toe. Enough sand was removed from the slope that it sits in a pile 30 feet high and 100 feet wide on the property, Miskowic said.

But the angle of the slope was improved so it now isn’t nearly as steep, Miskowic said, explaining that originally it dropped 33 feet vertically over a horizontal span of 25 feet.

Miskowic said he thinks the project “turned out really well,” and talked about how it withstood for the most part, the heavy rains during the second week in August. And that was before the planted vegetation had much chance to grow, he said.

Miskowic is likely looking forward to not having reruns of what has been going on along the river next to their residence during the 23 years the Miskowics have lived there.

The bank has eroded anywhere from six inches to three-to-four feet per year, he recalled. “I had been planting grass and throwing logs and any kind of trees and anything I had to hold the soil,” he said, referring to the area of the erosion.

But when the spring floods arrived, they would just wash it all away, and he came to realize, he said, that a solution would take more expertise than what he had.

Read this and more newsworthy erosion articles

Saturday, August 28, 2010

What Causes Mudslides?

Mudslides can occur at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And they can strike without any prior warning signs, making for a dangerous phenomenon.

"Mudslides occur in all 50 U.S. states and can happen at any time – with or without rainfall," said Lynn Highland, a geographer at the USGS National Landslide Center.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, changes in groundwater levels, alternate freezing and thawing, and the steepening of slopes by erosion all contribute to mudslides.

Construction and reckless modification of land – such as not draining an area properly before building on or near it – can also create the conditions ripe for a mudslide, Highland said.

She added, prolonged, intense precipitation and run-off can contribute to landslides, as can wildfires. Fires lead to mudslides because burning can kills the plants' roots. Roots hold soil together, stabilizing the land and making it less likely to be swept away, according to Highland. In this way, overgrazing can also contribute to mudslides.

Because different areas of land have different soil compositions, as well as varying slopes and geographic characteristics, it is difficult to determine how prone a place is to mudslides and therefore near impossible to predict when one will hit – although they are known to occur in areas previously hit by mudslides, according to the USGS.

"The West Coast is especially susceptible to mudslides because of the earthquakes, rainfall and wildfires that happen in that region," Highland told Life's Little Mysteries. "In California, there is a 'mudslide season' lasting from December to April, during which time the rainfall is fairly predictable."

Because California wildfires leave behind charred slopes, the region is especially susceptible to mudslides during and immediately after major rainstorms. However, sometimes damage caused by a mudslide can take days or even weeks to surface.

An example of this 'delayed triggering' of deeper landslides occurred in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1998, when mudslides forced the evacuation of more than 100 people and destroyed several houses five days after the rain had stopped, according to the California Geological Survey (CGS).

More than 100 Californians have been killed by land and mud slides during the last 25 years, according to the CGS. Most of these deaths were due to people being buried by debris flows as they slept in lower-floor bedrooms that were near hazardous slopes.
… read more

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Textile Related to Earth: Geotextiles

As its name suggests Geotextiles refers to textiles related to earth or soil. When any permeable material used with rock, soil or earth it is termed as Geotextiles. The basic function of this technology is to prevent soil erosion to strengthening heavy concrete structures. This technology has not yet gained much attention in India, but is widely used in many countries for construction of bridges, roads, railway tracks to improve its strength. Many researchers have view that this technology is not newly developed but is in use from past thousands of years.

Formation of Geotextiles

Geotextiles can be formed of synthetic fibers, natural fibers or combination of the two. In past Geotextiles were made of natural plant fibers while today are usually formed of synthetic polymers such as polyester, polypropylene (PP), polyamides (PA) and polyamides (PA). Geotextiles made from natural fibers are less durable as they get decomposed with passage of time.

Choice of formation depends on the required properties and service life for which it is used. For example, natural fiber base Geotextiles is used for erosion control mats where durability is not a critical factor.

Natural Fiber Based Geotextiles

Natural fibers like Jute and coir have special applications. These different fibers degrade at different rates. Coir geotextiles degrade in 2 to 3 years while jute degrades in 1 to 2 years. Because of this property coir is used in situations where vegetation takes longer to establish, and jute is used in low rainfall areas as it can absorb more moisture. Also used for rural unpaved roads.

Advantages

1. Natural fiber-based geotextiles are environmental friendly.

2. Its biodegradable nature has certain cost-effective applications in erosion control and re-vegetation.

3. It is helpful in quick establishment of vegetation.

4. It also helps in dust control, sand dune formation, wind erosion control and stabilization.

… read more

Friday, July 30, 2010

Typical Soil Washing Process

Ex situ soil separation processes (often referred to as "soil washing"), mostly based on mineral processing techniques, are widely used in Northern Europe and America for the treatment of contaminated soil. Soil washing is a water-based process for scrubbing soils ex situ to remove contaminants. The process removes contaminants from soils in one of the followingtwo ways:

* By dissolving or suspending them in the wash solution (which can be sustained by chemical manipulation of pH for a period of time); or
* By concentrating them into a smaller volume of soil through particle size separation, gravity separation, and attrition scrubbing (similar to those techniques used in sand and gravel operations).

Soil washing systems incorporating most of the removal techniques offer the greatest promise for application to soils contaminated with a wide variety of heavy metal, radionuclides, and organic contaminants. Commercialization of the process, however, is not yet extensive.

The concept of reducing soil contamination through the use of particle size separation is based on the finding that most organic and inorganic contaminants tend to bind, either chemically or physically, to clay, silt, and organic soil particles. The silt and clay, in turn, are attached to sand and gravel particles by physical processes, primarily compaction and adhesion. Washing processes that separate the fine (small) clay and silt particles from the coarser sand and gravel soil particles effectively separate and concentrate the contaminants into a smaller volume of soil that can be further treated or disposed of. Gravity separation is effective for removing high or low specific gravity particles such as heavy metal-containing compounds (lead, radium oxide, etc.). Attrition scrubbing removes adherent contaminant films from coarser particles. However, attrition washing can increase the fines in soils processed. The clean, larger fraction can be returned to the site for continued use.

Complex mixture of contaminants in the soil (such as a mixture of metals, nonvolatile organics, and SVOCs) and heterogeneous contaminant compositions throughout the soil mixture make it difficult to formulate a single suitable washing solution that will consistently and reliably remove all of the different types of contaminants. for these cases, sequential washing, using different wash formulations and/or different soil to wash fluid ratios, may be required.

Soil washing is generally considered a media transfer technology. The contaminated water generated from soil washing are treated with the technology(s) suitable for the contaminants.

The duration of soil washing is typically short- to medium-term.
… read more

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Real-time Networked Coastal Erosion Monitoring System

A consortium comprising WFS Technologies, Swansea Metropolitan University and Valeport Ltd has delivered the world's first ad hoc distributed network of seabed sensors for measuring the effects of coastal erosion. Sensor data regarding the movement of seabed sediment is communicated in real time using WFS wireless through-water radio modems, initially to a surface buoy and then via a GSM link to a server for display over the internet.

Radio provides reliable wireless communications in complex subsea environments such as shallow water and in the surf zone, making it ideally suited to coastal erosion monitoring applications.

More than half of the world's population lives within 60km of a coastline zone. As changing global climate and rising sea levels speed up coastal erosion, researchers need to monitor what is happening beneath the surface of the sea. Understanding coastal erosion has typically been by observation and measurement of exposed coastal areas rather than using quantitative data. The estimation of these effects has left us with only partial picture of what is really happening.

Historically, placing seabed instrumentation in the coastal erosion zone has proved challenging.

Seabed located sensors can be deployed to gather data, but provide no real-time data visibility and so may be subject to failure or movement in the dynamic environment. Wired systems have been attempted, but the deployment of a buried cable from shallow-water, up the beach means a considerable investment for each monitoring node and is prone to failure. The use of radio based wireless technology to relay data provides a robust, reliable and low cost real-time data monitoring solution, permitting remedial action to protect the coastline to be taken at the earliest opportunity.

… read more

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Research explores fire, mercury link

Researchers recently received federal funding to continue a study aimed at exploring high levels of mercury found in fish at Vallecito Reservoir, which a researcher at the University of Colorado thinks might be the result of the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire.

The San Juan Generating Station in Waterflow and the Four Corners Power Plant in Fruitland are believed to be the primary source of atmospherically deposited mercury in La Plata and Montezuma counties.

CU's lead researcher Joseph Ryan thinks that a large wildfire could volatilize latent mercury that stuck to the top layer of soil.

The Missionary Ridge Fire burned more than 70,000 acres north of Durango in June and July 2002. Ryan said a fire of that intensity could have oxidized sulphur molecules that bind mercury in organic matter in the soil.

Ryan said a large wildfire could also introduce mercury into water another way, by speeding erosion and allowing the mercury to wash into a water source.

"Nobody's really looked at this before," Ryan said. "That's probably why the National Science Foundation is funding us."

… read more

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Brownfield land

Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations.[1] Cf. Waste (law).
Example of brownfield land at a disused gasworks site after excavation, with soil contamination from removed underground storage tanks.

In the United States city planning jargon, a brownfield site (or simply a brownfield) is land previously used for industrial purposes or certain commercial uses. The land may be contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, and has the potential to be reused once it is cleaned up. Land that is more severely contaminated and has high concentrations of hazardous waste or pollution, such as a Superfund site, does not fall under the brownfield classification. Mothballed brownfields are properties which the owners are not willing to transfer or put to productive reuse.[2]


In the United Kingdom and Australia, the term applies more generally to previously used land


… read New Report Shows Brownfield Redevelopment in Cities Leads to More Jobs, Increased Tax Revenue - 99 Cities Surveyed on the Merits of Recycling America`s Land

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

GeoHay suggested for Gulf Coast cleanup

GeoHay is an environmentally friendly and green line of barrier filtration products which aid in the control of erosion and sediment. Our products are produced with 100% recycled carpet fibers and can be reused over and over again. GeoHay has been proven to be more efficient and more cost effective than silt fence or natural hay bales. Our products are produced in standard sizes, but can also be ordered to fit the specific needs of our customers. All GeoHay products come with precut stake holes for easy installation and are non-biodegradable.

GeoHay is currently being proposed as part of the remedy for the clean up in the Gulf. Please see the demostration of oil absorbtion in this video after the 1:45 mark.

WALTON CO, FLORIDA (May 14, 2010) - GeoHay products have been suggested for use in the Gulf Coast clean up. As it is shown in the video, our products will absorb or attach the oil while the clean water flows back out.

… read more

Sea also your list of links

Monday, June 21, 2010

Spill Prevention and Response

In this video, American Petroleum Institute (API) president and CEO Jack Gerard discusses the oil and natural gas industry's commitment to safety, as well as oil spill cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

Other key resources:

… read more

To some degree, permeability will play a role in the migration of contaminant and on the design of almost any structure.

Applications including environmental containment, landfill, hazardous waste containment, mining, agriculture, and erosion control.

www.erosioncontrolforum.com is a full service environmental containment solution offering an integrated package of services in civil engineering, waste management and ....
… read more

Geomembrane liners:

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is typically a non-reinforced, cost effective membrane that provides many advantages for the user. For a non-reinforced material, PVC has high puncture strength and excellent abrasion resistance. In buried applications, PVC can provide a service life for over 20 years. In addition, PVC is resistant to a large number of industrial chemicals. PVC allows for an easy installation due to the availability of large factory fabricated panels and diverse field seaming capabilities which include chemical, hot wedge, and hot air processes. In addition to standard grade, PVC is available in oil resistant, UV resistant, fishgrade, reinforced, and potable water formulations.

Discover products ranging from geotechnical applications on land, in the water and underground to sources of manufacturers of geomembranes for landscaping, erosion control and groundwater.

… read more

These are only several items / ideas for assisting with this recovery.
Please submit any and all others here

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sand berm to protect Barataria Bay wetlands gets federal OK

Adm. Thad Allen on Thursday approved a proposal to build a 6-foot-high sand berm just south of Scofield Island as a temporary barrier to keep oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill from reaching wetlands in Barataria Bay.

The berm, which would be placed just west of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, is one of six oil-protective sand berms proposed by the state that were granted an emergency permit on Thursday by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The estimated $16 million cost of building the Scofield Island berm will be borne by BP or the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, and will be used as a test to determine whether the Louisiana strategy would work, Allen said. If the berm proves effective, Allen could consider authorizing other barrier islands.

If the state wants to build the other five, including two east of the Mississippi River and three more to the west, it will have to pay for them, with no guarantee of being reimbursed, Allen said.

"There are a lot of doubts whether this is a valid oil spill response technique, given the length of construction and so forth," Allen said Thursday at Port Fourchon. "But we're not averse to attempting this as a prototype."

Read More

Read your erosion website commentary

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response

The impacts on wetlands as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are only now just being addressed. There is an "all call" for volunteers and professionals help to work on cleaning up with the mess. The following link is the unified command website that lists the activities and ways you can help.

LATEST INFORMATION
Rear Admiral Landry Approves “Top Kill” Procedure

Federal On-Scene Coordinator Rear Admiral Mary Landry, acting on the validation of government scientists and in consultation with the National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, has granted approval for BP to begin proceeding with their attempt to cap the well using the technique known as the “top kill.”

This expedited step provides the final authorization necessary to begin the procedure.
Read More
The Department of Energy’s Scientific Response to the Oil Spill

Secretary Chu and the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories are providing round-the-clock scientific support to help inform strategies to stop the BP oil spill. Secretary Chu and his team of scientists are brainstorming ideas about the most effective scientific and engineering approaches to the problem, providing expert advice and technical support validation, testing assumptions and making engineering calculations to help BP think through their approach.
Read more

Thursday, May 20, 2010

BP oil spill: Measures to mitigate wetland damage, stem flow continue.

About 40 percent of the nation's coastal wetlands are clumped along southern Louisiana, directly in the path of oil that was still gushing from a ruptured underwater well. Roughly 3.5 million gallons has escaped in the weeks since an oil rig explosion, and some is bearing down on the marshes as workers rush to lay protective boom.

"No question we will see some widespread impacts," Garret Graves, chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, said after an observation flight. "If we allow this oil to get into our coastal areas and fundamentally change the ecosystem, the consequences are profound."

Removing oil from wetlands is a huge challenge. Bulldozers can't simply scrape away contaminated soil, as they do on beaches. Cutting and removing oil-soaked vegetation could further weaken the fragile vegetation that holds the marshes together. Absorbent materials and detergents have limited effectiveness, Graves said.

If a thick enough layer of oil coats hardy swamp grasses and shrubs, scientists say it could shut down their equivalent of breathing -- absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.

"You could literally suffocate the marsh," said Alex Kolker, a coastal systems specialist with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

Even worse, the oil could soak into the ground and poison roots, killing entire plants. With nothing to anchor it, the soil would wash away, accelerating a process that has cost Louisiana about 2,300 square miles of coastal marshes and barrier islands the last 80 years -- an area bigger than Delaware.

A spill-related loss of wetlands would ripple through the food chain they support, from tiny organisms to fish and birds.

"It's like you pull a thread on the shirt and it all comes apart," said Mark LaSalle, an ecologist at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in Moss Point, Miss.

Or the damage could be less severe and the ecosystem could survive yet again.

"It's like when you get pneumonia," Kolker said. "There's a certain amount you can handle and bounce back, and there's a certain amount that will make you miserable but you'll survive, and there's a certain amount that will kill you."

All hinges on how much oil reaches the wetlands, and how soon workers can plug the leak from the stricken well pouring at least 200,000 gallons daily into the Gulf since the rig exploded and sank April 20.

From Texas to Florida, the Gulf region is laced with wetlands. But Louisiana's are most directly threatened by the encroaching oil and by far the most plentiful, even after the state has suffered 80 percent of U.S. coastal wetland loss.

Wetlands feed and provide nesting and spawning grounds for multitudes of waterfowl and fish. Menhaden, the top commercial fish species in the lower 48 states and an ingredient in products ranging from insecticide to chicken feed, spends its crucial first months of life nibbling decomposed marsh grass.

"Lose the marshes and we lose menhaden," said Andy Nyman, a wetland and wildlife ecologist at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.

Wetlands perform the kidney-like function of filtering chemicals and other pollutants from waters, and they prevent floods by soaking up excessive waters like sponges and releasing them when levels recede. Historically, they have shielded inland cities such as New Orleans from the worst of the Gulf's tidal surges during hurricanes and tropical storms.

As land area of wetlands has declined over the years, so has their effectiveness.

Beginning in the 1930s, levees built along the Mississippi River to ward off flooding curtailed flow of fresh water into estuaries, killing off plants unable to live year-round in salt water. That accelerated erosion and converted former wetlands into open water.

The river previously deposited layers of new mud to replenish the marshes. Now, the levees prevent that.

As part of our responsibility to show the immediate and long term effects of this catastrophic oil spill on accelerated soil erosion your website via measures to mitigate wetland damage, solutions to control beach erosion, and methods to re-vegetate those areas damaged by soil pollution helps in its recovery.

… read more

News of this theme will be posted here.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Soil Nail Launcher Inc - Landslide Solutions

Soil Nail Launcher, Inc. specializes in design, build, warranty and repair of virtually any slope stability problem in any kind of geologic setting.

Soil Nail Launcher, Inc. is a specialty contracting firm operating throughout the United States. Our expertise and proprietary tools including the launcher, modified tools and crane baskets, along with our innovative technologies, worldwide reach, and design/build/warranty service allows us to repair virtually any slope stability problem in any kind of geologic setting.

With our innovative approaches to slope stabilization, it is possible to cut costs in half and cut completion time by 90%, compared to traditional landslide repairs.


… read more

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Storm water runoff is a drain on Cleveland Metroparks as they battle erosion

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Developed land outside the Cleveland Metroparks has turned the 22,000-acre Emerald Necklace into the region's catch-basin for storm water runoff, damaging park property and costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
The runoff also is accelerating the erosion of hundreds of miles of waterways within the parks system, flushing as much as 45,000 tons of silt out into Lake Erie each year.

… read more

Sunday, May 2, 2010

USDA Announces New Program to Restore Wetlands

The US Department of Agri-culture has announced a new program, called the Wetlands Reserve En-hancement Program (WREP), to “restore, en-hance, protect, and manage habitat for migratory birds and other wetland-dependent wildlife.” WREP is offering at least $25 mil-lion for individual projects as well as projects that cover watersheds and lar-ger areas. The program gives priority to projects that achieve wetland resto-ration and improve wildlife habitat; use non-federal
resources to coordi-nate with local, state, tribal, or federal ef-forts; and provide innovation in wetland protection, restora-tion, and enhance-ment methods. “The wetland restoration and en-hancement actions,” said Tom Vilsak, US Secretary of Agriculture, “made possi-ble through WREP will maximize wild-life habitat values, water quality, and improve the overall environment.” A request for proposals is available on the USDA’s website, and the deadline for proposals is

… read more

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Stabilizing Wet Soil with Lime Brings Amazing Results

PanzRule posted the information below on the ConstructionKnowledge Forum last week and I thought it was too good not to share further. I used lime on a fast-track factory project a few years ago with excellent results. We finished the project on time, which couldn’t have happened without the lime soil mixing.The experience shared by PansRule below should be read by everyone who has to work to control construction schedules and wet/frozen soils.

Post subject: Soil Modification/Stabilization by Panzrule

I have been working on a site project that began in early October of 2009. If you can remember this winter here in Pennsylvania, we had a record winter in terms of snowfall. In conjunction with the snowfall we had what I would consider a cold winter. Now this is coming from a guy who spent the last 11 years working in an office who now was the acting site project superintendent, project manager and occassional equipment operator. So needless to say my opinion may be slightly skewed due to the time spent in the office becoming soft.

Because of the wet & frozen soil conditions throughout the winter and the owner’s need to maintain the project schedule soil modification was used. To be totally honest, I was skeptical of the process. I had never seen this process used and by the prices that I recieved for purchasing the material, I was petrified!

We applied a blend of hydrated lime and lime kiln dust. The amount of this product

… read more

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

BoRit one year later

One year ago this week, the Environmental Protection Agency placed the BoRit asbestos site on its Superfund National Priority List, setting in motion a process that will have a long-term impact on the area.
Sites on the NPL have "known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants," according to the EPA's Web site.
By placing the site on the NPL April 8, 2009, the EPA began efforts to remove immediate risks at the site and started a long-term analysis of it to determine a final solution for the asbestos contamination.
The EPA’s action to address immediate risks, termed the removal stage, began last spring. The removal action has been divided into three phases, two of which have been completed with plans for the third being prepared.
Phase I stabilized the stream banks of the Wissahickon Creek by placing geotextile fabric and erosion mats along the banks.br>Phase II, which began in September and wrapped up last month, concentrated on the area near.

...read this and many more erosion articles

Friday, March 26, 2010

Seawater desalination — a green technology?

The need for resource-saving, low-impact “green” desalination technologies is evident as the use of desalination accelerates in many parts of the world. The concept of “best available techniques” (BAT) aims at the identification of state of the art technologies, processes, or methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability for preventing or reducing pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, as well as the quantities of waste, and for reducing the impact on the environment as a whole. This paper describes ...

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Arizona Legislature Considers Stuffing Used Tires into Abandoned Mines

Given the state of the economy you’d think they’d be pinching every penny but it appears that the State of Arizona has money to burn – perhaps literally. Last week the House voted in favor of a bill that would use old tires to fill abandoned mines. The bill’s supporters cite the growing problem of used tire dumps, but apparently they don’t keep up with the latest business news. Magnum D’Or and InfoSpi are just two of the rapidly growing number of companies that see the potential for recycling those tire dumps into real money – and creating more green jobs to boot.

Read the entire story

Monday, March 8, 2010

EPA rules try to rein in runoff

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Those towering snowdrifts will soon melt into headaches for land developers and homeowners alike, but the Environmental Protection Agency will add a catch to the muddy mix.
A final rule the agency issued in November to reduce water pollution from construction sites became effective in February. The regulations to improve water quality and reduce the amount of sediment washed from construction sites will be phased in over four years.

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Monday, March 1, 2010

Earthquake Rebuilding with Recycled Tire Logs

Don't grind old tires; slice 'em and roll 'em up into rubber logs to use like lumber. From footwear to handbags and earthship homes, recycled tires have found various forms of an afterlife, but that doesn't come close to dealing with the vast numbers of waste tires generated each year. Most "recycling" of tires involves rubber grinding which is a source of pollution and a huge energy guzzler. But designed to be indestructible, tires have a useful after life. So how can millions of discarded Bridgestones and Goodyears help fortify the rebuilding of Haiti, and now earthquake-ravaged Chile?

Tire Logs. Re-Tread Products produces a low-tech version of recycling tires that has several applications. With the advantage of the "bend don't break" flexibility of the material, Tire Logs have proven effective in various civil engineering projects, including earthquake-resistant building, sea walls, highway noise barriers, and sandbag replacements for erosion control. They also eliminate toxins from chemically treated wood that leaches into the water system and without the ineffecient energy that grinding rubber into new materials produces.

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SCI’s New Dust Control Operation Established in Ecuador Helps Environment and Fights Global Warming

Austin, Texas, 02/24/10 – Soils Control International establishes front lines for environmental advancement in Ecuador. SCI will be delivering dust control, soil stabilization and erosion control to the advancing country.

Soils Control International (SCI) has recently established a distribution point in Ecuador to provide dust control to the country and surrounding areas. The importance of dust control with regards to the environment have been well studied and determined to be of upmost importance when dealing with dirt and gravel type roads. It is the intention of SCI to help emerging countries to manage their resources as well as their finances by offering a product that not only helps the environment but also their pocket book.

Soils Control International has been in the dust control and soil stabilization business for almost a quarter of a century. The majority of their operations have been with governments of third world countries trying to make lives better for their citizens. SCI has developed a dust control and soil stabilization product that has revolutionized the industry. There is no longer that need to use hazardous materials such as waste oil and industrial byproducts. SCI’s Main dust control product is Labeled Top-Seal™ Liquid Soil Stabilizer and Sealant. It is one of the only road dust control products on the market that has recognized as environmentally save and very effective in the stabilization of soils as well as the control of dust.

Read mure

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Soil pollution

Soil pollution comprises the pollution of soils with materials, mostly chemicals, that are out of place or are present at concentrations higher than normal which may have adverse effects on humans or other organisms.

In 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also referred to as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) was amended to provide that the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States from any point source is unlawful unless the discharge is in compliance with an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit.

Ever–evolving stormwater regulations present challenges designed to regulate point source discharges required to address specific needs and conditions of watersheds within a region.

Visit your recently published page re:Soil pollution

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Topsoil could vanish in 60 years, says study

Fertile soil eroding faster than it can be replaced
Tom Young, BusinessGreen, 04 Feb 2010

Fertile soil is being lost faster than it can be replenished making it much harder to grow crops around the world, according to a study by the University of Sydney.

The study, reported in The Daily Telegraph, claims bad soil mismanagement, climate change and rising populations are leading to a decline in suitable farming soil.

An estimated 75 billion tonnes of soil is lost annually with more than 80 per cent of the world's farming land "moderately or severely eroded", the report found.

Soil is being lost in China 57 times faster than it can be replaced through natural processes, in Europe 17 times faster and in America 10 times faster.

The study said all suitable farming soil could vanish within 60 years if quick action was not taken, leading to a global food crisis.

John Crawford, professor of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Sydney, who presented the study, said:

"It could be as little as 60 years and that is a scary figure because it is not obvious that we have time to reverse decline and still meet future demands for food," according to The Daily Telegraph.

Over-ploughing is one of the chief culprits because it leaves topsoil open to erosion by wind and rain.

David Motgomery, author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, advocates a wholesale change in farming practices to "no-till agriculture" , currently used by about five per cent of the world's farmers.

This method leaves crop stubble in the field to be mixed with the top layer of the soil and means less ploughing is needed.

But such methods can lead to lower thresholds, making it harder to feed the world's population.

Last year food prices rocketed as wheat stocks dropped to a 30-year low and countries started to bulk buy.

Read this story

Friday, January 15, 2010

A type of soil erosion control Best Managed Practice (BMP)

The Inlet Protection Company, LLC, manufactures a patent pending line of inlet protection products, a type of soil erosion control Best Managed Practice (BMP), for municipal administrations, real estate developers and construction firms.

The use of inlet protection is common in the construction industry and we are proud to introduce our product as a replacement to inferior and ineffective devices. We aim to be your municipality's or MS4's BMP for protection of your storm drain inlets and our waterways from soil erosion and floatables (pollution/trash).

Apart from construction, our devices are also being used as a long term solution by municipalities to minimize the maintenance costs associated with vacuuming clogs out of their Storm Water Infrastructure. The dirty job of cleaning inlet and catch basin system out has been featured on the Discovery Channel's show Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.

For more information about Inlet Protection, go to www.theinletprotection.com.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

United States: EPA Issues Final Rule To Reduce Water Pollution From Construction Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a final rule on effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) and new source performance standards (NSPS) to control the discharge of pollutants—primarily sediments—from construction sites. For the first time, certain large construction sites will have to meet an objective, numeric turbidity standard.

EPA promulgated the rule because construction activities like clearing, grading and excavating, disturb soil and sediment, which can be washed off construction sites during storm events and can pollute nearby water bodies. EPA has identified stormwater runoff from construction sites as one of the most significant threats to water quality nationwide. Turbidity, a measure of sediment in water, amounts to approximately four billion pounds per year, according to calculations by the EPA. The cost of reducing turbidity under the new rule will cost the construction industry close to $1 billion dollars according to estimates.

The final rule requires construction site owners and operators that disturb one or more acres to use best management practices in implementing erosion and sediment control measures and pollution prevention practices in order to control pollutants in discharges from construction sites. When 10 or more acres of land are affected by construction activities at one time, however, site owners and operators will be required to monitor and sample discharges, and to comply with a numeric standard for turbidity (280 NTUs). This national monitoring requirement and enforceable numeric limitation is the first of its kind for EPA, and the rule has garnered initial praise from environmentalists, but scorn from developers based on the cost. The new rule does not include standards for managing post-construction stormwater runoff, which had been sought by environmentalists; however, the rule indicates that such standards will likely be included in new rules in the near future.

The rule also contains more stringent requirements for soil stabilization than EPA has required in the past. The rule requires initial stabilization of disturbed areas "immediately" when final grade is reached or any clearing, grading or excavating activities have temporarily or permanently ceased, unless the soil of the area meets certain exceptions listed in the rule.

The final rule is intended to work with existing state and local programs, adding a technology-based minimum requirement that would apply nationally. The rule will take effect in February 2010, and will be phased in over four years. Implementation dates will vary for the standard through state general permits for construction stormwater discharges. EPA also plans to revise its own Construction General Permit to include the new requirements when the permit will expire on June 30, 2011. Tennessee's Construction General Permit is set to expire in July 2010, which may lead Tennessee to revise its permit sooner.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Article by Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis