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Why the Himalayas are crumbling

Source: On a precipice: Why the Himalayas are crumbling The landslides were inevitable, Sunni Ram keeps saying. His village, Thatch, is located right above a highway near Nigulsari village of Kinnaur district, where a massive landslide on August 11 killed 28 people; another 13 were injured. A month ago, another landslide in this district in Himachal Pradesh had killed nine tourists and damaged a bridge. While the incidents have made the headlines due to the high casualties, Ram says, this is not the first time landslides have occurred at these places. “Another landslide near Thatch in 2019 killed three dozen sheep and goats,” he adds. Rockfalls have also become frequent in the last few years. It’s as if the Himalaya is crumbling from these spots, says Ram. A team from the Geological Survey of India, following their visit to Nigulsari, has said in its report that a steeply inclined slope and incessant rainfall are behind the incident. Ram and several other residents of Thatch and Nigulsari, however, blame it on the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Power Project on the Sutlej. The project has a 27.4 km long headrace tunnel for conveying water to the underground power station. This tunnel, dubbed one of the longest in the world, passes under Nigulsari and Thatch and is not far away from the spot where the landslide occurred. “The effects of the heavy explosions made during the construction of the tunnel in the late 1990s are becoming visible now,” says Govind Moyan, deputy head of Nigulsari gram panchayat. All the five villages under this panchayat, including Nigulsari and Thatch, are affected in some or the other way by the Nathpa Jhakri project. Almost every house has cracks on its walls along with fissures in the fields and gardens. Springs too have dried up, says [...]

By kk42|October 6th, 2021|Geotechnical California, Geotechnical Oregon, Geotechnical Washington|0 Comments

Mine reclamation project underway in Buchanan County

Source: Mine reclamation project underway in Buchanan County | Local News | bdtonline.com GRUNDY, Va. — A mine reclamation project is underway in Buchanan County that state officials say will protect 22 homes. According to the Virginia Department of Energy, a state agency formerly known as the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, a $699,108 reclamation project is underway on multiple sites along the Lynn Camp Creek area of Buchanan County. The agency said abandoned mine land features at those sites are considered a danger to 22 nearby homes as well as an environmental concern to the community. An Abandoned Mine Land (AML) grant has been awarded to repair the area, including landslides, drainage issues and closing old mine openings. “Ridding the Lynn Camp Creek community of several of these hazards is the number one goal of our AML program,” Virginia Energy AML Projects Coordinator Lesa Baker said in a prepared statement. “We have thousands of these features across the Commonwealth and we evaluate those that can have the greatest impact every day. With the safety and environmental improvements made during this work, we can celebrate another successful AML reclamation project on the books.” The state has contracted with C&S Construction and Excavating, LLC for the project. Baker said crews will remove and repair damages caused by four landslides. In all, 27 mine openings created for underground coal mining will be closed to the public but in a way that ensures long term drainage of the historic mine works, the agency said. Proper drainage also will be established in the community to prevent erosion and protect nearby streams. On Oct. 1 of this month, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) became Virginia Energy. The Abandoned Mine Land program now falls under the Mined Land Repurposing program within Virginia Energy.

By kk42|October 6th, 2021|Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, Newport News, Hampton, Alexandria, Portsmouth, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Geotechnical Virginia, Virginia Beach|0 Comments

Cleveland Heights hires engineering firm for review of recommendation to remove Horseshoe Lake dam

Source: Cleveland Heights hires engineering firm for review of recommendation to remove Horseshoe Lake dam - cleveland.com CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The city has hired its engineering firm to conduct a peer review of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s recommendation to remove Horseshoe Lake dam and restore Doan Brook to its earlier natural state. Gannett Fleming Engineers and Architects, based in Camp Hill, Pa., with an office in Fairlawn, agreed last month to do the assessment for $9,000. Plans are to complete the initial review within two weeks of the city’s notice to proceed. From there, Gannett Fleming will take part in a virtual meeting with city officials to present its findings and answer questions, with written commentary to be provided within two weeks of that, according to a “scope of services” agreement. Meanwhile, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells sent an update to Cleveland Heights council last week also asking that the city “consider its concurrence with our recommended approach by Nov. 8.” On Sept. 27, Shaker Heights City Council approved its “resolution of concurrence” with the NEORSD recommendations, also being sought from Cleveland Heights council as well, since both cities lease the designated parkland from the City of Cleveland. Cleveland Heights council decided last month to seek a “second opinion” on the $28.3 million proposal to remove the lake and dam, as well as keeping Lower Shaker Lake intact with a refortified dam and dredging -- at no cost to either city. “We are confident in our recommendation to the cities of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights to restore Doan Brook through removal of Horseshoe Lake dam,” Dreyfuss-Wells stated. The Gannett Fleming peer review will likely include “hydrologic and hydraulic analyses and an evaluation of engineering alternatives to address identified deficiencies, and that the evaluations [...]

By kk42|October 6th, 2021|Dayton, Parma, Canton, Youngstown, Lorain, Geotechnical Ohio, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron|0 Comments

Hazardous Waste Enforcement Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment

Source: Hazardous Waste Enforcement: Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and Pulaski County Wastewater Treatment Chemicals Blender/Distributor Enter into Consent Administrative Order | Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Ecotech Enterprises, Inc. (“EEI”) entered into a September 15th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (“APC&EC”) Regulation No. 23 (Hazardous Waste Regulations). See LIS No. 21-091. EEI is stated to blend, package, manufacture and distribute wastewater treatment chemicals and products for use in industrial and municipal potable water and wastewater treatment facilities at a facility in Pulaski County, Arkansas. DEQ conducted a Complaint Investigation at the EEI facility on July 18, 2018. The CAO provides that DEQ noted several containers of waste that could not be identified by facility personnel. Further, wastewaters generated at the facility were stated to be collected in a 2,870-gallon Equalization Tank (“EQ Tank”), then pumped into 275-gallon containers and transported to a POTW for disposal. The wastewater was stated to not be analyzed prior to shipment off-site. DEQ is stated to have conducted an unannounced sampling event in conjunction with a Compliance Evaluation Inspection (“CEI”) on August 29, 2018, to document potential unidentified hazardous waste streams. The CAO provides that based on the findings of the August 29, 2018, CEI, the following APC&EC alleged violations were identified: Failure to make waste determinations on waste streams located through the facility Failure to make a hazardous waste determination on a referenced waste stream Failure to use manifests in certain instances Failure to obtain an EPA identification number prior to transporting hazardous waste Failure to properly label or mark containers and tanks Failure to mark containers with an accumulation start date Failure to keep [...]

By kk42|October 6th, 2021|Pine Bluff, Springdale, Conway, Rogers, Hot Springs, Geotechnical Arkansas, Little Rock, Fort Smith, North Little Rock, Fayetteville, Jonesboro|0 Comments

Drone Rules Make Tracking Down Faults a Difficult Feat

Chelsea Scott looks on as Michael Bunds lands a fixed-wing drone in Southern California. Credit: Jui-Chi (Vickie) Lee Source: Drone Rules Make Tracking Down Faults a Difficult Feat - Eos Chelsea Scott and Ramón Arrowsmith, like many earthquake scientists, track down faults. As tectonics researchers at Arizona State University, they need to know where a fault is, how much it’s moved, and how it behaves below the surface. Small uncrewed aerial systems, also known as drones, provide them with high-resolution photographs that capture the necessary information at the scale of centimeters—a higher resolution than some commonly used, easily accessible satellite or airborne data sets. However, collecting drone data along the length of a fault is no simple task. Bigger Is Better A magnitude 7.0 earthquake can produce a 62-mile-long (100-kilometer-long) rupture with surface displacements of up to about 3 feet (1 meter), said Arrowsmith. “You need to have a good enough ruler to measure [that],” he said, which imagery collected from drones can easily provide. The problem, he said, is rapidly covering a 62-mile stretch. Nearly every country that regulates drone operations recommends or requires that pilots maintain visual contact with their drone. One way around the problem is to use a bigger drone. Cheap, heavy quadcopters—helicopters that can easily take off and land—are small compared with lightweight, expensive fixed-wing drones that look like tiny airplanes. In February 2020, Scott and three colleagues spent almost 4 days mapping 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the San Andreas Fault in Southern California. Although they had quadcopters, Scott said “the workhorse was the fixed-wing drone.” “Because fixed-wing drones are so expensive, flight planning is done very, very carefully, and unfortunately the project is over if the drone crashes.” The average quadcopter can be spotted approximately half a mile (0.8 kilometer) away; mapping long linear features like [...]

By kk42|October 6th, 2021|Geotechnical Utah, Earthquakes, Geotechnical USA, Geotechnical US, Geotechnical Arizona, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical Nevada|0 Comments

Peer-Reviewed Paper Explains Unprecedented Performance of BioLargo’s AOS Water Treatment Technology

Source: Peer-Reviewed Paper Explains Unprecedented Performance of BioLargo's AOS Water Treatment Technology - Digital Journal WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2021 / BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO), a developer of sustainable cleantech technologies and full-service environmental engineering company, announced the publication of an important peer-reviewed article confirming that its innovative water treatment technology, the Advanced Oxidation System (AOS), generates highly energetic iodine molecules. The article establishes the foundational scientific principles about why the AOS is a powerful, efficient, and novel water treatment technology. The BioLargo AOS, which is currently deployed in a demonstration pilot project at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, is a ground-breaking water treatment platform that provides rapid and effective disinfection and concurrent organics removal while consuming less electricity than other common treatment technologies. The AOS has previously been shown in bench-scale and pilot-scale studies to exhibit greater water disinfection and decontamination performance than would be expected in similar water treatment technologies. This spurred BioLargo scientists and academic collaborators to elucidate the exact electrochemical mechanisms of the AOS in this study. The paper, published in the American Chemical Society’s journal ES&T Water, examines the mechanism by which the BioLargo AOS produces such rapid and effective disinfection performance relative to past electrochemical water treatment technologies. The study used the Canadian Light Source particle accelerator to perform advanced measurements of the chemical reactions that occur inside the AOS during operation. This technique revealed that the AOS generates highly oxidized iodine molecules that the researchers concluded are likely responsible for the technology’s elevated disinfection efficacy. These special iodine molecules were only present inside the active layers of the AOS and were neutralized before water flowed out of the AOS. Dr. Richard Smith, President of BioLargo Water commented, “Our AOS technology is a technical leap forward in advanced water treatment. This study is [...]

By kk42|October 5th, 2021|Geotechnical Oklahoma, Geotechnical Texas, Geotechnical West Virginia, Geotechnical California, Geotechnical New Mexico|0 Comments

Kirkwood Lake, other Superfund waterways finally to get cleanup

Source: Kirkwood Lake, other Superfund waterways finally to get cleanup The federal government finally has decided to clean up Kirkwood Lake and other waterways connected with the Sherwin-Williams/Lucas Paintworks Superfund Site in Camden County. The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the next phase of the extensive Superfund site cleanup would be dredging of three contaminated lakes and one creek that span three communities — Gibbsboro, Voorhees and Lindenwold. "Hallelujah!" was the reaction of activist Alice Johnston, head of the Kirkwood Lake Environmental Committee. The committee has clamored for years for the cleanup of Kirkwood lake, as have residents and officials from Camden County, Gibbsboro and Voorhees in New Jersey. The lake borders on Voorhees and Lindenwold and is downstream from the former paint plant site in neighboring Gibbsboro. The other contaminated waterways due for cleanup are Silver Lake, Bridgewood Lake and Hilliard's Creek. "It has been a long haul. The Superfund site dates to 1980 when it was discovered and documented, but the first testing was not done until 1999," Johnston recalled. Besides contamination, Kirkwood Lake has become very shallow and is prone to vegetation growth that the county has tried to manage through herbicide spraying. “This final decision addresses the communities’ expressed desire that we clean up contamination in these waterbodies," said acting EPA Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. He said the cleanup also will protect people "from exposure to arsenic and lead contamination in the soil and sediment while preserving valued community wetlands." An elated Camden County Director Jeffrey Nash called the EPA decision "a goal we all have been working toward for years." He credited persistence by local residents and especially by Gibbsboro Mayor Ed Campbell, who has been pushing for clean-up of multiple sites for several decades. Past cleanup phases have focused on the Route 561 Dump Site and the United States Avenue Burn [...]

By kk42|October 4th, 2021|Woodbridge, Dover, Hamilton, Trenton, Camden, Geotechnical New Jersey, Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Edison|0 Comments

Why did Morro Bay officials select the site of the water recycling plant?

Source: Why did Morro Bay officials select the site of the water recycling plant? Have you wondered why the Morro Bay City Council in California chose the South Bay Boulevard site for the Water Reclamation Facility? Why this site when it did not provide any public benefit that other sites didn’t offer? The council members knew that it added at least $26,000,000 to the lowest cost option and that it required digging up Quintana Road. And they knew it would mean decades of pumping all of Morro Bay’s raw sewage almost three miles inland and uphill. In 2017, the city council convened a peer review panel of wastewater professionals who informed council members that the best way to reduce project costs was to not use the South Bay Boulevard site. The panel said that “the biggest contributor to cost at the South Bay Boulevard site is the site itself. Pipeline and earthwork costs there are very high.” But why this site when the entire project site is designated by San Luis Obispo County as a Geologic Study Area (GSA)? According to the county’s Estero Area Plan and land use ordinance GSA means that the ground is subject to high landslide risk. The Geologic Hazard Map in the project Environment Impact Report (EIR) also shows that the whole project site is designated a “landslide risk”. The city’s own geotechnical report describes the soil at the project site as including “… landslide deposits …” and as “…commonly associated with … slope instability and landsliding,” And — especially in light of these known hazardous conditions — why this site when it is on the bank of a stream that flows directly within about a mile into the Morro Bay National Estuary? Stormwater carrying soil from a landslide could cause catastrophic harms to the estuary. Then there are the facts that there is [...]

By kk42|October 4th, 2021|San Francisco, Fresno, Geotechnical California, Los Angeles, San Jose|0 Comments

Collaborative summer at ERIC for freshwater research

Source: Freshwater research: A collaborative summer at ERIC | All In Wisconsin When Amanda Stickney learned about chemistry in sixth grade, her love of math and science clicked. Amanda Stickney analyzes samples at the ERIC lab. “In high school, I went to a semester boarding school that focused on environmental science and stewardship,” says the recent graduate of UW-Stevens Point’s chemistry program. “That’s when I knew I wanted to do something with environmental chemistry.” Last summer, Stickney had a unique opportunity to expand her laboratory skills at UW Oshkosh’s Environmental Research and Innovation Center (ERIC), the UW System’s most comprehensive research and testing center. Each year ERIC hires about 40 students for its various programs. Historically, most of them have been undergraduates from UW Oshkosh. A grant from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin (FCW) helped give students from other UW campuses, including UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-Superior, UW-Parkside and UW-Whitewater, the opportunity to train at one of ERIC’s three locations — Oshkosh, Manitowoc, or Door County. The FCW grant funded four positions, and an additional three-and-half positions were funded through matching grants. “We provide opportunities for students to learn the techniques, the workflow and the environment of this type of laboratory,” says Greg Kleinheinz, Viessmann Chair of Sustainable Technology and professor of environmental engineering technology at UW Oshkosh. “One of the goals of our Freshwater Collaborative project was to make inroads with other campuses and bring students from the different campuses together.” Students spent a week in the ERIC lab training and learning analytical techniques. Because of her major, Stickney worked in the lab all summer, learning how to run the equipment, analyze samples and follow standard operating procedures. “If I want to work in a lab, I wanted to really learn chemical safety,” she says. “Not everyone can follow an SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] for [...]

By kk42|October 4th, 2021|Geotechnical Illinois, Geotechnical Michigan, Geotechnical Wisconsin, Geotechnical Minnesota, Geotechnical Indiana, Geotechnical Ohio|0 Comments

Section of Cobb Road closed by sinkhole in Trigg County

Source: Section of Cobb Road closed by sinkhole in Trigg County | WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio A section of Cobb Road in northern Trigg County is closed due to the formation of a sinkhole between the 4 and 5 mile marker not far from the Brushy Grove Creek Bridge. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says it’s about two miles west of the Cerulean Community and a little less than a mile east of the Trigg-Caldwell County Line. A contract mowing crew was working along the right-of-way Wednesday when one of the tractors broke through the surface. On investigation, the crew discovered a hole created by the tractor at the edge of the pavement was about 8 feet deep and extended out under the pavement about 10 feet or more. Cobb Road is closed and barricaded at the site as state officials develop a repair plan. The Cabinet says while sinkholes are not uncommon in areas with karst topography, this appears to be one of the larger holes to develop in recent years. Depending on the depth of the sinkhole, Cobb Road could be closed at the site for several days or more.

By kk42|October 1st, 2021|Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Richmond, Florence, Georgetown, Covington, Elizabethtown, Geotechnical Kentucky, Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green|0 Comments