Terracon Consultants, Inc. will be presenting and exhibiting at the Georgia SWANA Spring Conference in Savannah, Georgia.  The conference will take place April 12 - 14, 2010 and held at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront. 

Mr. Victor R. Donald, P.E. will be presenting Tuesday, April 13th at 10 a.m.  Vic will be presenting, “Landfill Construction Documentation: the Big Picture”.  His presentation will discuss:

“Landfill permits have included CQA plans that were written with great attention to detail, but with little consideration of the sequential nature of landfill construction.  The need to build landfills in individual, but connected cells has created the need for 10 to 20 reports of Construction Quality Assurance, often with repetitive or insignificant information.  As final cover construction progress in a similar, sequential manner, the ability to have a coherent, real-time understanding of the landfill constructed stage is nearly impossible to accomplish.” 

Mr. Jeffrey J. Breedlove, P.E. will also be presenting during the conference.  Mr. Breedlove will be speaking on Wednesday, April 14th at 10 a.m.  Jeff’s presentation will review the NESHAPS Requirement for Asbestos Location Mapping.

If you are attending the conference, please come by our booth and introduce yourself.  We look forward to enjoying a successful conference with everyone in attendance!

Aquaterra/Terracon will be exhibiting at the Louisiana Solid Waste Association (LSWA) Spring Conference. The 30th Annual Environmental Conference will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana at the Cajundome Conference Center, and will feature an anniversary theme “Environmental Solutions.”

The March 24-26, 2010 Conference has become “THE DESTINATION” for those interested in discovering the latest information on:

• Environmental regulations and compliance areas
• Federal and state environmental activities
• Up-to-date technology in areas of Solid Waste, Air Quality, Water & Wastewater, Underground Storage Tanks and Industrial Advances
• Leading engineering and consulting companies and new equipment displays

Additionally, Victor R. Donald, P.E. will be giving a presentation at the conference entitled, “Landfill Construction Documentation: The Big Picture”.  Mr. Donald will be presenting at 10:30 am on Friday, March 26th.  Vic’s presentation considers a case study of a landfill that illustrates the sequential means of construction, and associated documentation, and points out a means for a more comprehensive record of landfill construction.   

If you are attending the conference, take the time to swing by our booth and say hello!  If you are considering attending the conference, check out LSWA’s website for more information.  We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Aquaterra, a Terracon Company will be exhibiting and attending the 2010 AL SWANA Spring Conference at Perdido Beach Resort, in Orange Beach, Alabama.  The seminar will be held March 1 - 3, 2010.  If you are attending, please take some time to come by our exhibit space and introduce yourself.

We are scheduled to start the meeting with a Reception and Tradeshow on Monday afternoon, then hold education sessions all day on Tuesday and until noon on Wednesday.

If you are interested in attending you can find the agenda HERE and the registration forms HERE.

Aquaterra, LLC, a corporation practicing in geotechnical, environmental, construction materials engineering and testing and solid waste services, has joined Terracon. Terracon is one of the nation’s largest employee-owned engineering consulting firms with headquarters in Olathe, Kan. Aquaterra is headquartered in Baton Rouge, La.

“We are proud of the reputation that our employees have forged for Aquaterra through the years,” said Victor Donald, P.E., president of Aquaterra. “It is a tribute to them that we can achieve this exciting opportunity to merge our talented staff with an excellent firm. The merger with Terracon will ensure an enhanced ability to meet the diverse needs of our clients and to provide a professional career path for our employees.”

With roots back to 1961, Aquaterra has been an employee-owned earth sciences and engineering company providing innovative and constructive solutions to commerce, industry and government clients throughout the Southeast. Aquaterra specializes in landfill engineering and solid waste management consulting, with personnel having strong capabilities in construction quality assurance and environmental monitoring.

Aquaterra will continue functioning with the same name, and has offices in five states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee). Terracon is retaining Aquaterra’s more than 100 engineers, geologists, scientists and technicians.

“Together with Aquaterra, Terracon is able to strengthen its service offerings to clients in the Southeast,” said David Gaboury, P.E., president and CEO of Terracon. “Aquaterra brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we are excited to work together.”

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,500 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials and facilities services from more than 100 offices in 37 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 46th on Engineering News-Record’s List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit www.terracon.com.

Victor R. Donald, P.E. will be speaking at the AL/MS American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.  Mr. Donald’s presentation will begin at 3:15 pm. Vic will be speaking on, “Professional Ethics in Environmental Practice”. 

An abstract from Mr. Donald’s presentation is below:

The professional engineer is faced with the responsibility to safeguard life, health and the environment and to promote public welfare.  He is also charged with the responsibility to represent the interests of his client with regard to environmental compliance.  Do these two responsibilities live in harmony or do they create a dichotomy?

Mr. Donald is President of Aquaterra Engineering, LLC. He received his BS and MS from LSU in Civil Engineering and has over 30 years of experience as a practicing geotechnical engineer throughout the southeast. This experience has taught him a lot about the “art” of the profession as well as the science, and he will be sharing the benefit of this experience in the area with the group.

Aquaterra Engineering, LLC has been providing engineering services to the Southeast United States since 1961. Today we combine and enhance our engineering disciplines to provide a complete property development consulting solution. We are engineers, geologists, scientists, and technicians trained and skilled in the earth science disciplines. Our combination of disciplines creates a resource for specialized engineering to meet the challenges of site property development, site mitigation, and facility construction. Aquaterra Engineering is the company for your comprehensive Siteworks services.

Victor R. Donald, P.E. will be presenting to the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute on September 18th.  Vic will be speaking on, “Swell Potential of Near Surface Soils in Mississippi and Louisiana”.

An abstract from Mr. Donald’s presentation is below:

The near surface soils present throughout much of Mississippi and Louisiana consist of clayey soils that have liquid limits and plasticity indices that fall in a range which is near the upper limits of soils typically considered to have little expansive potential and the lower limits of soils typically considered to have some expansive potential. Climatic conditions in the South-Central United States since 1999, including: severe drought conditions in 1999 through 2001; dry summer and fall months in the past several years; and drought conditions throughout most of 2007 have resulted in extremely low soil moisture contents within the upper 10 to 15 feet in many locations throughout the mid-South. Typical geotechnical engineering practice in the Mississippi and Louisiana areas has commonly not addressed these dry, lean clay soils as having expansive behavior but rather has regarded them as “non-expansive”. However, recent experience has indicated that dry lean clay soils can exhibit some expansive potential that can affect shallow foundation performance. This presentation will present the results of a limited, preliminary study conducted to investigate the swell potential of near-surface lean clay soils in the Mississippi and Louisiana areas.

Mr. Donald is President of Aquaterra Engineering, LLC. He received his BS and MS from LSU in Civil Engineering and has over 30 years of experience as a practicing geotechnical engineer throughout the southeast. This experience has taught him a lot about the “art” of the profession as well as the science, and he will be sharing the benefit of this experience in the area with the group.

Aquaterra Engineering, LLC has been providing engineering services to the Southeast United States since 1961. Today we combine and enhance our engineering disciplines to provide a complete property development consulting solution. We are engineers, geologists, scientists, and technicians trained and skilled in the earth science disciplines. Our combination of disciplines creates a resource for specialized engineering to meet the challenges of site property development, site mitigation, and facility construction. Aquaterra Engineering is the company for your comprehensive Siteworks services.

Aquaterra Engineering, LLC has been awarded a subcontract with Bechtel Jacobs Company, LLC to provide Construction Quality Assurance Services for Cell 5 of the EMWMF landfill in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  The project will add 465,000 cubic yards of airspace to the EMWMF Landfill.  The facility is a DOE owned CERCLA facility that disposes of low-level radioactive wastes from the Oak Ridge Reservation clean up projects and other area DOE projects.  Construction of the landfill has been funded by monies from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA).  ”We’re thrilled to be a part of this excellent team of professionals providing these resources for construction of this facility under the Recovery program.  This design and construction team of BJC, Avisco, AECOM and Aquaterra really work well together and produce an excellent work product” stated Jeff Breedlove, P.E., an Aquaterra Vice President and Director of Landfill Services.

Aquaterra has a dedicated team of high experienced design and construction quality professionals that provide solid waste consulting for municipal, commercial, and industrial landfill facilities throughout the Southeast and abroad.  Learn more about our landfill consulting capabilities here.

EMWMF Landfill - via knoxnews.com

Victor R. Donald, P.E. will be presenting “How to Get the Most from your Geotechnical Engineer” to the ASCE - Alabama Section. Vic will be speaking at the 2009 Summer Conference in Orange Beach, Alabama.  The conference is taking place July 29th - 31st.

Below is an abstract from Mr. Donald’s presentation, “How to Get the Most from your Geotechnical Engineer”:

How do you go about procuring the services of a geotechnical engineer? Do you understand the responsibilities that this role plays in the project, and how it relates to the role of the civil engineer and the structural engineer? The role that the geotechnical engineer plays in the over site development design is often misunderstood. As a result, the project suffers from a misunderstanding of the responsibilities of the various experts required for the design. Using the geotechnical engineer effectively can create a simpler project implementation and can save you and your client money. This topic will provide a better definition of the role that the geotechnical engineer should play in the decision of site preparation and foundations for planned construction. It will address common misconceptions that exist in today’s workplace that ultimately create confusion and can be detrimental to the project.

Mr. Donald is President of Aquaterra Engineering, LLC. He received his BS and MS from LSU in Civil Engineering and has over 30 years of experience as a practicing geotechnical engineer throughout the southeast. This experience has taught him a lot about the “art” of the profession as well as the science, and he will be sharing the benefit of this experience in the area with the group.

Aquaterra Engineering, LLC has been providing engineering services to the Southeast United States since 1961. Today we combine and enhance our engineering disciplines to provide a complete property development consulting solution. We are engineers, geologists, scientists, and technicians trained and skilled in the earth science disciplines. Our combination of disciplines creates a resource for specialized engineering to meet the challenges of site property development, site mitigation, and facility construction. Aquaterra Engineering is the company for your comprehensive Siteworks services.

Monica G. Love, of the Jackson, MS office, was recently appointed as a 2009 Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce Diplomat. With only 18 new Diplomats throughout Ridgeland, we are honored to have Monica represent our company in such a positive light.

There are only 40 Diplomats per year and entry for new applicants is based on those Diplomats who will not return in consecutive years. It is a service and city-wide endeavor and helps to foster networking with other businesses in the community. Diplomats assist the chamber with welcoming new businesses to the City of Ridgeland and Madison County, as well as the Greater Metro Area. They also help to recruit and maintain business membership in the Chamber and assist with community wide events within the City of Ridgeland - all while promoting their individual business organizations.

The Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce held an orientation luncheon in February at Reservoir Point for the new 2009 diplomats. The attached picture was taken during this luncheon and features the new 2009 diplomats.

To top it all off, Monica was selected as the Diplomat of the month (March 2009) for the Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce. Great job Monica!

Tom Vrenick has been appointed CoMET (Construction Materials Engineering and Testing) Manager for the Baton Rouge office. Tom began his career with Aquaterra in 1985 and has over 30 years experience in the Construction Materials Engineering and Testing field. Tom has historically managed the field exploration department, along with an ever-growing assignment of managing the field aspects of our CoMET group in Baton Rouge.  The success of this group over the past two years is unprecedented.

We see our CoMET group as an expanding service line with significant increased potential that requires the direct oversight by someone with Tom’s experience, dedication and commitment.  Because of this, we have taken the opportunity to focus Tom’s efforts primarily on the management of this group in order to maximize our success in the CoMET arena.   In addition, Tom will continue to oversee several key environmental projects.

Tom can be reached via telephone at 225.344.6052 or via email at tvrenick[at]aquaterraeng.com.  Please join us in welcoming Tom to his new position as CoMET Manager of the Baton Rouge office.