Geo Slice

2011 Shlemon Specialty Conference

2011-07-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

2011 Shlemon Specialty Conference

Opportunities for Alternative Energy Development in Arizona and the Southwest – Geologic/Hydrologic Considerations

Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists

Arizona Land Subsidence Group

October 27-28, 2011

Embassy Suites – Tempe, AZ

Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to network and see presentations by experts in geology, geologic hazards, soils, foundation engineering, hydrology, and land use as applied to opportunities for alternative energy development in Arizona and the Southwest U.S. Invited talks by the Arizona State Geologist, Arizona Land Commissioner, and experts from both the public and private sectors will provide an excellent educational opportunity as well as the chance to meet and network with industry colleagues. Registration for the day-long technical conference is only $100/person and CEU’s will be available. Additionally, there is a follow-up day-long field trip led by industry and agency experts that will show examples geologic and hydrologic issues discussed in the technical presentations and visit a local alternative energy facility. The cost of the field trip is only $60/person. Sponsorship and Exhibiting opportunities are available. A conference rate of $129 per night is available at the Tempe Embassy Suites.

More information including registration forms is available at the conference website:

http://www.aegweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=5464

Additional questions and inquiries can be sent by email to info@azlandsubsidence.org

UA AEG Meeting March 24th 2011

2011-03-21T16:17:00.001-07:00

University of Arizona
Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists

Call and Nicholas, Inc.
International Geotechnical Consultants

Invites You to a Presentation by
Robert Pratt, PE on
Rock Mechanics and Slope Stability

Free Brooklyn Pizza and Soda
Provided by Call and Nicholas, Inc.

When- UA AEG Monthly Meeting, Thursday March 24th, 12:30pm
Where- Mines and Metallurgy Bldg, Room 225

UA AEG Meeting March 24th 2011

2011-03-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

ASU GeoClub Meet and Greet

2011-02-15T15:22:00.002-07:00

GeoClub’s Second Annual
Student/Professional
Meet and Greet

Thursday, March 3, 2011
5:30-6:30 PM Reception
in Dietz Museum
6:30 PM Professional Introductions
PSF 166
7:00 PM Informal Discussion Groups
PSF 166

This is an opportunity for students to talk to
professionals and find out about summer opportunities.
These could include internships, scholarships, jobs and
more!

There will be professionals from Hydrology, Environmental, Mining,
Engineering Geology, Geotechnical , Academia and more!
For a full list of professionals and a short biography, please look at the
GeoClub website at

http://asu.orgsync.com/org/geoclub

AEG Meeting 2/10/11

2011-02-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

We have another great AEG meeting planned for February! The meeting will be on held Thursday February 10, 2011 at Monti’s located at the SWC of Mill Ave and 1st Street in Tempe. We'll start off at 6:00pm with a hosted happy hour courtesy of Enviro-Drill Inc. Dinner will be at 7pm with the presentation starting shortly after dinner.

Our speaker is Bill Haneberg, PG, PhD, the current Jahn's lecturer. His presentation is titled "3-D Rock Slope Modeling and Virtual Discontinuity Mapping Using Digital Photogrammetry". Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Please RSVP by Monday February 7th if you will be joining us! Thank you and hope to see you at the meeting!

AEG-AHS Student Night 2011

2011-02-01T13:22:00.005-07:00

Student Night 2011

For All Arizona Students and Professionals in Groundwater,

Environmental, & Engineering Geology

Geotechnical Engineering and Geological Engineering Fields

Hosted By: AEG and AHS

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Student/Professional Meeting

Networking

Recruiting

Schedule of Events:

5:30-7:00 Career Fair and Mingling

7:00-7:45 Dinner

7:45- 8:45 Student Presentations

8:45-9:00 Award Presentations

Location:

Arizona State University in Tempe

Student Memorial Union

Cochise Room

EWB Meeting

2010-08-26T12:50:00.001-07:00

Engineers Without Borders (ASU Chapter) Meeting
Wednesday, September 1st
6:30 PM PSH 151
Arizona State University

For more information contact Armando Villareal avillar2@asu.edu

Geologist opening at Ohio Geological Survey

2010-08-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Geologist 3 - Ohio Geological Survey

The Ohio Geological Survey seeks applications for the position of Geologist 3 for the Geologic Mapping & Industrial Minerals Group. The successful candidate will be a versatile and highly motivated geoscientist with a thorough understanding of geologic mapping, bedrock geology and stratigraphy, and glacial geology and geomorphology. Background knowledge in areas such as geophysical exploration, interpretation of logs, familiarity with coring, sampling, and drilling, geologic modeling, and GIS, particularly any 3-D or geostatistical analysis is a major plus. A Master’s degree is preferred although a Bachelor’s degree with relevant experience will be considered. The complete job posting will be available on the ODNR website beginning August 23^rd. (www.ohiodnr.com); applications will be accepted thru September 3, 2010. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. For more information concerning application procedures, please contact Rene Norris at 614-265-6406. For more information about position duties and qualifications, please contact Mike Angle at 614-265-6602.

Additional info

The Ohio Geological Survey (OGS) is a Division within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, with offices located at Fountain Square in Columbus, Ohio and at Alum Creek State Park in Delaware, Ohio. The Geologic Mapping & Industrial Minerals Group currently has a staff of eight full-time geologists plus a part-time seismologist and technicians/interns. The group is involved in diverse research and mapping of deep subsurface to shallow bedrock and surficial glacial and alluvial deposits. This section is also heavily involved in delineating Ohio’s geohazards including karst terrain, abandoned underground mines, landslides, and shoreline erosion along the Lake Erie coastline. The Group also compiles mineral resource statistics ranging from coal to sand and gravel aggregate

Excellent written and oral communications skills, publications record, and demonstrable mapping and/or GIS experience is preferred.

Computer Skills: Integrated geologic mapping and analysis software (e.g. GeoGraphix), GIS - ESRI Arc/Info including Geostatistical Analyst, Microsoft Office, Fluid flow modeling (e.g. Mod Flow).

In order to be eligible to accept a permanent part-time or full-time job with the state of Ohio, you must be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of this country. Those here on student visas cannot be offered permanent employment.

--

Next Meeting: August 19, Joel Anderson - Engineers Without Borders

2010-08-03T11:06:00.003-07:00

Association of Environmental and

Engineering Geologist - Arizona Section

Dinner Meeting:

Thursday August 19, 2010

El Peñasco in Tempe

6:00 PM Mingling and Happy Hour

Sponsor: AECOM

7:oo PM Dinner and Presentation

Mexican Buffet

SPEAKER:

Joel Anderson

HDR

Presentation:

Engineers Without Borders

Cost: $20 AEG Member, $25 Non-Members

$5 Students

Location: El Peñasco

19 E Broadway

Tempe, Arizona

RSVP by Monday August 16, 2010 to Bonnie Whitley at bonniewhitleype@gmail.com

For more information about AEG, visit www.aegweb.org

Next Meeting: July 8, in Tucson with Lee Allison

2010-06-29T14:00:00.004-07:00

Association of Environmental and
Engineering Geologists – Arizona Section

Dinner Meeting:
Thursday July 8, 2010
El Parador in Tucson

6:00 PM Mingling and Drinks
Sponsor: Golder Associates

7 PM Dinner and Presentation
Menu:
Chicken Fajitas

SPEAKER:
Dr. Lee Allison
Director of AZGS and State Geologist

PRESENTATION:
A Digital Revolution in the Geosciences

Cost: $25 AEG Member & Non-Member
$10 Students

Location: El Parador
2744 E. Broadway
Tucson, Arizona

RSVP by Monday July 5, 2010 to Bonnie Whitley at bonniewhitleype@gmail.com
For more information about AEG, visit www.aegweb.org

Next Meeting Wednesday May 26: "Environmental Consulting: Where We're At and Where We're Going"

2010-05-12T10:38:00.002-07:00

AEG is excited to announce our next dinner meeting! The meeting will be on held Wednesday May 26, 2010 at El Peñasco located at the SWC of Mill Ave and Broadway in Tempe.

We'll start off at 6:00pm with a hosted happy hour courtesy of Geomechanics Southwest. Dinner will be at 7pm with the presentation starting shortly after dinner.Our speaker is Duane Kreuger, the AEG 2010 President. Duane's presentation is titled "Environmental Consulting: Where We're At and Where We're Going".

We will also be holding officer elections at the meeting. We have an opening for Vice Chair, please consider volunteering!

Please RSVP to Bonnie Whitley at bonniewhitleype@gmail.com by noon on Monday May 24th.

Thank you and hope to see you there for this rare Wednesday meeting!

Bonnie Whitley, P.E.

Geologists: "We May Be Running Out of Rocks"

2010-05-07T10:07:00.003-07:00

The always insightful news source The Onion brings attention the very real threat of running out of rocks. What we all do !?!

How Badly are Arizona Budget Cuts Hurting Agencies Like ADWR and ADEQ?

2010-05-04T09:56:00.002-07:00

There is an interesting article in today's Arizona Republic about the affects of budget cuts on state agencies like ADWR and ADEQ. It should be no surprise that the outlook is fairly grim. And while it's actually a decent article, if anything, the situation is actually much worse than the article hints at.

News and Updates

2010-04-27T13:32:00.004-07:00

I apologize that it’s been so quite around here – it’s a combination of me being pretty busy and not so much to report. I’m off to AEG mid-year Board of Directors Meeting in St. Louis this weekend and am looking forward to it. So, here is a bit of summary of some interesting things going on.

The April Arizona Section newsletter is available. Please give it a read – included are upcoming meeting date and other interesting information. The next meeting is on WEDNESDAY, May 26th at El Peñasco. The speaker is AEG President Duane Krueger and the topic is “Environmental Consulting: Where We’re At and Where We’re Going”. Please join us.
As usual, the Arizona Geology Blog is full of interesting and useful information. A few highlights:

-USGS wants to stop calling them “100-year floods”
-Lots of information on the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano (Iceland) eruption
-AZGS is Hiring!
-Underground Gas Storage Project in Eloy

The Arizona Hydrological Society (AHS) and the AHS Foundation will award three $2,000.00 student Scholarships in 2010. The purpose of this award is to encourage full-time students of hydrology, hydrogeology, or any other water-resource-related fields at any Arizona university or college to excel in their area of study. Any junior, senior or graduate student who fits this description can apply. The Scholarship application deadline has been extended to May 28, 2010!

ADWR Funding Slashed

2010-03-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

The FY 2011 budget for Arizona that has been passed by the legislature (but not signed into law yet) includes a cut of 60% for ADWR, which has already been cut significantly in the past 2 years, including a mass lay-off of over 25% of its workforce. Obviously these additional cuts would cripple and already under-funded agency that plays a critical role in the geoscience community and in the health, safety, and future of Arizona residents. I urge all AEG members and non-members reading this to consider writing letters to their representatives (follow this link for who and how to contact), the governor’s office (contact), and even the head of ADWR (contact) to plead for programs you feel are critical. The list of potential areas of cuts is long and includes things like InSAR and subsidence monitoring, well permitting, well data, the GWSI, the ability to regulate water usage, dam safety and many of the other key roles filled by ADWR.

I haven’t checked how other agencies fair in this proposed budget, but my guess is that agencies like ADEQ, AZGS, ADOT, State Lands, and others are hurt equally as bad.

I always find it ironic that legislators that speak of how important jobs are to the residents of Arizona cut so many of the jobs they actually have direct control over.

Landslides are Cool

2010-02-19T09:42:00.002-07:00

Ok, landslides may be cool, but they can also be very tragic, so please don't pay much attention to the title. Anyway, there is a spectacular video of a landslide in Maierato, Italy. For more detailed info, head over to Dave's Landslide Blog, but the video is below.

Arizona Geo-News

2010-02-15T13:12:00.002-07:00

As usual all of the Arizona Geo-News I have comes from the Arizona Geology Blog - something I recommend that everyone follow.

DOE is reportedly going to retract it's application for Yucca Mountain

There is lot's of news regarding the fate of the Department of Mines and Minerals and the Mining and Mineral Museum.

The Arizona Snow-pac is 232% of the 30-year average.

Did subsidence cause flooding in Whendon?

'Y Crack' earth fissure re-opens

Geothermal powerplant proposed near St. Johns

The New and Improved Earth Fissure Viewer at AZGS

2010-02-15T13:07:00.001-07:00

The AZGS has just released the newest version of the Earth Fissure Viewer: http://www.blogger.com/www.azgs.az.gov/efv.shtml. It is much improved and incorporates a Google maps environment, complete with search engine. (http://www.blogger.com/www.azgs.az.gov/efv)

Some features:

Earth Fissure Viewer http://www.azgs.az.gov/efv provides an interactive and searchable map that displays over 330 miles of earth fissures in Cochise, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal Counties.

Principal Features of the Earth Fissure Viewer

A Google Maps environment:
> choice of street map or terrain background.
> maximum zoom scale 1:18,000 (1 inch = 1,500 feet).
> rapid address search via Google search engine.
Shows earth fissure study areas (e.g., Scottsdale, Luke)
Color-coded earth fissure key
Fissure study area maps available for download (*.pdf)

AEG Foundation Silent Auction

2010-02-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

2010 is well underway and so are plans for this year’s AEG Foundation Silent Auction. This year the money that is raised by the auction will support the Lemke Fund. The Lemke fund supports the scholarly and professional development of student members of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists by awarding grants intended to offset part of the cost of attending and participating in the association’s Annual Meetings. These grants are awarded to students at the undergraduate or graduate levels. The AEG Foundation will make the awards to deserving student members who are sole author or first author of a paper or poster that they personally present at the annual meeting. Students are the future of AEG, so let’s start now thinking about making a contribution to this year’s auction and by contributing you will be supporting not only the association, but our students.

Attached you will find two documents that were developed for this year’s auction. One is a Donation Form and the other is the Silent Auction Newsletter. Please review and if you have questions concerning either document, please contact Donna Schmitz, AEG Foundation – Silent Auction-Chair at donnas@ext.msstate.edu.

On behalf of the Foundation, thank you for your continued support!

ASU Student-Professional Meet and Greet

2010-02-15T13:03:00.001-07:00

Greetings AEG Members and Supporters,

As part of our attempt to outreach to ASU students and faculty, AEG has been working closely with ASU’s GeoClub, a student organization within the School of Earth and Space Exploration. GeoClub will be hosting a Student/Professional Meet and Greet evening on Tuesday March 9th at 5:30 pm. The purpose of the meet and greet event is to provide an informal setting where students can meet with professionals and ask questions related to work in engineering, geology and geology related fields and how they can tailor their course choices and other trainings to prepare for work in the engineering and geologic consulting industry. It is anticipated that refreshments and networking will be the order of business from 5:30 to 6:00 pm with student/professional interaction following.

GeoClub has solicited the support of AEG’s professional membership by attending the event and meeting with students to answering their questions.

If you are a practicing professional, please consider supporting this event by attending and meeting informally with students to answer their questions. Official announcement of this event is expected from ASU’s GeoClub soon and will be forwarded to you upon receipt.

If you are interested, please contact me at the e-mail address provided below.

Best regards,

Gregg Mitchell, R.G.
Student Liaison, Arizona Section, AEG
mailto:user.name@hdrinc.com

PS Please also start thinking about supporting the upcoming Fifth Annual AEG/AHS Student Night event. This year’s event will be held at ASU’s Tempe campus on Tuesday, April 6th. The event is being promoted by the ASU School of Sustainable Engineering and the Build Environment’s Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering program, the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and GeoClub. Formal announcements are being formalized and will be forthcoming.

Some Random News

2010-01-26T09:44:00.003-07:00

Below is some random news of interest - and it's all taken from the Arizona Geology Blog.

Candidate would eliminate the AZGS and borrow on Rosemount Copper Mine revenue projections. Gubernatorial candidate John Munger released his budget plan for the state this past week which proposes elimination of the Arizona Geological Survey along with many other agencies as a cost savings measure.*

2012 CAP water shortage likely http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/324822

Amid state's push for solar power, water-supply worries arise http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/01/17/20100117water-solar0117.html

BLM Arizona official to head Colorado BLM office http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/01/18/daily23.html. Helen Hankins, the Associate State Director of the BLM's Arizona office, is becoming state director of the Colorado BLM office on Feb. 1. She is a geologist.

Lots of Action at Freeport in Southern Arizona

The anit-mining bill (which bans mining in much of Southern AZ ) gets a hearing in Congress. The Steel Worker's Union files a letter against.

*Arizona AEG cannot and does not endorse or denounce indivual candidates one way or another.

2010 Student Night

2010-01-25T09:47:00.005-07:00

STUDENT NIGHT 2010
For All Arizona Students and Professionals in Groundwater,
Environmental, & Engineering Geology,
Geotechnical Engineering and Geological Engineering Fields

Hosted By: AEG and AHS

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Student/Professional Meeting

Networking

Recruiting

Schedule of Events:
5:30 – 7:00 Career Fair and Mingling
7:00 – 7:45 Dinner
7:45 – 8:45 Student Presentations
8:45 – 9:00 Award Presentations

Location:
Arizona State University, Tempe
Student Memorial Union
Cochise and Mohave Meeting Rooms

Hosted By: Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists
Arizona Section
&
Arizona Hydrological Society
Phoenix Chapter

Student Night Flyer

Student Night RSVP and Map

Student Night Call for Student Papers

Student Night Announcement to Professionals

Shlemon Conference: Modern Subsidence, Sea-Level Rise, and Future of the Gulf Coast

2010-01-21T08:42:00.001-07:00

Shlemon Specialty Conference

Modern Subsidence, Sea-Level Rise, and
the Future of the Gulf Coast
May 13-15, 2010
Galveston Island, Texas

Call for Abstracts

Shlemon Specialty Conferences are sponsored by the AEG Foundation and the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists, and are supported, in part, by funds provided by Roy J. Shlemon, a Trustee of the AEG Foundation, an Honorary Member of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. The conferences provide for an intensive 3-day forum of technical discussions among researchers and practitioners, and focus on topics beneficial to society and directly related to application of the engineering and environmental geosciences. The conferences are intended to promote and disseminate practice and research results, and to foster improvement and understanding of applied geology.

The sixth Shlemon Specialty Conference, Modern Subsidence, Sea-Level Rise, and the Future of the GulfCoast, will include keynote oral presentations by invited experts, a field excursion, poster sessions, and ample time for informal interaction. The field trip held in conjunction with the conference will include various stops around Galveston and the Bay Area to observe evidence of faulting and related subsidence effects on various engineered structures.

The technical focus of the conference concerns:

Subsidence measurements
Processes causing subsidence
Quaternary geology of the GulfCoast
Engineering geology, coastal flooding, and protection
Space-based geodesy and subsidence of New Orleans
Northern hemisphere glaciations and crustal physics, subsidence modeling
In-SAR and oil field subsidence
Groundwater subsidence of the GulfCoast

Abstracts for poster sessions are invited and will be organized on various topics. Posters will be on display throughout the entire conference with time set aside each day for review and discussion.

Abstracts for poster sessions should be no more than 350 words and include the title of the abstract, author(s) full name, affiliation, affiliation address, and email address and sent to Julie Keaton, Conference Director (aegjuliek@aol.com). Abstracts may be selected for oral presen-tation.

If you have any questions, please contact either Cynthia Palomares, General Chair (cpalomar@tceq.state.tx.us) or Roy Dokka, Technical Program Chair (dokka1@lsu.edu).

Geo-related bills at the Arizona Legislature

2010-01-21T08:37:00.002-07:00

Here are new bills filed in the Arizona legislature that are relevant to the geoscience community (from Arizona Geology):

SB1126 - Declares that nuclear fuel produced entirely within the state boundaries are not subject to federal interstate commerce laws

HB2290 - Amendment to allow used tires as filler material for abandoned mines through 12/31/2015, with a cover of at least 10 ft of earthen materials.

HB2180 - Amendment to exempt Class II injection wells used in natural gas storage projects from aquifer protection permit requirement

New Earth Fissure Map for Maricopa County

2010-01-15T10:05:00.001-07:00

The Arizona Geological Survey has just realeased a new earth fissure map for Maricopa County. This map is combination of the study area maps that cover parts of the county, so it's not really anything new, just a new (and perhaps more convinient) way of presenting the info.

With the new release, they got a little press from CBS Channel 5 in Phoenix.

Next Meeting January 21st - Joint AEG and SME

2010-01-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

AEG is excited to announce our first meeting of 2010! We are having a joint meet with SME to start the year off. The meeting will be on held Thursday January 21, 2010 at the Lexington Hotel (formerly Best Western) at 1100 North Central Avenue in Phoenix. We'll start off at 6:30pm with mingling and drinks. Dinner will be at 7pm with the presentation starting shortly after dinner.

Our speaker is Mr. Tim Casten, the Director of Underground Planning with Freeport-McMoRan. Mr. Casten will be presenting on Underground Mining at PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg District.

Thank you to meeting sponsor Karen Schwab, R.G. of Kimberlite Water Quality Permitting and Compliance Service LLC.

Please RSVP to Bonnie Whitley at bonniewhitleype@gmail.com by noon on Monday January 18th.

Please note that as this is a joint meeting with SME, the cost will be $25 for members and non-members. Thank you and hope to see you there!

AEG North Central Section Short Course: A New World in Geophysics

2010-01-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

AEG North Central Section Short Course May 18-19, 2010
A New World in Geophysics
About the Course

Sponsored by the North Central Section of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, the short course is designed for practicing Civil Engineers, Geologists, Engineering Geologists, Archaeologists, Law Enforcement Investigators,Consultants, Owners, Managers and others responsible for development orevaluation of site characterization studies that might benefit from the applicationof modern geophysical methods. Many of us were exposed to geophysics during our undergraduate or graduate studies, which may have been completed may years ago now. There has been much progress in geophysics since your undergraduate studies. This course will bring you up-to-date with the latest developments in geophysical methods for land, water, and subsurface characterization. In addition to providing the student with the working knowledge of each of the available geophysical tools, pitfalls in subcontracting geophysical services will be presented. After you complete this course, you will be an informed consumer of geophysical services and be cable of scoping and applying the correct geophysical methods to solve your particular problem. Course participants will earn 2.0 hours of Continuing Education Credit.

Please click here for more information.

Southwest Hydrology Ceases Publication

2010-01-05T09:48:00.002-07:00

Arizona Geology is reporting that Southwest Hydrology is ceasing publication after the current issue. This is rather unfortunate since it was a great source for articles specific to Arizona and the Southwest.

Some Updates

2010-01-04T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well I hope that everyone had a nice holiday break, but now it’s back to business. I plan to write up a newsletter soon, but don’t hold your breath. But I do have the meeting schedule for the next few months and a few updates from the Arizona Geology blog.

The next meeting is on January 21st. It’s a joint meeting with SME – more info to come. The topic is “Underground Mining at PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg District" by Tim Casten and the location will be at the Lexington Central Hotel (formerly Best Western), 1100 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona.

Other scheduled meetings:

March 4th – Paul Marinos, 2010 Jahn’s Lecturer
April 6th – Student Night at ASU

Times, locations, and other info to come later.

On the geological front:

New earth fissure maps – 1:24k earth fissure maps for Dragoon Rd, Cochise Cty and Greene Wash, Pinal Cty - SW of Arizona City. The pdfs of maps and news release are located at www.azgs.az.gov/efmaps.shtml. And an interesting blog post on some of the implications of the fissures at Dragoon Road.

Budget cuts will severely affect the AZGS. Details are still slim and more cuts are to come. It’s grim, but AZGS is still hanging on. And changes in the Earth Fissure Mapping program – no mention of the budget in this one, but it’s severely reduced as a result.

Arizona Geology’s top geologic stories of 2009.

Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole outside of Sedona.

And finally – geologists love beer.

AEG Scholarship Opportunities

2009-12-09T13:46:00.001-07:00

To all students and faculty in the applied geosciences field:

The AEG Foundation (Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists Foundation) offers many scholarships each year to assist students with field work and studies in the applied geosciences. Scholarship amounts range from $200 to $2000. Traditionally, we have not had very many Arizona students apply for these scholarships. I’d like to see that change this year and to see some qualified Arizona students apply for these scholarships. I have copied some information below outlining the scholarship types and application deadlines (February 1st). Please visit www.aegfoundation.org for more information and to apply online.

Professors – Please pass this information along to your students.

Scholarships Available through the AEG Foundation
The Lemke Scholarship Fund was established in 2007 with a bequest from the estate of Richard and June Lemke. The fund supports student members of AEG who are sole or first authors of papers or posters presented at AEG Annual Meetings or at selected meetings of other professional or scientific organizations with which AEG is affiliated.

The Marliave Scholarship Fund was established in 1968 by the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG). The fund name honors an eminent family of engineering geologists: Chester E. Marliave (1888-1958), and his sons Elmer C. Marliave (1910-1967) and Burton H. Marliave (1917-1991), who were pioneers in the profession. The funds are distributed as grants, which are intended to support academic activity and reward outstanding students in engineering geology and geological engineering. Recipients of grants are designated as “Marliave Scholars.”

The Martin L. Stout Scholarship is in memory of Dr. Martin L. Stout, Professor of Geology at California State University, Los Angeles from 1960 to 1990. He is remembered by all of his students for his passionate and insightful instruction in engineering geology. Dr. Stout guided his students through and beyond the fundamentals of engineering geology, often using Kodachrome™ slides for illustration. He emphasized hands-on experience and critical thought. Dr. Stout was well known for his expertise on mega landslides, his worldly travels, his good humor, and his gracious manner. This scholarship supports his legacy.

The Norman R. Tilford Field Studies Scholarship fund was established shortly after Norm died in late 1997 while flying his small aircraft to meet a Texas A&M University student field trip. Norm was a leader in engineering geology, a Past President of AEG, and a professor at Texas A&M University. He was dedicated to teaching geology in the field. This scholarship supports his legacy.

AEG Foundation Scholarships

Lemke Scholarship Fund
Applicants must be student members of AEG who are sole or first authors of a paper to be presented at an AEG Annual Meeting, or a meeting or conference sponsored, co-sponsored, or supported by AEG. Application deadlines vary according to the meeting calendar. Grant amounts vary according to meeting and available funding.
Varies
Typical minimum $200

Marliave Scholarship Fund
A Marliave Scholar applicant must be a senior or graduate student presently enrolled full-time in a college or university degree program that is directly applicable to engineering geology or geological engineering, and a student member of AEG. The application deadline is February 1
$2,000

Martin L. Stout Scholarship
Applicants must be a student member of AEG at time of award. Applications may be submitted with the scholarship application. The application deadline is February 1
$1,000 Undergrad $1,500 Masters $2,000 Doctoral

Norman R. Tilford Field Studies Scholarship
Applicants must be a student member of AEG. Two to three awards are given one for undergraduate and two to graduate students. The application deadline is February 1
$1,000 Undergrad $1,500 Masters $2,000 Doctoral

UDOT is Looking for a Senior Geologist

2009-12-04T16:36:00.001-07:00

The Geotechnical Division of the Utah Department of Transportation currently has an opening for a Senior Geologist. Applications for this position will be accepted through December 15. Please help us by sending this announcement to any contacts you have that might be interested. The attached link provides the job description, salary range and application information.

https://statejobs.utah.gov/JobAnnouncement.jsp?rid=20547

For more information contact:

Keith Brown
UDOT Chief Geotechnical Engineer
office: (801)965-4234
cell: (801)633-6238
e-mail: kebrown@utah.gov

2009 Arizona Section Holiday Party - December 10th

2009-11-30T11:47:00.004-07:00

2009 AEG
HOLIDAY PARTY
AT THE ZOO

The Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists - Arizona Section
Cordially Invites You to Attend

What: BBQ Dinner Meeting
Where: The Phoenix Zoo – 455 North Galvin Parkway
(Check-In at Main Entrance from 5:30 to 6:30 to Receive Wristband)
When: Thursday, December 10th – 6 to 9 PM
Who: Family Event – Everyone Welcome

Cost:

$5 Students
$30 Members
$35 Non-Members
$20 Spouses/Guests
$10 Kids
$60 Max for Families

RSVPs will be needed since we must purchase Zoo entrance admission wristbands for our attendees prior to the event. The cost includes admission to the Zoo during ZooLights and a delicious BBQ dinner. There will also be a cash bar at the event. Bring the whole family and dress warm! Our event will be located in the Desert Grove area in the middle of the Arizona Trail (left of main entrance). Maps will be provided and wristbands handed out when you check in at the main entrance.

RSVP to Bonnie Whitley at bonnie@gtiaz.com by December 7th

Sponsors still needed! And a special thanks to the sponsors we have so far - D&S Drilling, GeoMechanics Southwest, and AZ Ram Jack!

Next Meeting - Thurs, Nov. 5th (New Location)

2009-11-03T16:23:00.001-07:00

Dear AEG Members, Professional Colleagues, Students, and Friends:The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday November 5, 2009 at Monti's in downtown Tempe. Please make note of the new location - Uno's closed down so we had to scramble to get a place - Monti's is located only a few blocks north. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM (thanks to Saguaro GeoServices), dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "Evaluation of Earthquake Damage to a Flood Protection Levee System at a Central American Banana Plantation" presented by Bob McMichael, P.E. and Kenneth Turner, R.G. of Ninyo & Moore.

Hope to see you all there!Please RSVP to Bonnie Whitley, bonnie@gtiaz.com, by ASAP.

WSDOT's Earthquake Simulation

2009-10-29T09:54:00.002-07:00

WSDOT has created a very cool earthquak simultion for Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Enjoy!

Next Meeting - November 5th

2009-10-29T09:48:00.002-07:00

Dear AEG Members, Professional Colleagues, Students, and Friends:

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday November 5, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM (thanks to Saguaro GeoServices), dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "Evaluation of Earthquake Damage to a Flood Protection Levee System at a Central American Banana Plantation" presented by Bob McMichael, P.E. and Kenneth Turner, R.G. of Ninyo & Moore. Hope to see you all there!

Please RSVP to Bonnie Whitley, bonnie@gtiaz.com, by Tuesday November 2nd.

“Evaluation of Earthquake Damage to a Flood Protection Levee System at a Central
American Banana Plantation”

Abstract:

A seismic event located off the northeastern coast of Central America resulted in damage to an earthen flood protection levee system. An insurance claim by the owner provided anassessment of areas within the levee system that warranted repairs. The purpose of our services was to evaluate the insured’s categorization of damages and to provide an independent opinion based upon our observations. Our assessment of the site conditions involved walking approximately 60 kilometers of the levee system, photographically documenting our observations, and using global positioning system (GPS) devices for location purposes. Our conclusions generally concurred with the owners initial assessment and actually provided additional lineal footage of the levee system to be included for repairs.

Bios:

Mr. Robert W. McMichael, P.E. was educated at Purdue University, and earned a B.S.C.E. in 1985 and an M.S.C.E. in 1986. He possesses more than 25 years of geotechnical and environmental consulting experience in the western, midwestern and southern United States, and internationally. His experience includes many hundreds of design phase (pre-construction) studies, construction-phase support projects, and postconstruction (forensic) studies. He is the Chief Engineer and Managing Principal of Ninyo & Moore’s operations in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. He provides expert or “forensic” geotechnical consulting services, including expert testimony. He also has specialty expertise in the geotechnical evaluation of environmentally contaminated sites, as well as the analysis and design of dams and levee systems.

Mr. Kenneth J. Turner, R.G. was educated at Northern Arizona University, and earned a B.S. in Geology with an engineering emphasis in 1998. He possesses more than 11 years of geotechnical consulting experience in the southwestern United States and internationally. He is a Senior Engineering Geologist with Ninyo & Moore. As Senior Engineering Geologist for Ninyo & Moore, Mr. Turner's responsibilities include managing forensic; construction service; and geotechnical design projects; authoring geotechnical reports; reviewing boring logs and inspection reports; and also providing guidance and technical advice to junior staff. He has expertise in conducting forensic geotechnical evaluations related to construction.

Proposed cuts to the AZ Geological Survey

2009-10-19T10:15:00.002-07:00

As Chair of the AZ Section of AEG I sat on advisory panel that helped the AZGS figure out what to cut from an organization that needs more support and not less. Below is the press release from the State Geologist that he posted on Arizona Geology.

The Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budget this morning released the lists of state agency programs (http://www.ospb.state.az.us/BudgetReports.asp) that would have to be permanently eliminated or reduced to meet the state’s budget shortfall. The lists would have to go to the Legislature for consideration. The cuts, if implemented, are calculated for taking effect January 1, 2010.

The Arizona Geological Survey would lose state funding to operate 11 out of a total of 24 programs. Another seven program areas would be reduced by amounts ranging from about 5% up to 50%. The programs were prioritized by an external review panel of AZGS stakeholders (data and service users) that used public input to help guide their recommendations.

Core programs we will attempt to preserve are:

Geologic Hazards

Geologic Mapping

Mineral Resources

Basin Analysis (entirely contract and grant funded).

Most of the eliminated programs have only limited state general fund support to begin with; typically a part of one or two people’s time. AZGS has raised external funds for years to subsidize state-mandated operations. We will continue to seek outside monies to underwrite these functions, but the budget scenario proposes transferring funds from external accounts as well to make up the state budget shortfall, leaving fewer options for us to fund these programs.

AZGS state-funded programs identified for elimination are:

Phoenix Branch Office

Energy Resources

Core and Sample Repository

Inquiries

Education, Outreach, and Tech Transfer

Enterprise Geodatabase

Library

Earth Fissures

Publications

Information Technology Support

Website Updates

Areas taking additional cuts due to transfer of agency-generated funds are:

Finance/Administration

Energy Resources

Map and Book Store (closed for walk-in sales; mail/phone orders only)

Inquiries, Outreach, and Tech Transfer

GIS Map Production and Database Development

Information Technology Support

Technical Support for the AZ Oil & Gas Conservation Commission.

We are implementing additional cost-cutting moves now, including reducing the number of vehicles and office phones, renegotiating service contracts, and transferring staff to new contracts and grant funded projects.

Request to contact members about Earthquake Re-authorization in Congress

2009-10-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

The following message was received from American Geological Institute (AGI), of which AEG is a member society. We realize that many members use the information and resources at the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. If you are interested in assisting, please see below.

******
Dear Friends of NEHRP,

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is waiting for re-authorization in Congress. The last authorization ended in 2009 and now the program is in limbo. The House Science and Technology Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee have jurisdiction over NEHRP. Both are working on draft bills for re-authorization but no bill has been introduced in Congress yet. We are worried about possible reductions in authorization levels and possible complications/delays in re-authorization caused by including language that expands the bill to cover other hazards such as wildfires. We have provided input to the committees, however, it would be helpful if stakeholders/constituents provided inputs to their members, especially in states with seismic risk.

So we are asking you to consider sending letters to your members (representative and two senators). It would be most efficient to send the letters by email or by fax. Every member has a web site with email contact info. I would also suggest sending the email to a staffer in the office that you have spoken with in past visits to the Hill. If you need an email address or fax number, please contact Corina (ccd@agiweb.org).

Below is some draft text that you could use for emails or letters on letterhead. The main message is please re-authorize NEHRP at current authorization levels as soon as possible.

You may also send the text of the letter or if you are using letterhead then an attachment by email to the staff on the relevant committee who are in charge of preparing the NEHRP measure

For the Senate CST, please send emails (can send as one group email) to:

Subcommittee on Science and Space: Beth Bacon elizabeth_bacon@commerce.senate.gov

and Minority Staff, Senior Counsel Todd Bertoson, todd_bertoson@commerce.senate.gov

For House S&T please send emails (can send as one group email) to: Majority staff working for Rep. David Wu (D-OR) Mike Quear, mike.quear@mail.house.gov and Meghan Housewright meghan.housewright@mail.house.gov And Minority staff Dan Byers dan.byers@mail.house.gov

In the House, Representative David Wu (D-OR) is the member responsible for seeing the NEHRP bill through committee to the full House. In the Senate, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is the responsible member. If you have colleagues from Wu's district or California, then as constituents they can send emails to these two members' personal offices too.

The relevant staff in the office of Boxer is Cerin Lindgrensavage, cerin_lindgrensavage@boxer.senate.gov.

The relevant staff in Wu's office is Dennis Worden, dennis.worden@mail.house.gov.

Others are welcome to send emails to these staffers, but constituents are the most important of course.

Some of you are receiving this email because your member is on the relevant subcommittee for NEHRP consideration and you have done congressional visits in the past (e.g. Senator Tom Udall, NM, Sen. John Ensign, NV and Sen. Mike Johanns NE; Rep. Gabby Giffords, AZ, Rep, Ben Luan NM, Rep Harry Mitchell AZ and Rep. Adrian Smith NE). You could send emails to the staffers that you visited with in their personal offices.

You are welcome to invite your colleagues to send emails. Most helpful would be constituents of Rep. David Wu in OR-1st and/or Sen. Boxer in CA.

Thank you, Linda
Linda Rowan
Director of Government Affairs
American Geological Institute
4220 King St
Alexandria VA 22302
703-379-2480 x228
FAX 703-379-7563

www.agiweb.org/gap

******

The Honorable __________ United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable __________ United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Representative __________:
Dear Senator __________:

I am writing to ask for your support in the re-authorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) [Public Law 108-360]. The program has been running since 1977, but is now in limbo because its authorization ended in 2009.

NEHRP has successfully reduced the risk of earthquakes through the cohesive efforts of four federal agencies: the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Basic research conducted by NSF and the USGS, monitoring and assessments conducted by NSF and the USGS, engineering practices and standards conducted by NIST and education, preparedness and response conducted by FEMA have contributed to fewer fatalities, less property damage and less economic disruption from earthquakes in the United States.

NEHRP is a modest and well run program with strong coordination and collaboration among the four agencies mentioned above. Unfortunately it may become weakened by uncertainty or delay in authorization, reductions in already underfunded programs such as the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) and dilution of the coordination/leadership of the program by the addition of other natural hazards.

Please support the re-authorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) in its current form and at its current authorization levels with small increases for inflation in the coming years.

Thank you,

XXX

Arizona Geological Survey Budget Cuts - Input Requested

2009-09-21T10:21:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

I'm sure that you all have seen that our state government is in pretty poor shape these days. Things are looking especially bad for the AZGS as more budget cuts are needed. Up to now the AZGS has managed to not significantly reduce the services that it provides, but that will no longer be the case with this next round of cuts. As a result, the AZGS is requesting comments as to what parts of its mission are critical and what parts expendable.

A review panel of stakeholder organizations will meet in early October to help advise AZGS on the tough decisions ahead. AEG will be a part of this review panel. I'm asking all of you (members and non-members) to please comment so that your input can be included. Lee Allison (the State Geologist and director of the AZGS) is posting about this on his blog at http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/. His original post on the issue can be found at http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-should-we-eliminate-in-next-round.html. He will also be posting the services and activities that are on the chopping block, so check back often.

Below, I've copied some of the email that Lee sent me that outlines just how bad the situation is.

We have to submit plans for 15-20% cuts in the current budget by October 10, based on permanent elimination of AZGS programs. No other options (furloughs, salary reductions, spreading cuts around) will be considered.
The situation is more desperate than might seem apparent. The cuts would take place in January, which means we have to implement a full year’s cuts in 6 months. This results in effective cuts of 30-40% by permanently eliminating enough programs to achieve that. We are also being told to turn over 15-20% of our bookstore revenues (used to run the store and produce publications) and an equal amount of funds we collect from contracts and grants to pay for the cost of carrying out those operations. We are still assessing the extent and impacts of these two fund transfers.
We have already taken about 30% in cuts in the past 15 months. However, our infrastructure costs have not been reduced (rent, phones, accountants, insurance, etc).
As a result, this next round of cuts may necessitate reduction of our geoscience operations by 80% or so.

Plate Tectonics in Action

2009-09-14T10:43:00.003-07:00

I saw this video and thought it was rather fun. I'm not sure that I believe the future speculation (isn't the Great Rift Valley in Africa currently spreading?). Anyway, enjoy.

650 Million Years In 1:20 Min.
by xchristox

Erick Weiland appointed to AZ Board of Technical Registration

2009-09-14T10:39:00.003-07:00

From Arizona Geology:

Gov. Jan Brewer has appointed Tucson geologist Erick Weiland to a two year term on the Arizona Board of Technical Registration, replacing Dawn Garcia, who stepped down after serving since 2005, according to the AIPG Arizona Chapter newsletter. There is only one geologist on the board, and Erick will represent Arizona on the Association of State Boards of Geologists (ASBOG) in the development and administration of the Geology test for professional registration.

Previous appointments to AzBTR and ASBOG include Ralph Weeks, Frank Turek, and Bill Greenslade.

For the record, as Chair of the Arizona Section of AEG, I co-wrote a letter with the Arizona Section of AIPG recommending Erick's appointment to the BTR. I'm very relieved that geologists will have representation on the board.

Next Meeting - Sept. 17th

2009-09-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday September 17, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM (thanks to Boart Longyear), dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "Evaluating Scour at Bridge Foundations on Rock: Status of NCHRP Project 24-29" presented by Jeffrey R. Keaton, Ph.D., PE, PG, F.ASCE. Hope to see you all there!

Please RSVP to Bonnie Whitley by Tuesday September 15th.

Hope to see you there!

Student Volunteers Needed at AEG National Meeting

2009-09-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

Student Volunteers are needed for the 2009 AEG Conference in Lake Tahoe September 21st to the 26th. Your incentive for volunteering is FREE registration! To volunteer, go to the AEG website (aegweb.org) and click on the Lake Tahoe icon, click on Student Volunteer Registration, enter your AEG Student username and password and fill out the form. If you're not an AEG Student Member, you can join for only $25 by visiting the Why You Should Join AEG under the Students tab. Don't forget to sign up for the Student-Professional Event on Tuesday, it's FREE! Hope to see you there!

Field Trip to SR 87 Landslide

2009-08-24T10:48:00.004-07:00

Hello from the beautiful (and HOT!) Phoenix. The Arizona Section held a field trip this August 15, 2009 in lieu of our regularly scheduled meeting. The group took the opportunity to get out of the heat and headed to north to the project site.

The project site, the State Route 87 (SR 87) Landslide, located between about 45 miles north of Phoenix in the Mazatzal Mountains near Rye, Arizona. The field trip was led by Pancho Garza, Arizona Section Vice Chair, and Wayne Harrison, Arizona Section member. In addition to their AEG affiliation, both are with AECOM, the engineering firm hired to investigate the landslide and develop emergency and long-term mitigation in response to the landslide.

The project has been a local news story of much local interest since March 21, 2008 when after a series of heavy precipitation events, a landslide in a cut slope buckled an adjacent portion of SR 87 resulting in a week-long closure of the highway. Immediately after the landslide, the Arizona Department of Transportation and their consultants conducted an initial assessment of the damage and possible causes. Aerial photogeologic reconnaissance and surficial geologic mapping guided an extensive subsurface investigation of the local slide and the much larger ancient landslide which consisted of test drilling and monitoring instrumentation installations. Monitoring and instrumentation included slope inclinometers, vibrating-wire piezometers, wire-extensometers, deformation surveys, and time-domain reflectometry (TDR).

The group totaling about 30 people included a mixture of professionals and students including attendees from all across the state. Everyone met up early Saturday morning before piling into two 15-passenger vans. The hour drive to the site was spent getting to know everyone, and discussing various geologic features along the way.

The project site is located at an elevation of approximately 4500 feet in the Mazatzal Mountains which are located within the Transition Zone Physiographic Province. The Transition Zone province is a very jumbled and extremely interesting geologic area that lies between the relatively flat uplifted Colorado Plateau province to the north and the tilted Basin and Range province to the south.

The field trip included three stops at various areas with the project site with the group leaders providing explanations to the group. The first stop allowed attendees to hike up on top of a dual-tiered set of soil nail walls to get a good view of the various project features including the head scarp of the ancient landslide structure in which the recent landslide occurred and the various cut slopes, buttresses, drainages, and instrumentation included in the investigation and mitigation. The second stop involved a 12-foot multi-plate with water dissipaters underneath an embankment buttress. The third and final stop was at a rock buttress within the landslide completed as part of the mitigation measures. Here site plans showing boring, instrumentation, and cross section locations and interpreted slide limits and cross sections showing the landslide and underlying geology were presented. Also, an up-close inspection of the instrumentation used in the on-going monitoring was presented.

After a quick lunch, the group piled back into the vans and headed back to Phoenix. The group arrived in the early afternoon where the weary travelers got into their vehicles and headed home, mostly to cool off and rest I think. Most of the attendees found the trip and presentation very interesting and suggested more field trips. Overall the trip was a great success!

For more information on the SR 87 Landslide project, be sure to catch the upcoming presentation at the AEG National conference in September. Upcoming Arizona Section events include our regular monthly meeting tentatively scheduled the week before the AEG Annual meeting (anyone visiting Arizona on vacation is encouraged to attend) our annual Holiday Meeting, and in early 2010, our fifth annual Student Night that will be held at the campus of Arizona State University.

AZGS Online Publications Page

2009-08-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

From email:

On 3 August we [AZGS] debuted our new Online Publications page. There are about 50 geologic reports and maps there now as free downloadable PDFs -- with dozens more to come soon.

*New Publication Model - The AZGS Online Publication Outlet.* AZGS is migrating to a digital publication model, making new publications available free online. And for the first time, we’re marketing GIS data of newly released geologic quadrangles: geodatebase, shapefiles, for $25.00. Printed maps still available at the AZGS Map and Bookstore.

That URL is: http://www.azgs.az.gov/publications_online.shtml

Must-Read Article on Groundwater Use in Arizona

2009-08-03T10:31:00.003-07:00

Via Arizona Geology

A must-read article outlining the use and over-use of groundwater in Arizona came out in the Arizona Republic over this past weekend. It's so rare that media gets something right, and this is one case of the media nailing the issue (though if anything, the situation is under-stated in my opinion).

California Board of Geology Terminated in New Budget Deal

2009-07-30T11:49:00.001-07:00

As a result of the new California State Budget, the Geology Board is slated to be terminated.

The termination of the Geology Board and transfer of its authorities to the Board of Professional Engineers and Surveyors is on page 26 of the final State Budget

http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/Enacted/BudgetSummary/FullBudgetSummary.pdf

This appears to be a significant detriment to the professional practice of geology in the State of California.

According to the Geology Board, they aren’t sure that it’s a done deal yet, and they recommend that you contact your local representatives if you’d like to protest this decision. The Geology Board plans to continue to operate business as usual until they hear otherwise.

Field Trip - SR 87 Landslide

2009-07-18T19:43:00.002-07:00

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that the SR 87 Landslide Field Trip will be held on Saturday August 15, 2009. We will be meeting at the Bass Pro Shop located at 1133 North Dobson in Mesa at 8am. AEG will be providing transportation as well as soda and water. Pancho Garza, P.E. and Wayne Harrison, P.G. will be discussing the SR 87 landslide remedial repairs, investigation and monitoring.

Please RSVP , Bonnie Whitley by Wednesday August 12th.

Hope to see you there!

A Few Things of Interest

2009-07-06T09:53:00.003-07:00

As always, there is a lot of good stuff over at the Arizona Geology blog, so I encourage a visit. But, I have to repeat something I saw over there:

The Arizona Guardian online newspaper, is prominently displaying a YouTube video of Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen in a committee hearing, with the caption:

On June 25th the senator voiced support for opening up uranium mining in Arizona and countered environmentalists by assuring them that the the Earth has been around for "6,000 years..." and has lasted that long without environmnental laws. She said it twice.

Thankfully she's not my representative (she represents Snowflake), but I'm really disturbed that someone with views like this legislates in Arizona. It's really no wonder that the state governement is in such bad shape right now.

And because I don't want this post to be a complete downer - the following is a time-lapse video from the International Space Station of an incredible eruption of the Saraychev eruption last month in the Kuril Islands (north of Japan). This one is big enough to make for nice sunsets world-wide for a while (though it's still too early to determine if climate will be affected).

New Fissure Maps and Subsidence Workshop

2009-07-02T14:15:00.004-07:00

The AZGS has released new earth fissure study area maps. New earth fissure maps showing confirmed and unconfirmed earth fissures for Harquahala, Maricopa County, and the Friendly Corners, Tator Hills and Signal Peak areas of Pinal County are complete. The 1:24,000 scale maps can be downloaded free at the Arizona Geological Survey’s (AZGS) Earth Fissure Center (http://azgs.az.gov/efmaps). For interactive viewing and custom map-making at up to 1:12,000 scale, visit the Arizona Department of Real Estate’s Earth Fissure Viewer at http://azmap.org/fissures.

Also of note is the Land Subsidence and Earth Fissure Workshop in August - the infromation below is from Brian Conway of ADWR:

I wanted to remind everyone again about the upcoming AHS Land Subsidence and Earth Fissure Workshop. I am still accepting abstracts and need at least three more talks to attempt to fill the full day workshop. I also want to remind you to register for the workshop whether you will be presenting or attending; either way you will have to pay for the workshop. I was also wondering if anyone would be interested on giving a presentation about the Arizona Land Subsidence Group. Here is the information about the workshop:

Arizona Hydrological Society

American Institute of Hydrology

2009 Annual Water Symposium

Land Subsidence and Earth Fissure Workshop

Sunday, August 30th, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Scottsdale, Arizona

Westin Kierland Resort and Spa

Abstracts should be 250 words or less and include title, authorship, and affiliations. Please include a brief biographical sketch of the primary author(s) and indicate that the abstract is for the Land Subsidence and Earth Fissure Workshop. Please submit abstracts no later than July 30th.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically to: hydrosymposium@a6consultants.com

Please copy Brian Conway (Workshop Moderator) on the email for the abstract submittal: bdconway@azwater.gov

If you have questions about the workshop, please contact:

Brian Conway
Arizona Department of Water Resources
602.771.1517
bdconway@azwater.gov

Next Meeting: Thursday June, 11 - AEG President Mark Molinari

2009-06-05T10:50:00.003-07:00

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The social hour begins at 6 PM dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "Practical Applications of Airborne LiDAR Data for Environmental and Engineering Geology Projects" presented by Mark Molinari, L.G. Mr. Molinari is the 2009 AEG President and we are happy to have him in from Washington. Hope to see you all there! Thanks to Yellow Jacket Drilling for sponsorship!

Please RSVP to Pancho Garza, by Monday, June 8, 2009.

2) Don’t forget. It's time for elections to happen once again.

So, nominations are open - I've listed the responsibilities of officers below. I have agreed to return as Chair, Pancho Garza has agreed to return as Vice-Chair. Ben Ciampa has agreed to return as Treasurer and Gregg Mitchell has agreed to return as Student Liaison. The non-utilized Field Trip Coordinator is currently vacant, but not terribly important - Pancho is currently picking up those duties with a planned field trip later this summer.

This leaves the position of Secretary. Unfortunately, Heather Hespeler cannot continue in this role. Thankfully, Bonnie Whitley with GTI has agreed to take over.

So, if you want to nominate yourself or someone else (hopefully with their knowledge) for any position, go ahead - but we do currently have people in place to fill the roles that need filling.

The elections will be at our next meeting on Thursday evening. Most likely they will be voice vote unless we have multiple candidates and need a more private way.

Chair – coordinate officer duties liaison with national, attend AEG Board meetings, and manage preparation of annual report including financial report. Coordinate meeting sponsorship and Arizona Section website. Prepare newsletter.

Vice Chair – coordinate speakers and topics for all meetings, have discussions with members to see what kind of topics they are interested in hearing about, and help out with meeting setup

Treasurer – manage chapter’s bank account, collect/deposit/manage money collected at meetings/events, and prepare annual financial report.

Student Liaison – correspond with students at U of A, ASU, NAU, and organize student night.

Secretary – coordinate meeting locations and food, send out meeting announcements, receive and tally RSVP’s.

Field Trip Coordinator – organize at least one field trip per year for AZ AEG members and anyone else interested.

Things of Note

2009-06-05T10:40:00.002-07:00

I've been rather quite around here for the past few weeks, so below are some links to catch you (and me) up with some happenings that may be of interest (as usual, the excellent blog, Arizona Geology is a huge source).

ADWR has updated its subsidence website with 2009 data.

Arizona Religous Liberties Bill is gaining national exposure.

Renewable Energy Land Rush

Rosemont mine reclamation plan available

Geothermal in Arizona

Take a survey aimed at improving the AEG Website

Random Geo-Links

2009-05-15T12:50:00.006-07:00

I've been out of touch for the last week, and there are few things of interst out there. Enjoy.

Moab tailings removal begins

State Land Comissioner resigns

3.1M earthquake near Black Canyon City

Renewable energy office coming to Arizona

Check out Arizona Geology for other interesting news

Southwest Geotechnical Conference wrap-up (unfortunately, I had to miss this one)

And finally, a cool video of a culvert failure. This was sent to me via email and I don't really have a source to credit - so if you know where it came from, let me know. Edit: Thanks to the commenter who did the research for me ;) - The video was captured by MWTW.com photojournalist Kevyn Fowler in Freeport, Maine.

Mid-Year BOD Meeting Summary

2009-05-15T12:47:00.001-07:00

ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL & ENGINEERING GEOLOGISTS (AEG)
Annual Board of Directors Meeting Summary

The Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) Directors convene meetings biannually to review the status and conduct the business of our organization. On April 17th and 18th, 2009, the Board of Directors (BOD) Mid-Year Board Meeting was in session in Seattle, Washington, the President’s city of residence. Detailed meeting minutes were prepared and will be available for approval at the next Annual Board Meeting, which will take place in South Lake Tahoe, California, September 26-27, 2009. The following summary was prepared to assist our Directors in highlighting major issues and topic areas for communication to the general membership.

AEG has twenty-five (25) sections and five Executive Council members totaling thirty Directors. Nineteen (19) Section Chairpersons or their proxies were present along with the Executive Council (EC): President Molinari, Vice President/President-Elect Kreuger, Treasurer Hilton, Secretary Bauer, and Past-President Kuper, achieving the required majority present for a quorum. Chief Operating Officer Roland was also present, as were Governance Committee Chair Andrews, Finance Committee Chair Sofield, Strategic Planning Committee Chair Hale, Communications Committee Chair Shaw and other invited guests. Sections absent were Montreal, New England, New York-Philadelphia, Ohio River Valley, Southeastern, and Southern Nevada.

· President Molinari discussed his Section visits, and told the Board that he would report back to them after discussing the Jahns Lecturer Selection with GSA.

· Treasurer Hilton reported that the IRS accepted AEG’s request to change the fiscal year from July-June to January-December, starting January 1st, 2009, which means AEG has to file a tax return for the short year of July-December 2008. The accountant-audited financials for the fiscal year 07-08 will be available at the end of April 2009 and our taxes are due May 15th. He also reported that our investments, down around 6%, are doing much better than the overall stock market, due to our conservative investment strategy which is consistent with prior BOD direction.

· The 2008 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA had a surplus of around $21,000.

· Chief Operating Officer Roland reported that our Year-to-date membership total is 2632 members, which is around 85% of the total for 2008. Staff members at headquarters are in the process of calling lapsed members, but Section cooperation is imperative to bringing these members back to AEG.

· Sections that have access to lists of State Licensees are asked to send these lists to Headquarters for membership solicitation.

· Communications Committee Chair Allen Shaw discussed the print media of AEG. He asked that Sections ask their members to submit technical papers or case studies to the Environmental &Engineering Geoscience Journal. There will be several papers in a future issue of the journal by speakers at the Shlemon Specialty Conference on Fault Rupture that was held in Southern California in February 2009, and there is also the potential for a Special Publication from the conference proceedings and papers. Allen would like to increase advertising in the AEG NEWS in order to add more color photos and enhance the quality of the publication.

· Website Committee member Dale Andrews reported on ideas about the website revision. He emphasized the need for the website to be a living document and for the Board to consider how it will be continually updated after revision.

· In addition to presenting Finance Committee report, the Finance Committee Chair, Darrell Sofield, reminded the Board of its fiscal responsibilities and how the committee helps to meet those responsibilities. He then stated that without a Treasurer’s report or a fiscal report that compares the actual financials to the budget, the FC could not do its job. “With out those reports, you can’t tell if the budget was met,” Darrell said. The FC suggested that the BOD develop a policy on procedures for financial reporting including procedures for comparing the budget to the actual money spent and a discussion section for items where considerable difference was noted between the budget and actual money spent. The EC has already begun implementing the FC’s suggestions in the 2009 budget, as the budget and actual financials will be broken into quarters for easier comparison, and dissemination to the FC and BOD.

· Sofield also made a request to members of the current BOD to join the committee. After waiving the 30-day notice, the Board approved by blind vote Mary Kay Markunas and Niall Henshaw as Finance Committee members.

· 2009 Annual Meeting Co-chair Gary Luce reported that planning for the Annual Meeting in South Lake Tahoe is going well. COO Roland will distribute the PowerPoint presentation to Section Chairs for promotion at Section meetings. President Molinari will send the Board information on the Outstanding Environmental and Engineering Geology Award after the selection committee makes a decision.

· Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) Chair Paul Hale gave an update on some of his sub-committees.

o Advocacy committee has been working on gathering information on the photos they received from the photo contest they hosted, is developing one page technical information flyers, and is considering making a short movie promoting the profession.
o Student/Young Professional Support Committee has been busy with the Visiting Professionals Program, Section Champions/Student Liaison coordination, the Facebook page (New Geologist), the Student Chapter application template, a Student Welcome Packet, and planning a pre-Ice Breaker event at the Annual Meeting to connect students and professionals.
o Section/Chapter Support Committee is finalizing an Officers’ Handbook for Section Officers and conducting a survey of Section Chairs to find out where they need help.

· The SPC contracted with Creativity @ Work to conduct a member survey and internal and external interviews. The results were used to direct the Strategic Planning workshop, which was held April 17th in Seattle, the Friday before the Board meeting. During the workshop, the attendees defined the areas of concern regarding the future of AEG. Now the SPC will work on a new Strategic Plan and will present it at the 2009 Annual Board Meeting.

· During lunch each Section was asked to answer three questions: 1) What is working for your Section? 2) How is the economy affecting the Section and its members? 3) What committee(s) are you on or would you like to be on? Answers will be posted with the minutes of the meeting.

· The Board discussed the Joint Task Force on Areas of Practice (JTFAP) Guidance document during the MYBM. There was considerable concern that the document in its current condition does not effectively represent our professional practice and its intended use and purpose remains unclear. Although a vote was not called for, an informal blind straw poll was conducted asking if the document should: 1) stop, 2) proceed with the input and guidance of AEG on a broader basis, or 3) proceed as a publication solely published by AEG. Two abstained, 20 thought AEG should proceed on a broader basis, and 1 thought we should proceed with a publication published solely by AEG.

o President Molinari requested creating an ad hoc committee. The BOD concurred, stipulating the following committee make-up guidelines:
1. Minimum of 3 members from Western US, minimum of 2 members from Mid-west/Eastern US, plus two current JTF committee members
2. Minimum of 5 members are current or former board members
3. Strive to include at least one member of AEG Licensure Committee
4. Strive to include at least one member who has been or is included on State Licensure Board
5. Range of 7-10 members
o The Ad-hoc Committee’s charge will be to:
1. Review and summarize member comments about the document
2. Consult with Mark Molinari after he obtains feedback from AIPG and Geo-Institute (after June 15 deadline) regarding how they intend to proceed and invite to forum if appropriate
3. Make recommendations for action and direction of the document
4. Present recommendations to the membership one month before the Annual Meeting
5. Have a discussion forum at the 2009 Annual Meeting assuming the document goes forward with the other groups
6. Work with CA, OR, WA and other licensure boards

· The Spring Shlemon Conference was a great success and had an approximate surplus of $12,000. The selection committee is looking for proposals for future conferences, beginning next year.

· President Molinari discussed the progress of the future Annual Meetings.
o 2010 – Charleston, SC
o 2011 – Anchorage, AL - AEG will need to help with the planning of this meeting
o 2012 – Salt Lake City, UT
o 2013 – Seattle, WA

· The Board decided it would like to post each AEG NEWS issue online when it is mailed and to allow public access for current and past issues.

· Governance Committee (GC) Chair Dale Andrews reviewed the GC’s summary of observations from the 2008 Annual Board Meeting. He also presented three Conflict of Interest templates for the board to decide among, in order to comply with IRS requirements. The board decided to have an attorney review all three statements and work with the GC and EC to finalize a version for Board approval at the 2009 Annual Board Meeting.

· Andrews also presented a template for Sections to use for meeting announcements, which will be posted under the Section/Chapter Support documents on the website.

· The GC compared the governance structure of AEG with other similar organizations and presented potential options for AEG. The Board discussed AEG’s current governance structure and decided that it is effective, but feels that the GC should look into other options including the proposed options of Delegates and Regionalization as well as define performance measures and ways to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the governance of the Association in its current structure.

· Treasurer Hilton presented the Fiscal Year 2009 budget, which covers from January-December 2009, to the board, emphasizing the major changes from the FY08/09 budget. Items such as reduced printing in the coming year, increased advertising/sponsorship efforts, and membership drives are essential to achieve/exceed this budget and allow the use of discretionary funds. The Board approved the budget as presented.

· The Board discussed the pros and cons of online vs. print publications. Through straw vote, the Board’s order of priority for electronic publication is 1) E&EG Journal (21 votes); 2) AEG News (14 votes); 3) Directory (5 votes); and 4) Abstracts with Programs (0 votes). Members will be asked for their priority in a demographics survey that will be included with their membership renewals.

· The Board discussed ways to retain and recruit members; each Director/Section Chair pledged to recruit a certain number of members by the 2009 Annual Meeting. Look for our goal to be posted and progress to be tracked as part of the membership drive.

· Director Metz offered a free frequent flyer ticket to any member who recruited the most members before the 2009 Annual Meeting.

· The Board approved changes to certain By-laws to account for the change in fiscal year to a calendar year.

· The Board approved a template for a Memorandum of Understanding between AEG and Sections proposing to host a future Annual Meeting.

· Two Student Chapters were approved by the Board: The College of Charleston and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

· The Board approved by blind vote a nominee to be included on the Executive Council ballot as Secretary for 2009/2010. This nomination is not a final result, but places this candidate on the mailed ballot; the election results will be presented at the AEG Business Luncheon in Tahoe in September.

· COO Roland summarized the report that the AEG Foundation (AEGF) submitted. The AEGF would like to work closely with the EC to establish one committee for the Lemke and Corporate Sponsor scholarships for students at the Annual Meeting. It would like to look at ways to support un- or underemployed members. It is supporting color photos in the E&EG, but would like for AEG to find a way for this to be self-sustaining.

· PowerPoint slides on the AEGF are available for Section Chairs to have at their Section meetings.

· President Molinari discussed AEG submitting a proposal to IAEG at the 2010 meeting to host the 2014 meeting, and reminded the Board that this meeting would replace AEG’s Annual Meeting that year, and would be an IAEG meeting, not a joint meeting.

· The next Board of Directors meeting is on September 26th and 27th in South Lake Tahoe, CA.

Short Course: Expanding Geological Practice: New Areas & Methods

2009-05-15T12:45:00.001-07:00

Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists
Inland Empire Chapter, Southern California Section, May 15, 2009

Re: Distribution of Brochure for Annual Short Course

Dear AEG Members and Attendees:

The brochure for the AEG-Inland Empire Chapter Annual Short Course is attached here.

"Expanding Geological Practice: New Areas & Methods”

Eight speakers will present talks in two technical areas:

· Site Investigation Survey Methods: GPS-GIS, InSAR, LiDAR

· State of Environmental Practice: Climate change, solid waste management, SWPP, Current Trends & Development

Location: UC-RiversideEXTENSIONCENTER , Riverside , CA

Date: Friday 12-June, 2009

For more details see attached brochure or go to:
http://www.aegsc.org/chapters/inlandempire/shortcourses/

- Kerry Cato, Inland Chapter Chair

Shlemon Specialty Conference on Advancing New Madrid Region Time-History Determination

2009-05-15T12:44:00.003-07:00

Shlemon Specialty Conference on

ADVANCING NEW MADRID REGION
TIME-HISTORY DETERMINATION

To be held at the
FogelmanExecutiveCenter, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Wednesday – Friday, June 3 – 5, 2009

FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS….

FogelmanExecutiveConferenceCenter
330 Innovation Drive
Memphis, TN 38152
901-678-3700

Block of rooms reserved for the nights of
June 2, 3 and 4, 2009

Rate: $85.00/night

ABSTRACT SUBMITTAL:

Abstract submittal has been extended to May 15. To submit your abstract, go to the following link:
http://www.aegweb.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=4634

PROPOSED SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Preconference Tours of CERI and the USGSPublicEarthquakeResourceCenter, if there is sufficient interest.
Hotel Registration for those staying at FogelmanExecutiveCenter

12 Noon to 12:45 PM - Conference Registration

1:00 – 5:00 PM Conference Opening,
Martitia Tuttle (USGS, Memphis, TN), Geological Record of Ancient Earthquakes in the Central US,
Gail Atkinson (University of WesternOntario), Characteristics of ground motions in inactive regions and associated constraints on time history methods, and
Discussion Panel and/or Submitted Presentations and/or Submitted Poster Session

5:30 – 6:30 PM Ice Breaker, included in registration (dinner on your own)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
8:30 – 11:30 AM Conference Announcements,
Rob Williams (USGS, Golden, CO), Shear-wave velocity structure in the Central US,
Dominic Assimaki (Georgia Tech), Nonlinear site response in ground motion predictions, and
Discussion Panel and/or Submitted Presentations and/or Submitted Poster Session

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Lunch Provided

1:00 – 5:00 PM Conference Announcements,
Jack Baker (StanfordUniversity), Active Region Time History Selection/Generation Approaches,
Chris Cramer (CERI, University of Memphis), Central & Eastern US Time History Selection/Generation Approaches, and
Discussion Panel and/or Submitted Presentations and/or Submitted Poster Session

Dinner on your own

Friday, June 5, 2009
8:30 AM – Noon Conference Announcements,
Reginald DesRoches (Georgia Tech), Engineering Applications and Issues for the Central US,
Discussion Panel and/or Submitted Presentations and/or Submitted Poster Session, and
Conference Closing.

Post-conference Tours of CERI and the USGSPublicEarthquakeResourceCenter, if there is sufficient interest.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact: Oliver Boyd (olboyd@usgs.gov) or Greg Hempen (Greg_Hempen@urscorp.com).

REG Review Cources

2009-04-30T09:18:00.002-07:00

SUMMER 2009 REVIEW COURSES for the ASBOG® GEOLOGY LICENSING EXAM

The Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) is pleased to announce the Summer, 2009 series of review courses for the ASBOG® geology licensing exam taught by REG REVIEW, Inc. AEG and REG REVIEW, Inc. have partnered to provide these courses since 1992. In the Summer of 2009, twelve one-day review courses will be offered in regionally throughout the U.S., these twelve courses will be spread out into the following regions, the Pacific Northwest, the Southeast, the Central East Coast, the Northeast, the North Central, the Central Midwest, the Central West, as well as the regular Northern and Southern California locations. Specific locations are listed below.

REG REVIEW, Inc students typically have a pass rate that is 20% to 25% higher then the National average. Our success rate was between 90% and 95% on both exams for the past few administrations of the exam. The National pass rate during the same time was 55% to 60% for the FG and 69% to 74% for the PG. With the current state of the economy, can you afford not to pass the exam the first time you take it?

Course dates and locations are as follows:

(For more specific location information please go to our website at http://regreview.com/summer2009courselocations.html)

Eastern US Courses - Summer, 2009

2009SEUS-2 - Atlanta, GA, July 17, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009SEUS-3 - Jacksonville, FL, July 18, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009NEUS-2 - Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009CEUS-2 - Raleigh, NC, August 2, 2009, 8am to 4pm

Western US Courses - Summer, 2009

2009PNW-2 - Seattle, WA, July 22, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009NC-2 - Oakland, CA, July 23, 2009, 8am to 4pm (ASBOG® Portion)July 24, 2009, 8am to 10:30am (California Supplemental Portion)
2009SC-2 - Santa Ana, CA, July 24, 2009, 6pm to 8:30pm (California Supplemental Portion)July 25, 2009, 8am to 4pm (ASBOG® Portion)
2009SWUS-1 - Phoenix, AZ, July 26, 2009, 8am to 4pm

Central US Courses - Summer, 2009

2009CUS-2 - Nashville, TN, August 1, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009NCUS-1 - Minneapolis, MN, August 6, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009NCUS-2 - Chicago, IL, August 7, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009SCUS-2 - Austin, TX, August 8, 2009, 8am to 4pm
2009CWUS-1 - Denver, CO, August 9, 2009, 8am to 4pm

California Courses are $535 for AEG members, $550 for nonmembers.

ASBOG® Courses are $445 for AEG members, $460 for nonmembers.

Preregistration deadlines for the Summer, 2009 courses are a postmark date of June 26, 2009 for all Eastern US courses, July 3, 2009 for the Western US courses, and July 16, 2009 for the Central US courses.

Included in the course price are the set of Study Manuals pertinent to the exams you are taking and a packet of course notes that we have developed to present material that is new to the exams. The course notes are only available to our students.

REG Review, Inc. has been teaching these courses in California since 1985. In March 2000, we began to direct our teaching towards the ASBOG® geology licensing exam. The pass rate for students in classes since 2000 has ranged from 85 to 99%. The courses are taught by Patti Sutch, California PG 3949, CEG1641, and CHG 25, Lisa Dirth, California PG 3951, CEG 1240, and North Carolina RG by ASBOG exam, and Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim, Pennsylvania PG and past student of REG REVIEW.

Current information on study manuals, flash cards, and courses, including specific locations, may be found online on REG REVIEW, Inc's website at http://regreview.com To contact REG REVIEW Inc.: e-mail - regreview@aol.com, mailing address - 178 Bowles Rd, Newbury, NH 03255 , telephone - East Coast call Lisa Dirth at603-763-3272, (fax)603-763-3341. West Coast (evenings) Patti Sutch at 916-456-4870.Please pass this information on to any geologist that you know is taking the state licensure examinations.

Thanks.

-- Lisa DirthREG REVIEW

178 Bowles Rd

Newbury NH 03255

603-763-3272f

ax 603-763-3341

34th Southwest Geotechnical Conference

2009-04-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

ADOT and the FHWA are sponsoring the 34th Southwest Geotechnical Conference to be held at Phoenix on May 11-14. Please distribute the information to the ASCE Geotechnical Engineers as a reminder. You can find all the details on our website:

http://www.azdot.gov/Highways/Materials/Geotech_Design/Announcement.asp

AHS Land Subsidence and Earth Fissure Symposium

2009-04-30T09:15:00.001-07:00

The Arizona Hydrological Society Symposium workshop link is now up and running so you can view the workshop on Land Subsidence and Earth Fissures:

http://www.hydrosymposium.eventinterface.com/hydrosymposium/workshops.cfm

Please submit your abstracts for your presentations as well as register for the workshop if you are going to speak or just attend. We need to reach a minimum number by August 7th or the workshop will be cancelled.

International Network of Environmental Forensics conference

2009-04-27T15:56:00.001-07:00

Dear Colleague,

Only four months to go before the International Network of Environmental Forensics conference will be held in Calgary, Alberta (31st Aug to 2nd Sept 2009). The following will provide you with important reminders and updates:

Early Bird Registration is finishing on 1st May 2009 (www.inefconference.com/registration)

The extended Call for Abstracts is closing on 4th May 2009

Summary of workshopscontents and presenters is available on line and participation is free to all registered delegates (www.inefconference.com/programs/workshops)

Details for booking accommodation for the conference, including preferred room rates and codes may be found at the following link www.inefconference.com/travel_and_accommodation/accommodation

A detailed program will available on line after 15th May and speaker will be informed of their acceptance the following week.

Opportunities are still available for booths and sponsorship, information for either may be found at the following link www.inefconference.com/sponsorship_opportunities

For further information on the conference, registration, sponsorship opportunities and abstract submission please visit our update web page www.inefconference.com

Sincerely yours,
On behalf of the Organization Committee,
Gwen O’Sullivan, Ph.D.,
TRIUM Inc.

Next Meeting - May 7th: SR 87 Landslide

2009-04-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM (thanks to AECOM), dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "SR 87 Landslide Remedial Repairs, Investigation and Monitoring”
presented by Keith Dahlen, PE, and Wayne Harrison, PG. We are happy to have Wayne and Keith presenting on this project of great interest. Look out for future information on a follow-up field trip to the SR 87 landslide sometime this summer!

Please RSVP to Heather Hespeler, by replying to hhespeler@ninyoandmoore.com by Monday, May 4th.

2009 AEG Annual Meeting Silent Auction

2009-04-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

As preparations are being made for the 52nd AEG Annual Meeting, the AEG Foundation would like to invite you to participate in this year’s Silent Auction. Items for the auction can range from:

Jewelry, precious minerals, photographs of wildlife, etc., wine, cheese, cigars, maps, publications, air miles, a condo in paradise, or just plain old cash…just use your imagination and think outside the box.

Any and all donations will be appreciated! This year the auction will benefit the Marliave Scholarship which honors the memory, work and contributions of Elmer C., Chester E., and Burton H. Marliave. The money that is generated from this auction will be awarded to an outstanding student on the basis of demonstrated ability, scholarship potential for contributions to the profession, character, and activities in student/professional societies, etc. Therefore, if you would like to be a part of this benefit by making a donation to the Silent Auction, please contact Donna Schmitz at donnas@ext.msstate.edu or call Donna at 662-325-1757 for further information.

2009 Geology and Resources Conference

2009-04-21T15:47:00.002-07:00

2009 Geology and Resources Conference

Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau

Canyons, Resources & Hazards
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Deadline - May 1, 2009

Abstract Form

REGISTRATION FORM AND PROGRAM ONLINE!

Stimulus Spending at the Department of the Interior

2009-04-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

From email:

Over the last week, Secretary Salazar has announced the first of various Department projects to be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:

* $140 million that will fund 308 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) projects. The funds will be used generally for repair, construction and restoration of facilities, equipment replacement and upgrades, national map activities, and critical deferred maintenance and improvement projects. Specific expenditures include: $15.2 million to modernize equipment in the National Volcano Early Warning System at all USGS volcano observatories; $14.6 million to upgrade to high-data radio technology and upgrade streamgages with new technologies for streamflow measurement; $14.6 million for remediation to remove streamgages, cableways, and ground-water wells that are no longer in use; $29.4 million for projects that address health and safety issues and functional needs, make facilities more energy efficient, and incorporate sustainable design criteria in project implementation; $29.4 million to modernize the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) by doubling the number of ANSS-quality stations and upgrading seismic networks nationwide; $17.8 million for construction of wildlife and environmental research facilities in Maryland, Missouri, and Wisconsin; $14.6 million to improve mapping data; and nearly $500,000 to digitize and make publicly available via the Internet bird banding records, which are useful for disease research.

* $260 million for California water projects, including: $40 million for immediate emergency drought relief; $109.8 million to build a screened pumping plant at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam; $22.3 million to address dam safety concerns at the Folsom Dam; $8.5 million to repair water-related infrastructure at Folsom Dam; $20 million for the Contra Costa Canal to protect water supplies and to build fish screens for Chinook salmon and Delta smelt; $4.5 million to restore the Trinity River; $26 million for Battle Creek Salmon/Steelhead Restoration project; $4 million to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan; $4 million to broaden scientific knowledge of Klamath River sedimentation; and $20.7 million in smaller water infrastructure and related projects.

* $50 million for the Central Utah Project, which delivers water from the Colorado River to users in Central Utah. This funding will include: $41 million to construct portions of the Utah Lake System pipelines for use in conveying an additional 60,000 acre-feet of water to Utah and Salt Lake Counties; and $9 million for construction of a Ute Tribal fish hatchery and other fish and wildlife projects.

* $12.5 million for New Mexico water infrastructure projects, including: $7 million to complete portions of the Navajo Nation Municipal Pipeline; and $5.5 million for smaller infrastructure reliability and safety projects along the Rio Grande and power plant improvement efforts at Elephant Butte Dam.

The Department of the Interior will manage $3 billion in investments as part of the stimulus package. About one-third of that total will be invested in water infrastructure projects. That funding will be allocated across several project areas, including those listed above: meeting future water supply needs ($450 million); improving infrastructure reliability and safety ($165 million); environmental and ecosystem restoration ($235 million); water conservation challenge grants ($40 million); green buildings ($14 million); Central Utah Project Completion Act ($50 million); and emergency drought relief in the west ($40 million).

ER2010 - Earth Retention Conference 3

2009-04-21T15:40:00.002-07:00

About the Conference

ER2010 is the third in a series of conferences on earth retaining structures organized by the Earth Retaining Structures Committee of ASCE’s Geo-Institute. Held at 20-year intervals ER2010 follows the highly successful ER conferences in Ithaca, New York (1990) and (1970). ER2010 will bring together a broad community of geo-professionals working on retention structures using a wide range of support systems with comprehensive coverage of developments over the past 20 years. The coverage will be diverse, including case histories and practice-oriented papers, recent research findings, innovative technologies, and the emerging arts across many of our disciplines. Professional engineers, researchers, specialty contractors, regulators, educators, and students will interact across a broad range of technical sessions, tutorials, short courses, discussions, and equipment demonstrations.

2009 Annual Symposium, Managing Hydrologic Extremes - Call for Abstracts Extended to April 30th

2009-04-15T09:46:00.002-07:00

The 2009 Annual Symposium, "Managing Hydrologic Extremes", will be held at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa August 30 through September 2, 2009 in Scottsdale, AZ. The event will be a joint symposium with the 2009 national conference of the American Institute of Hydrology (AIH) and AHS' Annual Symposium. AIH and all AHS volunteers, and participating sponsors will put on a fabulous, successful event at a super venue. We will also be organizing a published volume of the proceeding papers. AIH normal produces published proceedings an we are looking to continue this tradition for 2009. So if you or someone you know is interested in seeing their paper in print, here's your chance. Start thinking of those paper ideas now! Look for more details as the 2009 planning continues...

Keith Ross

Arizona Hydrological Society

Co-Chair

Allen Gookin

American Institute of Hydrology

Co-Chair

Arizona Geology On-Line Publication

2009-04-13T09:49:00.002-07:00

The AZGS quarterly newsletter, Arizona Geology, has gone digital only due to budget cuts at the state level. The web version is up and looks nice.

GeoFlorida 2010

2009-04-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

An interesting sounding conference:

GeoFlorida 2010, the annual geo-congress of the Geo-Institute of ASCE, will present a broad perspective on new developments in geotechnical engineering analysis, modeling and design. Technical topics will crosscut all areas of the profession, including constitutive modeling of soil and rock, site assessment and characterization, computational modeling, stability analysis, geoenvironmental engineering, mitigation of geohazards, earthquake engineering, LRFD methods, alternative contracting for geotechnical projects, and case histories. GeoFlorida 2010 will provide practitioners, consultants, researchers, educators, and students with opportunities to share new knowledge and to learn about innovative advances and emerging technologies that are at the leading edge of current geotechnical analysis, modeling and design. GeoFlorida 2010 will offer technical sessions, plenary lectures, panel discussions, short courses, workshops and the annual student competition. The conference will also include an extensive Exhibit Hall and post-conference field trips.

Call For:

Abstracts
Sessions
Short Courses & Workshops
Panel Discussions
Submission Deadline: April 24, 2009
Click Here to submit your abstract

Key Dates:

Technical Session Proposals, Various Other Proposals and Abstracts Due: April 24, 2009 (Deadline Extended)
Notification of Acceptance of Proposals and Abstracts: May 8, 2009
Draft Papers Due: July 15, 2009
Review Decision on Draft Papers: September 23, 2009
Final Papers Due: October 28, 2009

AEG Still Accepting Abstracts for the 2009 Annual Meeting in Lake Tahoe

2009-04-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

We have received 190 Abstracts to date for AEG’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Lake Tahoe. We still need 40 Abstracts to complete our Technical Program. We will continue to accept Abstracts on a first-come-first-serve basis until our program is complete. Please email all abstracts to Heather Skladanowski at meetings@aeg-web.org. If you have submitted an Abstract and have not received a confirmation email, please contact Heather to be sure it was received. Please visit www.aegweb.oeg for submission guidelines and details on the 2009 Meeting. We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Lake Tahoe!

Do you Twitter?

2009-04-06T12:57:00.003-07:00

AEG Arizona is now on Twitter. No, it's not me telling you a bunch of boring things you could care less about, it's basically another RSS for this blog. All the blog posts are mentioned through Twitter.

On days when I'm extremely bored there may be more, but for now it's just another portal for this blog.

Arizona Department of Water Resources' Mission is Threatened

2009-04-06T11:26:00.002-07:00

I just got this bit of depressing news over email. I encourage AEG members and concerned professionals and citizens to contact their state representation and let them know of the importance of ADWR to the needs and safety of the residents of Arizona.

You can find the contact info for your representatives at the following website: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp

Friends,

I appreciate the great interest in the Department that you’ve expressed in your calls and emails over the last several weeks as we embark into this new territory of revenue shortfalls and budget cuts. It is becoming apparent that the importance of DWR’s mission is becoming lost in the budget discussions down at the Capitol. The leaked Republican budget worksheets from last week, the released budget proposal from House Democrats yesterday, and the House Republican budget would each give DWR a $10 million budget. To give you some perspective, our total appropriated FY 08 budget was $24.1 million including special line items (SLIs), $23 million from General Fund and $1.1 million from our Assured and Adequate Water Supply Fund.

A $10 million budget would require the Department to layoff approximately 140 of our 185 employees. You can probably imagine that the impact of such a reduction in force would be severe, and you would be correct – here are just a few examples of impacts: no more adjudications work, no assured or adequate water supply permitting, no hydrologic monitoring, no dam inspections, no long-term water planning for the state, no water conservation or drought planning. In order to function, an $18.4 million budget would allow us to continue our core work, but albeit at a significantly reduced level. It would still require us to close office(s), eliminate contracts, and make other difficult sacrifices.

Any help you can provide to support the Department’s mission is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Fred Breedlove
Legislative Liaison Arizona Department of Water Resources
Office: (602) 771-8429
Mobile: (602) 679-4281

A Few Things of Interest

2009-04-06T09:34:00.002-07:00

Over the past week, a few items of potential interest to readers of this blog have come up. They all come from the wonderful blog Arizona Geology that is maintained by the State Geologist of Arizona and head of the Arizona Geological Survey, Lee Allison.

Mining and dust - Sierrita mine fined

ADOT's Victor Mendez is nominated to head up FHWA

Science Foundation Arizona rallys against budget cuts

Rockfalls in Colorado - an informative publication

AZGS is forced to cut their involvement in the newly opened Explore Arizona store

JTFAP Draft Document Review Period Extended

2009-04-06T09:31:00.002-07:00

The controversial JTFAP Draft Document review period has been extended (see announcment below). And on a related note, in case you missed it, a few members of the Arizona Section met and wrote this memo in response to the draft document.

Dear Members,

We sincerely appreciate all of the comments we have received thus far on the draft JTFAP document. Our members of the JTFAP have recently been informed that Geo-Institute has released the document to their membership for review and comment, much as AEG has done. This will allow us to extend the comment period to June 15, 2009, coincident with Geo-Institute 's deadline. This is great news since it allows all of us more time to discuss, interact, and provide review comments over a more reasonable timeframe. We will provide the AEG Board with copies of the responses received to date in advance of our April 18-19 Board of Directors Meeting in Seattle and will have discussion during the meeting. The BOD will be asked to provide feedback and direction on how AEG members of the JTFAP should proceed but no action is now required until after all comments are received and reviewed in July. Again, we thank you for your attention to this very important document to our profession and please let us know if you have any difficulties downloading the document or uploading your comments.

Regards,
Mark Molinari, AEG President

California Earthquake Swarm

2009-03-27T10:27:00.005-07:00

In the past few days, the Salton Sea area of southern California has been experiencing an earthquake swarm - with a few quakes as large as the mid-4's on the Richter Scale. With this swarm comes an increased probability of a large quake on that section of the San Andreas fault. A large quake in this area could effect Yuma and western Arizona - especially if it ruptured from north to south. The Arizona Geology blog has a good write-up about it.

In other geology news, there is a huge volcanic eruption going on at Redoubt in Alaska. There are good updates at the Eruptions blog and the AVO.

Surficial Geologic and Flood Hazard Assessment of Rainbow Valley

2009-03-25T09:41:00.002-07:00

Announcement From the AZGS:

The Arizona Geological Survey’s (AZGS) newest map product, "Surficial Geologic Map and Flood Hazard Assessment, Rainbow Valley, Maricopa County, Arizona", DGM – 71, displays the surface geology of Rainbow Valley on three map sheets at 1:24,000 map-scale; the three sheets encompass portions of 12 USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles.

The accompanying 11-page report includes a _Flood Hazard Assessment_ that pigeonholes map units into high, intermediate, or low flood hazard areas. The three flood hazard areas encompass more than 250 sq. miles of Rainbow Valley and environs: Flood Hazard High (76.29 sq. miles), Intermediate (129.76 sq. miles), and Low (48.25 sq. miles).

Within flood area categories, e.g., Flood Hazard High, units are arranged in order of decreasing frequency of flooding. For example, Qycr – Modern channels of Waterman Wash, has the highest flood frequency of the seven geologic units in the Flood Hazard High zone; Qyaf – Potentially active alluvial fans, has the lowest flood frequency in that same category.

This first flood hazard assessment will provide land-use planners of Maricopa County with a blueprint for directing future development in Rainbow Valley.

Rainbow Valley is a checkerboard of agricultural fields drained by Waterman Wash, which debouches into the Gila River to the north. AZGS mapping shows the valley floor and adjacent alluvial fans comprise a complex of fluvial sediments including channel and sheetflow deposits, terrace and bar deposits, alluvial fans, and sparse eolian sands, ranging in age from modern, through the Holocene or late Pleistocene, to early Quaternary or late Tertiary.

AZGS geologists Philip Pearthree, Ann Youberg, and Todd Shipman co-authored the work. Funding was provided by the Flood Control District of Maricopa County.

DGM-71, maps and report, are available on CD-ROM at the State Map & Bookstore, 416 W. Congress, Ste#100, Tucson, AZ, 85701, for $15.00.

ASU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Special Seminar

2009-03-25T09:35:00.004-07:00

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
SPECIAL SEMINAR

Edmund Medley, Ph.D., P.E., C.E.G.
2009 AEG and GSA Jahns Distinguished Lecturer
OF ELEPHANTS, EARTHQUAKES, CAVES AND HOT ROCK - RECENT
GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING ADVENTURES

Thursday, March 26, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Discovery Hall, Room 250
(Pizza will be served before the lecture)

(But remember - the Arizona AEG meeting also has Dr. Medley speaking on Thursday evening at the usual time and place).

Three recent case histories will be used to provide examples of the broad technical skill sets necessary for the two-way translations of geology and engineering required of Geological Engineers. These case histories include: a summary of the Geological Engineering observations from a reconnaissance commissioned to observe damage resulting from the October 2006 Hawaii earthquake; the very challenging Forbes Cave project in Hawaii, a rare story of a geopractitioner becoming very dirty as a Court- Appointed Expert advising on lava tube cave stability and recovering a buried collection of unique Hawaiian cultural artifacts; and, the Geological Engineering insight required for overall geoengineering characterization of terrain hazards at the Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea, located in a geothermally active, collapsed volcanic caldera.

Edmund Medley, Ph.D, PE, CEG, F.ASCE is the AEG/GSA 2009 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Engineering Geology. The Jahns Distinguished Lecturer award was established in 1988 to commemorate Professor Richard Jahns (1915-1983), a noted engineering geologist who had an influential and diverse career in academia, consulting and government. Dr. Medley is a Senior Consultant in the Oakland, California office of Geosyntec Consultants, an international consulting firm reknown for innovative solutions to geoengineering and environmental problems. He has an international reputation for his pioneering research into the engineering and geological characterization of block-in-matrix rocks (bimorcks), complex geological mixtures of rock and soil such as melanges, fault rocks, weathered rocks, tills, and colluvium.

2009 APWA Statewide Conference - Call for Abstracts

2009-03-24T09:53:00.004-07:00

Call for Abstracts

2009 APWA Statewide Conference

Phoenix, Arizona

August 17 – August 18, 2009

The Arizona Chapter of the American Public Works Association invites the submittal of abstracts of presentations to be considered for the 2009 APWA Statewide Conference. The conference will be at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 17 and August 18, 2009.

Format:
The abstracts should be 300 words or less in length and fit on a single page. Please submit in Microsoft Word or equivalent format, and identify an alternate presenter as appropriate. For each author and presenter include:

Author/Presenter, Title
Address
Phone number
e-mail address

Deadlines:
Abstracts must be received as noted below no later than March 27, 2009. You will be notified by April 24, 2009 as to whether your abstract has been selected.

Submittals:
Please e-mail (preferred) the abstract to Chris Simko at chris.simko@stantec.com, or send the abstract to:

2009 APWA Statewide Conference Program Committee
c/o Chris Simko
Stantec Consulting
8211 South 48th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85044-5355

Possible Topics:

Presentation sessions are 50 minutes in length, including a brief question and answer period. Topics related to adapting infrastructure projects and public works activities to the changing economic environment are strongly encouraged; however, all topics involving public works and of interest to the Chapter membership will be considered. The subjects can be oriented to management, funding and financing, motivation, career, or technical issues. Presentations involving panel discussions are also encouraged.

The 2009 APWA Statewide Conference will include an hour-long “open microphone” session on Tuesday, August 18 wherein representatives of public agencies can provide a 5-minute overview of their major concerns, challenges, and successes. If you would like to reserve a spot during this session, please submit a request by e-mail to chris.simko@stantec.com. No abstract is required and the first 10 responses received will be given priority.

Continuing from the success of last year, the 2009 Statewide Conference will also include a “Field Operations Track” on Tuesday, August 18. The Field Operations Track will run concurrently with the Conference breakout sessions.

Topics for the field operations group tracks may include such subjects as safety, training, pavement management, sidewalk maintenance/code enforcement, surface treatments, landscape maintenance, street sweeping, wash maintenance, striping, vector control, traffic signal maintenance, lighting, signal pre-emption, bus priority, video detection-v-loops, pedestrian crossings; valve maintenance, reservoir maintenance, disinfection, pipe material issues, manhole construction/adjustments, Blue Stake requirements, water and wastewater treatment plant control, odor control, etc.

JTFAP Engineering and Geology Practice Guidelines

2009-03-20T14:42:00.002-07:00

Members of AEG have likely been barraged by emails relating to the Joint Task Force on Areas of Practice (JTFAP) draft Engineering and Geology Practice Guidelines. Much of what is flying around is negative, and I'm sure there are some positive comments as well. Earlier this week some members of the AEG Arizona Section met to discuss the document. The momo copied below is the result of the meeting and has been submitted to AEG in comment to the document. Enjoy! (or not)

Memo
To: Becky Roland, Mark Molinari, and Bruce Hilton
From: Ken Fergason
Date: March 19, 2009
RE: Joint Task Force Areas of Practice (JTFAP)
Draft Engineering and Geology Practice Guidelines
Arizona Section Meeting

Attending:

Heather Hespeler, R.G., AEG Member, Arizona Section Secretary
Mark Edwards, G.I.T., AEG Member

Jason Williams, R.G., AEG Member
Jeff Rodgers, R.G., AEG Member
Scott Neely, P.E.

Peter Kroopknik, R.G., AEG Member

Ken Fergason, R.G., AEG Member, Arizona Section Chair

Concerned members and professionals of the Arizona Section of AEG met to discuss the JTFAP Draft Engineering and Geology Practice Guidelines document (document). The consensus of the group is that AEG should not endorse this document in its current form. The primary objection of the group is the inclusion of the Areas of Practice Matrix (matrix, pages 11 and 12). The matrix encourages misuse and misinterpretation of the document and will serve as a de facto executive summary that will likely be used out of context of the text of the document.

The other major objection to the document in its current form is the lack of clarity regarding its intent. The group recommends inclusion of a one- to two-sentence Statement of Intent at the beginning of the executive summary. The lack of clarity of the document’s purpose resulted in our group questioning the ‘real’ purpose of the document. We simply want to know who the intended audience is, why this document exists and what benefit members of AEG receive from its existence. In its current form, the document fails to provide these answers.

Below is a bulleted list of other issues the group had with the document.

The document seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

The document is focused on Professional Civil Engineers, Professional Geotechnical Engineers, Professional Engineering Geologists, and Professional Geologists – particularly the matrix. This causes confusion for the vast majority of states where all four of these professional registrations are not present – only California seems to have all four registrations. The document needs to better reflect other states which only have registration for engineers and geologists or only engineers. This also produces confusion regarding what seals are necessary for what documents – for example, does any report that contains a geology section require a stamp from geologist (regardless of how large, small, or significant)?

The specialties and other professionals excluded from this document don’t make much sense and raise further implications regarding the intent, benefit, and audience of the document. These exclusions include Geological Engineers, geohydrology/hydrogeology, environmental engineering/geology, and engineering geophysics (several of which are mentioned in some way in the matrix regardless of their exclusion).

The group unanimously feels that the matrix should be removed from the document and that without the matrix the document is much more palatable. The group also has disagreement with many of the details within the matrix summarized below.

Why are PGs excluded from landslide subsurface investigation?
Why are PEGs and PGs excluded from subsurface exploration for portions of projects involving earth/structure interaction?
Why are PEGs and PGs excluded from ground deformation analysis? How is ground deformation defined in this context? For example, is ground subsidence ground deformation?
Why are PEGs and PGs excluded from man-made fill disposition assessment?
Why are PGs excluded from slope stability analysis?
Why are PEGs and PGs excluded from many of the construction observation and documentation entries?

The exclusions mentioned above are often in contradiction to the text of the document. The matrix creates absolute distinctions which are also in contraditiction to the document.

The final sentence in the first paragraph of Section 4.2 states “In developing this guidance document, the JTFAP has not attempted to establish individual practice standards or specifications.” This begs the question “then why is the matrix included” and it is especially puzzling that the matrix immediately follows this statement. Another apparent contradiction of the matrix is its title: Overlapping Areas of Practice Matrix. As presented, the matrix draws lines between areas of practice rather than indicating overlapping areas.

If AEG decides to move forward with the document, how will final approval of the document be reached? A majority vote of membership? Of the BOD? The group advocates membership vote for eventual approval/disproval of the finalized document.

The 30-day comment period is inadequate and the group feels that a longer review time is appropriate – especially considering that the document was originally posted at the AEG website which is very user un-friendly. This caused the document to be largely ignored until other AEG members advocated distribution via a PDF document attached to email messages.

The document should be aware of who will use it, how they will use it, and will they use it as intended. If satisfactory answers to these questions don’t exist, then it seriously questions whether the document should exist.

In summary, the group does not feel that the document should be endorsed in its current form. The strongest objection is the presence of the matrix, which the group feels should be removed. The group also feels that the intent and benefits of the document should be better clarified throughout the document and that a statement of intent should be included in the executive summary.

If you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please contact me and I look forward to sharing the group’s concerns with the document at the upcoming mid-year Board of Directors meeting.

Regards,

Ken Fergason, R.G.
Arizona Section Chair, AEG

Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference

2009-03-20T14:39:00.001-07:00

CALL FOR TECHNICAL PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS!
Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference
September 8-11, San Jose, CA
The Fairmont Hotel

Investing in Floodplains for Future Generations: Innovation in Land Use Strategies, Green Infrastructure, Technology and Community-Based Partnerships

You are invited to participate in this year's premier conference in Floodplain Management in the U.S.!

Join experts and policy makers in addressing the most urgent and critical issues in floodplain management including new funding for floodplain infrastructure; solutions for leveraging local, state and federal resources; cutting edge tools for floodplain mapping, analysis and sustainable development; and innovative partnerships with community-based organizations. As the premier conference in floodplain management in the U.S., this event brings over 500 attendees from around the world and a world class exhibition program, offering extraordinary networking and professional development opportunities.

Review the Presentation Guidelines and upload your presentation by visiting the on-line Abstract Submittal Web Page or our Conference Page. Deadline: May 29!

Technical Program

The technical component of the conference will include oral presentations, workshops and posters highlighting programs and projects in a number of areas including the following:

Financing Floodplain Management Projects
Innovative Mapping and State of the Art Tools and Technology
Green Infrastructure Design
Sustainable Floodplain Development
Flood Management Solutions
Multi-Objective Floodplain Management
Watershed Management Approaches
Geomorphic Processes and Stream Restoration
Water Quality & Stream Sustainability
Climate Change
Alluvial Fans
Coastal Floodplains
Floodplain Mapping and Database Management
Mitigation Planning
Disaster Preparedness and Response
Public Education and Outreach
Economic Partnerships and Cost-Sharing
Working through Community-Based Organizations

We look forward to another outstanding conference!

Sincerely,

Iovanka Todt, Executive Director

Floodplain Management Association
www.floodplain.org

Next Meeting - March 26th, 2009

2009-03-19T14:33:00.003-07:00

Dear AEG Members, Professional Colleagues, Students, and Friends:

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM (thanks to Geomechanics Southwest, Inc.), dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "Something to Chew on- Rock is More Nutritious than Dirt" presented by Dr. Edmund Medley, Ph.D., PE, CEG, F.ASCE. Dr. Medley is the 2009 Jahn's Lecturer and we are thrilled to hear him speak. Hope to see you all there!

Please RSVP, Heather Hespeler(hhespeler@ninyoandmoore.com) by Monday, March 23rd.

Geoenvironmental Engineering Conference

2009-03-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

Second Call for Abstracts

April 15, 2009 - Submission of Abstracts
April 30, 2009 - Acceptance of Abstracts
June 1, 2009 - Submission of Power Point Presentations

E-mail: gee2009@civil.ubc.ca

Conference website:
http://gee2009.civil.ubc.ca

Loretta Li, Ph.D., P.Eng.

GEE2009, Conference Chair
Associate Professor

Department of Civil Engineering

The University of British Columbia

6250 Applied Science Lane

Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4

Tel. 604 822-1820

Fax: 604 822-6901

E-mail: lli@civil.ubc.ca

Geothermal Energy in the West Conference

2009-03-19T14:25:00.001-07:00

Geothermal Energy in the West

March 26 & 27, 2009

Los Angeles, CA (Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles)

For attorneys working with renewable energy, here is an excellent opportunity for up-to-date information on geothermal energy. Our panel of leading lawyers, agency officials, developers and utility managers will provide expert analysis on:

Provisions of the stimulus package for geothermal developments
Lease issues including BLM's new leasing policies
Permit requirements and key recent de velopments to streamline process
New water rights, water use, lease, markets and injection issues
Using tax credits, tax equity and other financing issues
Selling to the California market and green designations
New technologies
Transmission issues, and more

Program Chairs: Edwin F. Feo, Esq. of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP, William H. Holmes, Esq. of Stoel Rives LLP, and Kevin R. McSpadden, Esq. of Vulcan Power Company

Intended Audience

Attorneys, industry executives, public officials, and consultants interested in geothermal development as a low carbon emission technology and as a way for meeting renewable portf o lio standards

Registration

Credits Available:

CA MCLE 13
NV CLE 12.5
OR CLE 13.75
WA CLE 12.75
Call about others

I hope to see you there.

Kate JohnsonPresident

AEG/AHS Student Night Reminder

2009-03-12T09:15:00.001-07:00

I just want to remind everyone about the AEG/AHS Student Night that is coming up on April 2nd at the University of Arizona Student Union. You can get all the information at the following link:

http://aegarizona.blogspot.com/2009/02/aegahs-student-night-2009.html

Required Reading RE Alternative Energy Development

2009-03-06T14:38:00.002-07:00

Last year when I was attending the AIPG/AHS annual meeting here in Flagstaff the best talk I saw was titled "You Say Alternatives Are the Answer...Let's Talk: Resource Constraints on Alternative Energy Development" by James. R. Burnell, the Minerals Geologist with the Colorado Geological Survey.

The talk was fascinating and well presented, and now it's available in print form. A full-length, peer-reviewed article of the same title is pubished in the March/April 2009 issue of The Professional Geologist (a publication of AIPG - scroll down to page 33 for the start of the article). This article should absolutely be required reading for all people involved in policy about alternative energy development. I've copied the Abstract below.

YOU SAY ALTERNATIVES ARE THE ANSWER …LET’S TALK:
Resource Constraints on Alternative Energy Development
James R. Burnell, MEM-0205
Abstract

Public support is growing for the development of energy generation from renewable sources. An aspect of renewables that is possibly unknown by many, however, is the hardware needs for these technologies. The infrastructure requires mined materials, including imported strategic and critical minerals. Silica, copper, gallium, indium, selenium, cadmium and tellurium are required for the dominant photovoltaic technologies. Silver and aluminum are necessary for “concentrating solar power” technology. Zinc, vanadium, platinum group metals, and rare earth elements are key components of power storage, hybrid vehicle, and fuel cell applications. All these materials must be mined. At present, the U.S. is woefully dependent upon import sources for most of these materials and demand is already squeezing the prices. Domestic sources must be found and developed if energy independence is to be achieved using alternative sources.

For the record, I generally consider myself something of an 'environmentalist' and support a what could be classified as a 'liberal' approach to alternative energy development, but I'm also a realist and pragmatist, and science-based assessments such this are critical to the issue.

Opening a Can of Worms - Curriculum Reform at ASU

2009-03-06T08:35:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I opened a can of worms by sending a letter to folks over at ASU regarding their plans for curriculum reform and informing other professional organizations who may be interested. This was in immediate response to plans I had heard for them to eliminate the Geology BS degree at ASU. It was also in part an attempt at re-engagement with ASU in respect to curriculum. I had provided input to the department as they created the School of Earth and Space Exploration out of the department of Geological Sciences and the department of Astronomy (there may have been others as well) back in 2005. During the planning stages I had some great interaction, but once the department was formed and a new director hired, I heard nothing. My attempts at contact were unanswered - the professors I had dealt with previously were responsive but no longer in places of authority and it appeared that the those in authority were too busy with other things. Before long I simply gave up as I was also busy with other things. Anyway, I digress.

The letter I sent was lengthy and essentially provided suggestions for curriculum as well as research directions important to the practice of geology. As a public university (regardless of how poor the state funding is at the moment) I feel that ASU has a responsibility to the people of Arizona to provide education needs for the state. From the perspective of practicing geologists, ASU has been falling short for some time and the trend heading in the wrong direction. I hope to work with ASU reverse this trend.

Lee Allison (the State Geologist) posted an email response to me from Tom Sharp, the Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and I've copied what he posted below:

Let me clarify what we are doing with our degrees. Currently we have a B.S. in Geological Sciences and a B.S. in Earth and Space Exploration. We are going to make the degree in Geological Sciences a concentration within the Earth and Space Exploration B.S. Although this is technically doing away with the BS in Geological Sciences, in reality is is simply putting it under the umbrella of Earth and Space Exploration. Under that umbrella, the degree is more rigorous and has an engineering component.

There will be several other Earth and Space Exploration tracks that students can select including astrophysics, earth and space exploration (earth and space science combined with engineering), and instrumentation. Already, our geology majors are sharing classes with Earth and Space majors and engineers. I think that we should consider a concentration in engineering geology.

We are also creating a new degree, which is a B.A.in environmental earth science. This is not as rigorous as our geology degree, but we feel that there is a market for such a degree and that it might help grow all of our programs.

One of the issues that I am also dealing with right now is field geology. With all the budget cuts and a change in student fee accounting, we are having difficulty paying for field trips and field classes. We all agree that these are critical, but we have to be creative about how to finance these. We will be setting up a foundation account specifically to support field studies and requesting that alumni and local industry contribute to make sure that we can keep a strong field program going in spite of cuts in state funding.

His response is a little reassuring but mostly troubling. I hope that the new degree track will indeed be more rigorous and that it will return to a strong geology degree. But, I think that generally re-aligning degrees in this manner often lowers the bar rather than raises it. I fear that if the bar is lowered any further that it could adversely impact the practice of geology in the state of Arizona. However, this does seem to be the beginning of a dialogue - potentially a very productive dialogue, so I do have hope.

Another troubling aspect is the last comment regarding field geology and field trips for their geology classes. Field trips and field geology are absolutely essential to the practice of geology. However the funding issues work out, a geology program without field trips is like a restaurant without food - pointless. I hope that solutions can be found for this very troubling development.

I may post the text of the full letter at some point, but for now I think I've rocked the boat enough.

NEPA & EIS Compliance in Arizona: Seminar on March 18

2009-03-03T10:10:00.003-07:00

NEPA and EIS Compliance

March 18, 2009

Phoenix, AZ (Wyndham Phoenix Hotel)

View program and register here.

This year's seminar on NEPA/EIS in Arizona looks at important new questions for all legal, real estate and environmental professionals. Will there be more litigation in this clim ate? The NEPA process is implicated in a lot of different ways, and our distinguished faculty will look at NEPA's scope and the extent to which it is involved in small federal actions; the impact of the transfer of Colorado River water rights; and the use of NEPA or tribal master agreements for energy projects on tribal lands. Also featured here is a current, practical, how-to on the ten most important things you need to know about today's EIS process. Sign up quickly.

Program Chairs: Carla A. Consoli, Esq. of Lewis and Roca LLP and G. Van Velsor Wolf, Jr., Esq. of Snell & Wilmer LLP

Intended Audience

Attorneys, environmental and real estate professionals, governmental representatives, planners and consultants

Registration

Credits Available:

AZ CLE 6.5

CA MCLE 6.75

AICP CM 6.5 inc 1.5 Law CM

Call about others.

I hope to see you there.

Kate Johnson

President

AEG National Meeting Call for Abstracts

2009-03-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

AEG - Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists will host its 2009 Annual Meeting in beautiful Lake Tahoe - Sept. 21 to 26, 2009

You are invited to submit a one-page abstract by April 1st.

For abstract submission instructions, visit the AEG website at: www.aegweb.org or use the following links for more information:

http://www.aegweb.org/files/public/Microsoft_Word_AEG_Call_for_Abstracts_Website.pdf

Or:

http://www.aegweb.org/files/public/2nd_email_blast_document.pdf

AEG Awards Committee Solicitation for Nominations for 2009

2009-03-03T10:04:00.002-07:00

The AEG Awards committee is soliciting nominations for the three awards for which our committee is responsible. The Awards are: Claire P. Holdredge Award, Floyd T. Johnston Service Award, and the Douglas R. Piteau Outstanding Young Member Award. Please consider making a nomination. There are many deserving members, but they must be nominated for consideration. Send nominations to the Committee Chair (Roz Munro) for the Awards Committee to evaluate. The AEG Awards Committee consists of: Rosalind Munro (Chair), Jessica Humble, and Kenneth Neal.

1. The Claire P. Holdredge Award is presented for a publication within the previous five years by an AEG Member that is judged to be an outstanding contribution to the Environmental & Engineering Geology Profession. Nominations for this award are made by the membership at large to the Awards Committee. Please submit a nomination with the name(s) of the AEG publication member(s), the title of the publication, and the publisher information.

2. The Floyd T. Johnston Service Award is presented to an AEG Member for outstanding active and faithful service to the Association over a minimum period of nine years to coincide with Floyd's tenure as Executive Director. Contemporary Board members are not eligible until one year after leaving office. Nominations for this award are made by the membership at large to the Awards Committee. For nominations to be valid, they must be endorsed by three members having different AEG Section affiliations. Please submit a nomination with the nominee endorsed by the required three members from different AEG Sections.

3. The Douglas R. Piteau Outstanding Young Member Award is given presented to an AEG Member who is age 35 or under (who is not 36 until January 1 in the year following the Annual Meeting at which the Award is given) and has excelled, either singly or in combination, in the areas of Technical Accomplishment, Service to the Association, and/or Service to the Environmental & Engineering Geology Profession. Please submit your nomination, or a nomination by your AEG Section. Each AEG Section may choose and publicize the name of an individual deserving of the Award and nominate that individual to the Award Committee.

All Award nominations must be submitted to the AEG Awards Committee by March 31st . All nominations for the Awards must be supported by descriptions of the individual’s accomplishments and/or service to the industry or publication’s merit (as appropriate to the award). The AEG Awards Committee, at its discretion, selects the final candidates from the nominees for each Award. Then the AEG Awards Committee forwards the Award selection recommendations to the President for confirmation.

Please send or email your nomination to the Awards Committee Chair at the address below.

Rosalind Munro, Chair

e-mail: rmunro@mactec.com
(323) 889-5366
MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc.
5628 E. Slauson Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90040

Monitoring the Stimulus

2009-02-26T08:29:00.006-07:00

Monitoring is an important aspect of practice for engineering geologists, geologists, engineers, and other geoscientists. It is often a key component of our designs and solutions and as most owners know, it can be a bit pricey at times.

Now my goal is to keep this blog politically neutral, though I will happily discuss issues of potential interest to Arizona AEG members, other AEG members, and the rest of the people who follow this blog. I missed the speech by President Obama to a joint-session of Congress the other day and I missed the Republican response. It seems that a part of the Republican Response by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal included specific mention of the inclusion of 'volcano monitoring' in the Stimulus bill that we've heard so much about. Apparently he mentioned it as a waste of tax-payer money.

This has raised a bit of an uproar from people in the geologic community. This response at the Magma Cum Laude blog takes Governor Jindal to task on the issue. This response by the Green Gabbro blog discusses how volcanic hazard monitoring does create jobs and stimulate the economy (in addition to being a good idea). There are many more responses linked at the Magma Cum Laude blog. I can't help but wonder if Governor Jindal considers hurricane monitoring a waste of tax payer money.

Anyway, I found this unfortunate example of science becoming political (an all too common thing these days) that may be of interest to those following this blog.

Edit: I just heard from a friend of mine who works at the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory (HVO). His response - 'Governor Jindal has done more volcanic hazard awareness in 15 seconds than the USGS has done in 15 years'. Perhaps it was all a bit of reverse psychology.

AZGS Publishes New Earth Fissure Maps

2009-02-25T16:56:00.004-07:00

The AZGS has published new and updated earth fissure maps.

http://www.azgs.az.gov/efmaps.shtml

New maps include:

Luke Study Area (updated)
Picacho Study Area (three seperate maps)
Heaton Study Area
Wintersburg Study Area

The AZGS has also made the geologic map of Arizona available digitally.

http://www.azgs.az.gov/services_azgeomap.shtml

Texas Attempts to Dilute Science Curricula

2009-02-25T16:52:00.002-07:00

An intersting email from AIPG:

Dear AIPG Section Officers and Members:

There are new science curricula ESS (Earth and Space Science) about to be adopted in Texas. A panel of colleagues was brought together to write the earth science curriculum, and it is about to be adopted by the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). Amendments have been introduced to include non-scientific elements into the curriculum. All details, including links to the curriculum, names and addresses of the SBOE members, and messages from our professional colleagues in Texas are under http://www.aipg.org/StaticContent/anonymous/misc/earth_science_in_texas.htm.

The purpose of this message to you in all parts of the US is to request that you send a letter and email to each of the eight members of the Texas SBOE. The letter can be short and to the point. In essence, the SBOE should be asked to 1) support the ESS standards without revision, 2) not support any of the proposed amendments passed on January 22, and 3) not support any new amendments that may be brought forward.

AIPG has communicated with the Texas SBOE and colleagues in Texas. They are asking for support from across the nation. Please take a few moments to send a letter and an email to each SBOE member to keep the earth science curriculum objective. It's crucial to Texas and consequently the nation that science curricula remain objective.

Finally, please send a copy of any and all correspondence you send to the SBOE to aipg@aipg.org.

Thanks and warm regards,

Bill Siok
William J. Siok, CPG,

Executive DirectorAmerican Institute of Professional Geologists

1400 W 122nd Avenue, Suite 250

Westminster, Colorado 80234

PH: (303) 412.6205, FX: (303) 253.9220

EM: aipg@aipg.org, Website: www.aipg.org

Earth Science Week Update

2009-02-25T16:48:00.002-07:00

From http://www.earthsciweek.org/newsletter/

EARTH SCIENCE WEEK UPDATE
American Geological Institute
Vol. 7, No. 2: February 2009

IN THIS ISSUE…

* Climate to Be Theme of Earth Science Week 2009
* Make Connections With Geoscience Partners Network
* NASA Webcasts Target Grades 3-8 Teachers
* AGI Reports on Geoscience Education, Workforce
* Young Earth Scientists to Gather in China
* Ward’s Natural Science an Earth Science Partner

****************************
Climate to Be Theme of
Earth Science Week 2009
****************************

AGI is pleased to announce the theme of Earth Science Week 2009:
"Understanding Climate." Being held October 11-17, Earth Science Week 2009 will promote scientific understanding of a timely, vital topic: Earth’s climate.

Begin planning now for activities and resources designed to help students and citizens answer key questions. How do geoscientists determine the causes of weather patterns? What is the difference between weather and climate? How has our climate changed in the past - and how is it changing now?

AGI hosts Earth Science Week in cooperation with sponsors as a service to the public and the geoscience community. Each year, local groups, educators, and interested individuals organize celebratory events. Earth Science Week offers opportunities to discover the Earth sciences and engage in responsible stewardship of the Earth.

The program is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, the AAPG Foundation, and other major geoscience groups. To learn more about Earth Science Week, related resources, and ways to participate, go to http://www.earthsciweek.org.

****************************
Make Connections With
Geoscience Partners Network
****************************

To facilitate partnerships between educators and others in the geoscience community, AGI is launching the Geoscience Partners Network (GPN). Soon you’ll be able to use a powerful online tool - the GPN Map on the Earth Science Week website at http://www.earthsciweek.org - to identify geoscience partners near you, access relevant information, and network with colleagues to forge meaningful partnerships.

Want to organize a field trip or a classroom visit? Teachers can make the most of Earth Science Week and other educational opportunities by working closely with professional scientists, university professors, local employers, nonprofit representatives, environmental educators, and government leaders in the geosciences.

Planned to launch in the months prior to Earth Science Week 2009, the GPN Map will pinpoint local contacts near you for AGI Member Societies, state geological surveys, agencies such as USGS and NASA, universities offering geology programs, parks, museums, and other groups. To recommend an organization for inclusion, please contact AGI’s Jason Betzner (jpb@agiweb.org).

****************************
NASA Webcasts Target
Grades 3-8 Teachers
****************************

NASA Langley Research Center, working in cooperation with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Virginia Department of Education Region 2 Math/Science Coalition, is offering a series of professional development webcasts for teachers of grades three through eight.

Airing 4-5:30pm EST, upcoming webcasts on Earth system science topics will include:

* Solar Radiation and the Atmosphere (March 19),
* Tides (April 16), and
* The Story of Ocean Heat Storage (June 18).

NASA is a longtime Earth Science Week partner. The webcasts can be viewed on the NASA Digital Learning Network at http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/.

****************************
AGI Reports on Geoscience
Education, Workforce
****************************

Trends in Earth science education are a major focus of "Status of the Geoscience Workforce 2009," a report recently released by AGI’s Workforce Program. The first chapter, "Trends in Geoscience Education from K-12 through Community College" (http://www.agiweb.org/workforce/reports.html) details U.S. students’ access to Earth science education.

For example, most states include Earth science in the curriculum for grades six to eight, according to the report. The number of states requiring Earth science has increased only slightly in recent years, however, from five in 2002 to seven in 2007. For the past 26 years, the share of high school students taking Earth science courses has not exceeded 25 percent.

Based on original data collected by AGI as well as from federal sources, professional membership organizations, and industry, the report describes the supply and training of students, workforce demographics and employment projections, and trends in geosciences research funding and economic indicators. Produced with support from the AGI Foundation, the entire report is available online (http://www.agiweb.org/workforce/).

****************************
Young Earth Scientists
To Gather in China
****************************

The Young Earth Scientists for Society (YES) network, an association of geoscientists under age 35 representing geological societies worldwide, in collaboration with the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), is organizing an international conference for young earth scientists, policy makers, advisors and decision makers.

The YES Congress will be held at the China University of Geosciences, in Beijing, China October 25-28, 2009. The conference will discuss global climate, environmental, and geological challenges and establish an interdisciplinary global network committed to solving these challenges.

Abstracts for oral presentations, poster presentations, and roundtable symposia are due by March 30. To learn more, visit http://www.yescongress2009.org/index.php.

****************************
Ward’s Natural Science
An Earth Science Partner
****************************

Ward’s Natural Science, an Earth Science Week partner, provides a wide range of geoscience education materials, from classroom and field equipment to lab activities designed specifically for teaching Earth science.

Earth science materials available through Ward’s include geology apparatus and collections, fossil reproductions and specimens, meteorology equipment, lab activities, models, rock and mineral specimens, books, charts, maps, posters, audio-visual materials, and computer software. A supporter of education for nearly 150 years, Ward’s offers additional information and a free newsletter at http://www.wardsci.com.

****************************
The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 45 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources and interaction with the environment. For contact information, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org/contactus/index.html.

Engineering and Geology Practice Guidelines

2009-02-20T15:47:00.002-07:00

From AEG National:

The Joint Task Force on Areas of Practice (JTFAP) has completed their corroborative efforts and preparation of the Practice Guidelines document for engineering and geology. This is a joint effort among AEG, ASCE, and AIPG over the past years. Consistent with the JTFAP Charter and direction provided by AEG's Directors, this document will not be published until our members have had the opportunity to review and comment.

That review period begins on February 20, 2009 and ends on March 22, 2009. Comments will only be received by members of AEG. If you are acquainted with others whom have expressed interest or you otherwise feel may have interest in providing comments, those comments will need to be provided through the AEG member.

Comments will be reviewed and may be incorporated into the final document. Arrangements are being made to strive toward a joint publication among the three representative organizations and perhaps others. We look forward to your comments and a final publication that will serve our community of geologists and engineers with practice guidance that furthers both professions and the joint practice between both disciplines.

To access the document, log on to www.aegweb.org with your Username and Password. If you have forgotten these, you can contact Cathy Wilson at 303-757-2926 or cwilson@aegweb.org for the information. Once you are logged on, please click on the “JTFAP Draft Document” link in the middle of the Welcome Page.

Comments on the document will only be accepted through the email response link on the page. By completing the response form, you will help the Committee review all member comments in an efficient manner.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and comments.

What Does the Stimulus Do for Arizona?

2009-02-18T13:25:00.006-07:00

I imagine that the atmosphere around your offices is similar to mine - quite a bit of discussion of the stimulus plan (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Lots of wondering of when it will get here, if it will help out, and will we get work out of it. While those questions are beyond my ability to answer, some information is emerging.

The State Geologist, Lee Allison, refers me to a Senate website that outlines how the stimulus plan is anticipated to help Arizona.

http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-111-1-24-states/az.pdf

Lee has also been blogging extensively about this event. In an earlier post, he points to AGI's (American Geological Institute) breakdown of 'geoscience-based' funding. This includes money to organizations like the USGS, US Army Corps of Engineers, NRCS, EPA, Bureau of Reclamation, BLM, DOE, and others that have a potential to fund other projects in Arizona (I've already heard rumors of potential funding for dam and levee projects through NRCS and USACE). I've also heard that there is money for national parks improvements.

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2009/02/agi-lists-geoscience-related.html

http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis111/update_stim0209.html

So, it looks like things will be picking up at some point in the future. Of course the question of when remains.

EDIT: A little more information from Arizona Geology

February 2009 AEG meeting

2009-02-11T17:03:00.004-07:00

Dear AEG Members, Professional Colleagues, Students, and Friends:

The Arizona Section of AEG is pleased to announce that our next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at Pizzeria Uno in Tempe. The hosted social hour begins at 6 PM, dinner is usually around 7 PM and the talk will begin shortly after dinner. The presentation topic is "The Automated Train (AT) Project at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport" presented by John Niedzielski, P.E. and Jessica Humble, P.E., G.I.T. of Gannett Fleming, Inc. Please see below for the abstract and biographies. Hope to see you all there!

Please RSVP to me, Heather Hespeler, by e-mail by Monday, February 16th.

Abstract:

The Automated Train (AT) Project at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a passenger train system that will connect airport terminals and other ancillary facilities. The system will reduce the congestion on the internal roadway system throughout Sky Harbor International Airport. The AT will ultimately consist of a nearly 5 mile long transit corridor that will carry a dual guideway for driverless AT vehicles. The project consists of a predominately elevated guideway system with seven stations. The system connects three terminals, two parking areas, a rental car center, and a ground transportation center with a light rail transit interface. The project will be developed in two stages. Stage 1 is approximately two miles in length with three stations that includes both aerial and at-grade sections. Stage 2 is approximately three miles in length with four stations. This presentation will cover Stage 1 of the program, a 2 mile system with three stations that connects Terminal 4, the East Economy Lot, and the existing Light Rail station at 44th and Washington Streets. Stage 1 of the passenger train system has many unique components and engineering challenges, including construction of the Terminal 4 station adjacent to a busy terminal and concourses, a guideway crossing over an active taxiway, and several retaining walls, a bridge, and a tunnel associated with the 44th Street widening. Geologic issues for the site include dealing with the dominant site soil, Sand, Gravel, Cobble (SGC) deposits from the Salt River. Stage 1 of the Automated Train project at Sky Harbor International Airport is currently in various design and construction phases and is set to open in late 2013.

Bio:

John Niedzielski, P.E. John is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with 24 years of experience providing geotechnical engineering services on local, state, and federal government projects involving highways, commuter rail, local and county streets, bridges, airports, sewers, water mains, treatment facilities, pumping stations, water and oil tanks, power plants, and other public and private works. He has also worked extensively on commercial, institutional, and industrial building projects. His experience includes design and analysis of foundations and retaining structures; preparing subsurface investigation programs; preparing and administering drilling contracts; designing pavement; providing construction support services; performing slope stability analyses; preparing specifications; and developing cost estimates. John has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Toledo and studied for a master’s degree at the Ohio State University. John moved to Arizona in 2003 from Michigan where he was very active in ASCE as a committee chairman and Board of Director. He is the Geotechnical Group Manager at Gannett Fleming, Inc. in Phoenix and is currently serving as Geotechnical Task Manager on the Automated Train project at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Jessica Humble, P.E., G.I.T. Jessica is a Geotechnical Engineer with 7 years of experience and is responsible for performing field investigations, site characterizations, and geotechnical analyses and preparing reports for water resource, transportation, transit, and mining projects. Her experience includes design and analysis of foundations and retaining structures; preparing subsurface investigation programs; providing construction support services; and performing slope stability and rockfall analyses. Jessica has a bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla) and a master’s degree in Geological Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. Jessica has worked for Gannett Fleming, Inc. in Phoenix since her career began in 2003. She is a Geotechnical Engineer on the Automated Train project at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Jessica is an active AEG member and currently serves as a Director for the AEG Foundation. She led the efforts to start the Arizona Section of AEG (formerly the Phoenix Chapter) in 2005. Jessica is the proud mother of a 16 month old daughter, Retta.

AEG/AHS Student Night 2009

2009-02-11T15:57:00.006-07:00

STUDENT NIGHT 2009
For All Arizona Students and Professionals in Groundwater,
Environmental, & Engineering Geology,
Geotechnical Engineering and Geological Engineering Fields

Hosted By: AEG and AHS

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Student/Professional Meeting

Networking

Recruiting

Schedule of Events:
5:30 – 7:00 Career Fair and Mingling
7:00 – 7:45 Dinner
7:45 – 8:45 Student Presentations
8:45 – 9:00 Award Presentations

Location:
University of Arizona, Tucson

Student Union Memorial Center
Third Floor
Catalina and Tucson Meeting Rooms

Hosted By: Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists
Arizona Section
&
Arizona Hydrological Society
Phoenix and Tucson Chapters

More Detailed Information:

2009 AEG/AHS Student Night Flyer

2009 AEG/AHS Student Night Poster

RSVP Form and Map

Student Information

Announcement for Professionals

Annoucement for University Professors

Water Resources Reseach Center 2009 Annual Conference

2009-02-10T16:09:00.003-07:00

Best Practices for Stakeholder Engagement in Water Resources Planning
The University of Arizona
Student Union Memorial Center Ballroom
Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Water Resources Research Center 2009 Annual Conference
In collaboration with the Morris K. Udall Foundation and Arizona Water Institute

The Water Resources Research Center at The University of Arizona is pleased to announce that registration is open for its 2009 Annual Conference. Please help us spread the word; post our announcement on your websites and bulletin boards, include it in your newsletters, and pass the information along to others.

Betsy Rieke, former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science and Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, will present the opening keynote address on her experiences with major water negotiations. Planners, stakeholders and engagement professionals will share their knowledge and experiences in the field. We will also hear about new technologies and innovations applied in a range of water planning processes. As luncheon speaker, Grady Gammage will share his thoughts on the challenges facing Arizona’s water planners and stakeholders.

New to our conference this year, posters are invited that present lessons learned about stakeholder engagement in water resources planning. See CALL FOR POSTERS on the conference web site noted below. A dedicated poster session will allow time for exchange with presenters. In addition, there will be an opportunity for participants to choose one of three interactive workshops to share experiences and craft new ideas.

Anyone with an interest in water resources planning is encouraged to join us for this informative and engaging event.

Early bird registration – $55.00 (after February 16 cost will be $65.00)

Student registration – No Charge (must register)

Fee Waivers are available thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. For information contact Jane Cripps jcripps@cals.arizona.edu or Susanna Eden seden@cals.arizona.edu

Ample parking at no additional cost!

This link also provides Call for Posters, Agenda and conference information.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact Susanna Eden

2009 Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference

2009-02-10T15:53:00.002-07:00

34th Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference
Event Announcement
Phoenix, Arizona
May 11 - 14, 2009

Hosted by the
Arizona Department of Transportation & Federal Highway Administration

Preliminary Agenda:
Monday, May 11 - 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Registration/Reception/Exhibits
Tuesday, May 12 - 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - Technical Sessions/Exhibits
Wednesday, May 13 - 8:00 am to 5:00 pm - Technical Sessions/Field trip/Exhibits
Thursday, May 14 - 8:00 am to 12:00 pm - Technical Sessions

Wednesday, May 13 will be specifically used to demonstrate the practical application of geophysical methods for geotechnical subsurface investigations. Due to the limited time frame of the conference, the technology demonstration will be limited to seismic refraction and resistivity techniques. The following rough agenda is envisioned for that day:

● 2 or 3 state DOT case histories;
● Field trip to demonstrate equipment supplied by the various manufacturers;
● Presentation of data reduction and interpretation using the current state of practice;
● Presentation of state of the art seismic equipment and processing.

Conference Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Phoenix
2532, W. Peoria Avenue
Phoenix, AZ., 85029
Phone: (602) 943-2341; (800) 972-3574
Fax: (602) 331-9351

Block of Rooms: A block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel has been reserved at a rate of $96.00 per night, plus tax, under the Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference. Reservations should be made no later than April 17, 2009. Please identify yourself as an attendee of the 2009 Southwest Geotechnical Engineers Conference when making your reservations. Early reservation is strongly recommended. Hotel check-in time is 3:00pm and check-out time is 12:00 noon.

Registration Fee: $150.00 which includes a reception on Monday evening, and breakfast, breaks and lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Travel to/from Airport: Both shuttle and taxi services are available. Shuttle charge is $23.00, one-way (http://www.supershuttle.com/); Taxi charge is $45.00, one-way. Please contact the persons listed below, or visit the hotel website (link), for more information on these services.

Planning Information:
Norman Wetz
Arizona DOT
(602) 712-8093; (602) 526-4099
Email: nwetz@azdot.gov

Daniel Alzamora
FHWA
(720) 963-3214; (303) 594-5210
Email: Daniel.alzamora@fhwa.dot.gov

Registration for the Conference will be through the
Arizona Technical Training Institute (ATTI)

AEG Survey

2009-02-10T15:49:00.002-07:00

Please take the time to do this - it really helps AEG better serve its members.

We have just launched a new survey that will be instrumental in helping us make the best decisions when we update the Association’s strategic plan at our April 17 workshop. AEG’s strategic plan serves as the foundation for decisions related to the allocation of our time and resources. To adapt to a rapidly changing environment, we are committed to assessing and revising the original plan (established in 2004) on a regular basis. Member input has proven to be essential to the development of the best possible plan.

We are asking you to play a major role in this process in two ways. First, please take the survey yourself as soon as you possibly can. Second, please emphasize to all of your colleagues at the section and chapter level how important it is for them to participate. As an added incentive, the survey concludes with a contest to suggest a slogan for AEG. We think this will be both fun and add extra insight into how AEG is perceived by its members. First prize in the contest is a free AEG membership.

Please know that all survey answers will be confidential; all data will be reviewed and summarized by an outside facilitator. Please take 10 minutes of your time now to complete the survey. All you need to do is hit this link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=aM2M_2fmxD_2bCxjiKEm20ON_2bA_3d_3d

AEG is proud to present the 2009 Spring Shlemon Specialty Conference:

2009-01-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

INVESTIGATION, RISK ANALYSIS, AND MITIGATION OF SURFACE FAULTING
Palm Desert, CA February 19 - 20, 2009

Presentations, panel discussion and a hands-on workshop session regarding the investigation, analysis and mitigation of surface faults will make this a must-attend event.

For more information, click here or go to www.aegweb.org and click on the link at the bottom of the page.

Upcoming Meetings and Presentations

2009-01-23T11:51:00.003-07:00

We have our meetings and speakers through Spring 2009 all set.

February 19, 2009: Jessica Humble/John Niedzielski -AT Train Presentation
March 26, 2009: Ed Medley- 2009 Jahn’s Lecturer
April 2, 2009: Student Night - UA (co-sponsered by AHS and in partnership with GeoDaze)
May 7, 2009: Keith Dahlen/Wayne Harrison- SR 87 Landslide Mitigation

I hope to see all of you there!