Celebrating over 25 years at the top, Heritage Hills Golf course in McCook, Nebraska has earned recognition as one of the most outstanding public golf courses in America. Since opening in 1981, the course has continued to challenge players and be a great experience at all skill levels. This must see course's front-nine is a warm-up for the rugged back-nine that cuts through southwest Nebraska canyons and gullies.  Complete with water hazards with geomembrane liners installed, these golf course lake liners will last a lifetime; A lifetime of harassing golfers of all abilities.  Watersaver Company installed these lake liners in 1981 and they're still holding up strong.  If you need geomembranes for any application: wastewater lagoon liners, secondary containment liners, reservoir liners, landfill liners, etc. call Watersaver today.

Two incomparable golf courses, with large golf course lakes,  elevate Hualalai to the status of one of the elite golf resorts in world constructed with the world's most-reliable geomembrane liners.  The Hualalai Golf Course is the first Nicklaus design on Hawai‘i and is home to the prestigious MasterCard Championship at Hualalai, a PGA TOUR Champions Tour event. This course is available for play to Hualalai Club members, their guests, and the guests of the Four Seasons Resort.  Nicklaus uses high-strength lake liners to ensure his water hazards present daunting challenges for anyone's game.  Watersaver Company fabricated these golf course lake liners in their CO facility.  No temporary erosion control products were used on this site during construction.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a "control gate" at the foot of Aetna Mountain Road in the Cummings Cove development in Lookout Valley.  Alan Solon, a partner in the development of the remainder of Cummings Cove as well as a thousand acres on top of the mountain, said the gate was needed to prevent trespassers and to protect private property.  Steve Leach, city public works administrator, said the old dirt road up the mountain is regularly used by Jeepers and four-wheelers. He said those using the road have destroyed survey markers as well as stolen material at building sites.  He said those using the road have trespassed on private and created extensive erosion problems.   NPDES rules and regulations require the use of erosion control blankets, turf reinforecement mats, hydraulic mulch, silt fence, straw wattles and other erosion control products to eliminate sediment from leaving a jobsite >1 acre in size.  Sedimentation ponds, lined with high-strength geomembrane liners, help control high flow areas from overburdening these erosion control measures during large storm events.

Source: SacBee - Scientists who for decades reported that famously clear Lake Tahoe was turning murkier have discovered that its clarity actually has been stabilizing since 2001.  Using a new, more sophisticated statistical analysis of environmental data, researchers also determined that a reduced rate of visibility loss in the lake was likely the payoff from decades of erosion control, purchases of environmentally sensitive land and restrictive building rules designed to curb runoff.  NPDES rules and regulations require the use of erosion control blankets, turf reinforecement mats, hydraulic mulch, silt fence, straw wattles and other erosion control products to eliminate sediment from leaving a jobsite >1 acre in size.  Sedimentation ponds, lined with high-strength geomembrane liners, help control high flow areas from overburdening these erosion control measures during large storm events.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state is committing millions of dollars to erosion control projects to help protect some of Alaska's coastal villages.  State officials say they are ready to take a leadership role to protect coastal villages threatened by the sea. A Palin administration cabinet group is calling for extending seawalls in two villages this summer and building a new excavation road in a third.  State officials say they hope the millions in state money will attract new federal aid to keep the villages from washing away. The problem, they say, stems from climate change and loss of seasonal sea ice that used to protect the villages from fall storms.  Without state leadership, a half-dozen threatened communities were left to compete for limited federal funds and attention from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Now, the corps is working with the state in setting a new priority list.  "The hope is we won't see random acts of government activity that are not focused on the same shared vision," said Patricia Opheen, the chief of engineering for the Army corps Alaska District and federal co-chair of the working group that drew up the plans.  The new money appropriated by the Legislature represents 35 percent of the total anticipated cost of several seawall projects. That 35 percent state share was set in discussions with the corps, said the state's co-chair, Mike Black, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.  "We're real pleased with the efforts of the state," said Steve Ivanoff, a transportation planner based in Unalakleet for the regional nonprofit agency Kawerak. "The state had been absent from all the discussions in the past. They would only protect (Department of Transportation) properties using erosion control products, not residential areas."  The new priority list commits the state to protecting the endangered villages now, not just waiting for a possible move in the future, said Black.  One community that did not garner new construction funds from the state this year is Shishmaref, where the village is still working on a rock seawall extension by installing turf reinforcement mats begun last year with federal funding. The Army corps awarded a $6.8 million contract last year for the Shishmaref work.  "I guess other communities are needing protection too," said Shishmaref Erosion and Relocation Coalition member Tony Weyiouanna. He said an emergency evacuation of Kivalina during a fall storm last year "kind of put them up higher on the need for funding."  In Shaktoolik and Koyukuk, the state is only providing planning funds.  The new state money includes $3.3 million to build a riprap rock seawall with a high-strength geomembrane liner in Kivalina, replacing part of a $3 million, 1,800-foot wall that relied on wire baskets and bags of sand and gravel. The earlier wall failed quickly and was given up for lost in last fall's storm.  The corps is already putting $4 million into rock work this summer at Kivalina.  In addition, the state is putting $5 million toward a new seawall for Unalakleet. The full 1,500-foot wall there is expected to cost $13.5 million.  Unalakleet leaders hope to get the new seawall under way this summer, before the next round of fall storms.  "The problem with this whole thing," said Ivanoff, "is we don't know when the next big one is."  Kivalina and Shishmaref are built on barrier islands, but Newtok faces a different problem: Tundra beneath the village is melting and collapsing into a tidal river exposed to sea waves.  An effort to move the Bering Sea village to high ground is starting, with $3 million in new state money helping to build a barge landing and evacuation road. Next step will be to find funding for a $4.5 million evacuation center, the state said.

KENDRAPARA, May 12: Expressing deep concern over abysmal lack of disaster preparedness, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) charged the government agencies of jeopardising the safety of people in natural disaster prone Kendrapara district.  “It’s a failure of disaster preparedness mechanism in Kendrapara district. The government has not learnt lessons from the past blunders.” alleged Kendrapara MLA Mr Utkal Keshari Parida while briefing reporters here recently.  "The government was forced to transfer the then Collector during 2005 flood for utter negligence charge. Nothing has changed in the mind set of officials exposing the people to unpredictable Nature," he observed.  Kendrapara, one of the most cyclone prone districts, is presently without an emergency officer. The emergency wing of the administration has almost come to a standstill. While the region is reeling under heat wave, it is not equipped with instrument to measure day temperature. "What has one to say, the telephones of the wing have stopped functioning," he said.
As many as 26 HAM radios, vital communication link during disastrous hours, have turned dysfunctional. Those had been installed in the aftermath 1999 super cyclone in remote seaside villages considered highly vulnerable to cyclonic strike.  Sea is turning violent and eating into large coastal areas of this district. Major areas in Rajnagar including the block headquarters town are now threatened by sea erosion. But the government measure to arrest the erosion is conspicuous by absence. The saline embankments that checkmate the ingress of tidal waves are lying highly vulnerable. "Funds spent for its repair have been embezzled by officials and BJD leaders exposing the residents to onslaught of nature’s fury," he said.
While flood is a recurring feature in this part of the state, flood control mechanism has abysmally failed here. The flood-induced breaches on the river embankments have not been given facelift. More than the half of the river embankments are in enfeebled state and are highly susceptible to possible flood.  Simply introducing erosion control products to the coastal areas like erosion control blankets, hydraulic mulches, turf reinforcement mats, etc. would greatly diminish the cyclones' effects.
"There has been a rampant misuse of flood control grant from the centre," said Mr Parida citing the cases of refurbishment of irrigation bungalows owned by the irrigation department. "The flood control grants were diverted for repair of government rest houses and installation of air conditioners," he added.
As many as 26 mechanised vessels provided to the district by the state port engineering department have turned idle. "The engaged employees and crew members are left with no work to do," Mr Parida said. These vessels come in handy for relief and rescue operation during flood and ingress of tidal waters into this coastal region.
Besides the funds to provide relief to people from heat wave have been largely misused. The Sarpanch of each of the 230 gram panchayats have received Rs 5,000 for heat wave control measures. Barring a few exceptions, the funds have served as pocket expenditure for the PRI members. "The district administration has also failed to judiciously use the special relief commission grants for heat wave relief measures," Mr Parida said.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced that the Conference Committee has completed deliberation on the 2007 Farm Bill. This legislation includes the Stabenow provision to improve the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, which targets clean-up activities in severely polluted watersheds and restores urban watersheds that have been degraded by development. The Farm Bill will also help implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaborative Strategy, which is dedicated to water cleanliness, combating invasive species, habitat and land conservation, and wildlife protection.

“Making sure our beautiful lakes, waterways, lands and wildlife are preserved and protected is vital to the very identity of our state and our nation,” said Stabenow. “This Farm Bill places a premium on conservation which is critical to our environment and economy.”  The Farm Bill expands essential programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Conservation Security Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. Additionally, the farm bill would establish new incentives for taxpayers who take voluntary measures to aid in the recovery of certain endangered species.  As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow has served as a leading voice for Michigan throughout the crafting of this legislation. She has served on agricultural committees in all four legislative bodies in which she was a member, including the Michigan House, Michigan Senate, U.S. House and currently, the U.S. Senate. She is also the first Senator from Michigan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee since Senator Phil Hart from 1959 to 1962.

Conservation/Great Lakes Provisions Included in the Farm Bill:  The Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced that the Conference Committee has completed deliberation on the 2007 Farm Bill. This legislation includes the Stabenow provision to improve the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, which targets clean-up activities in severely polluted watersheds and restores urban watersheds that have been degraded by development. The Farm Bill will also help implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaborative Strategy, which is dedicated to water cleanliness, combating invasive species, habitat and land conservation, and wildlife protection.

“Making sure our beautiful lakes, waterways, lands and wildlife are preserved and protected is vital to the very identity of our state and our nation,” said Stabenow. “This Farm Bill places a premium on conservation which is critical to our environment and economy.”  The Farm Bill expands essential programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Conservation Security Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. Additionally, the farm bill would establish new incentives for taxpayers who take voluntary measures to aid in the recovery of certain endangered species.  As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow has served as a leading voice for Michigan throughout the crafting of this legislation. She has served on agricultural committees in all four legislative bodies in which she was a member, including the Michigan House, Michigan Senate, U.S. House and currently, the U.S. Senate. She is also the first Senator from Michigan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee since Senator Phil Hart from 1959 to 1962.

Conservation/Great Lakes Provisions Included in the Farm Bill:  The Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control

Source: Knoxvillebiz.com - It's OK for a flag to flutter in the wind, but not the fabric in a silt fence.  If you see a building site where the silt fences are sagging or rippling in the wind, you can bet they are not doing their job as a barrier against soil erosion. They need to be taut, said Ruth Anne Hanahan, education and outreach coordinator with the Water Quality Forum.  Her organization is teaming with the Knox County Stormwater Management Division on a program to educate building subcontractors on the importance of maintaining erosion control measures at construction sites.  Members of the water quality group, county officials and AmeriCorps Volunteers gathered Friday at a building site in West Arden subdivision off George Williams Road to guide workers through a tutorial on silt fences and other soil erosion barriers.  Bob Mohney, president of Saddlebrook, the subdivision's developer, said his company wants to stay in the forefront on "green" building methods and wants contractors working on Saddlebrook projects to meet the same standards.  "Green building includes more than just the actual building of the home," Mohney said. "It includes the environment and impact on the environment, and obviously soil and sediment control is very important in East Tennessee, and we want to be a leader in it."  When he found out about the Water Quality Forum program, he invited those involved to lead a two-hour session for subcontractors in West Arden. Posters were mounted on easels to show proper and improper ways of installing silt fences, storm-water drain barriers, erosion control blankets and other erosion control features. Viewers could lift a flap to reveal which photos showed the correct methods. Instructions were in English and Spanish because of the many Spanish-speaking workers employed by subcontractors.  The idea is that Saddlebrook employees have been drilled on the proper methods, but workers for a plumbing company or electrical company, for example, would not always know about silt fences or "eels," which are long sandbag-like barriers used to protect storm drains from sediment runoff.  "All our employees have been trained in new standards of silt control, but subcontractors are on the site more than anybody else," Mohney said. "We've tried to express to them how important this is, but they need to understand why we are doing it, how we are doing it and how important it is to protect our communities when they are in here through sediment control."

Mark Leach, director of construction for Saddlebrook, said a subcontractor otherwise might inadvertently cause problems.  "Say you've got a delivery guy with a truckload of trusses. If he doesn't know that silt fence is there for a reason - 'OK, I'll just back over it and dump my stuff on top of it,' " Leach said.  The hope is that subcontractors will avoid doing such things, plus be educated to spot and report erosion problems they see on job sites, he said. The scope of Saddlebrook's operations makes this important, he said.  "With 14 active subdivisions (under construction), there would be about 1,000 people there on a good work day," he said.  Hanahan said some of the impetus for the program came from Knox County. Parci Gibson, with the Stormwater Management Division, said getting better adherence to erosion control standards at construction sites can help the county better meet state and federal mandates to protect rivers and streams. Saddlebrook is the second developer that the county and the Water Quality Forum has worked with to educate its contractors, Hanahan said. The first sessions were held at two different subdivision sites under construction by Worley Builders Inc., she said.

The Department of Commerce has selected the city of Merrill to regulate erosion control, sediment control and stormwater management for commercial buildings within the municipality.  Under the agent delegation agreement, Darin Pagel, the city's building inspector, will be responsible for regulating erosion and sediment control at public buildings and places of employment for Merrill.