Geoenvironmental Research Experience (list projects in progress or completed within the past 5 years):

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1 Name: Tuncer B. Edil and Craig H. Benson Affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison Webpage: Geoenvironmental Research Experience (list projects in progress or completed within the past 5 years): New Projects Evaluation of VOC Contamination of Groundwater Around Landfills, Wisconsin Groundwater Research Advisory Council An Integrated Approach to Evaluating Environmental Impacts from Soils Stabilized with Fly Ashes, State of Wisconsin Recycling Program and Alliant Energy, Inc. Innovative Treatment of COPR Wastes in Coastal Areas, USDOT Development of Large-Scale Application of Chromium Ore Processing Residue Remediation Technology, Wisconsin Industrial and Economic Research Development Program. Monitoring and Evaluation of a Fly Ash Stabilized Subgrade Constructed by the Wisconsin DOT. Geoenvironmental Assessment of Soft Soils Stabilized with High Carbon Fly Ashes, Wisconsin Solid Waste Research Program. Hydrologic Modeling of Covers Used for Mine Waste Containment, USEPA. Fate and Transport of CWD Prions in Solid Waste Landfills, USEPA Continuing Projects Equivalency of Subgrade Improvement Methods Involving Industrial By-Products, Wisconsin DOT Incorporating Alternative Subgrade Improvement Methods Involving Industrial By-Products in Pavement Design, Wisconsin DOT. Dry Barriers for Waste Containment, NSF Alternative Cover Assessment Program, USEPA Long-Term Chemical Compatibility of Geosynthetic Clay Liners, NSF 1

2 Integrated Long-Term Stewardship for Low-Level Radioactive Waste, USDOE Field Performance of Alternative Covers, USEPA Engineering Properties of Paper Sludges Used for Hydraulic Barriers in Landfill Covers, Solid Waste Research Program, State of Wisconsin. Field Assessment of Geosynthetic Clay Liners in Final Covers, USEPA Alternative Covers for Waste Containment in Southern California, San Bernardino County Bioreactor Landfills: State of the Practice, USEPA Completed Projects Transport of Volatile Organic Compounds through Liners Sorptive Capacity of Scrap Tires and Beneficial Use in Environmental Applications Beneficial Use of Shredded Scrap Tires in Construction Beneficial Use of Foundry Sands as Liners, Covers, Highway Subbase and Mechanically Stabilized Earth Compatibility of Acid Mine Drain with Geosynthetics and Lifetime Expectancy Innovative Groundwater Treatment: Reactive Walls Constructed with Excess Foundry Sand Uncertainty Based Design of Permeable Reactive Barriers Characterization of Air Plumes and Modeling Mass Removal During In Situ Air Sparging Field Assessment of Monitoring Well Seal Integrity Hydraulic Conductivity Testing Protocols for Paper Sludges, National Council of the Pulp and Paper Industry for Air and Stream Improvement. Geoenvironmental Teaching Experience (list related courses, including short courses, taught within the past 5 years): Developed modular Geoenvironmental Engineering: A New and Strategic Curriculum as part of a consortium involving University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University, University of Michigan and Argonne Laboratories through an NSF Grant (Edil and Benson) 2

3 CEE/GLE Engineering Properties of Geosynthetics (Edil and Benson) CEE/GLE Physiochemical Basis for Soil Behavior (Edil) CEE/GLE Remediation Geotechnics (Benson) CEE/GLE Waste Geotechnics (Benson) CEE/GLE 732 Unsaturated Soil Geoengineering (Benson) Shortcourse: Alternative Earthen Final Covers (Benson) Shortcourse: Liners and Covers for Waste Containment (Benson) Shortcourse: Sanitary Landfill Design (Benson) Shortcourse: Static and Seismic Slope Stability of Landfills (Benson) Geoenvironmental Consulting Experience (list major projects only): Capping of PCB-Contaminated Sludge Lagoons of the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (Edil) Metro Landfill Sliding Failure (Edil and Benson) Metro Landfill Bioreactor Refuse Strength (Edil and Benson) Placement of Building Debris and Earthen Cap System on Asbestos Sludge Basin for the Johns Manville Plant (Edil) Holcomb Lagoon Fly Ash Liner Feasibility Study for Sunflower Electric Power Corporation (Edil) Oak Creek South Ash Landfill Vertical Expansion Project (Edil) Landfill 4 and EOD Cover Erosion at K. I. Sawyer AFB (Edil) Tailings Management Area and Reflooded Mine Assessment, Crandon Mine Project (Benson) Rocky Mountain Arsenal Hazardous Waste Landfill and RCRA Alternative Covers (Benson) Alternative Cover Assessment for Sunrise Mountain Landfill (Benson) 3

4 Appraisal of Geoenvironmental Research, Education, and Practice (limit to 1-2 pages): Research: Research in geoenvironmental engineering has matured appreciably in the last five years. The discipline is past the rapid growth phase and is now entering the mature phase where more incremental advances are to be made. Perhaps one area where rapid changes are still occurring is DNAPL remediation. However, even this area now seems to have promising technologies being applied at full-scale (e.g., in situ chemical oxidation, surfactant-enhanced remediation, steam stripping, etc.). Future advances are likely to be made through long-term assessment of full-scale systems (e.g., long-term field tests), more detailed assessment of fundamental factors and principles, and improvement of models used for design and analysis. The need for long-term assessment is particularly important because many environmental remedies need to be effective for decades at a minimum and centuries in many cases. Long-term field experiments often elucidate shortcomings in our understanding of fundamental issues and the accuracy of our models. Longterm stewardship and sustainable development and construction also are key future issues. Ensuring the continuity of funding for long-term assessments of full-scale systems is a major obstacle. Most funding agencies lose interest in field studies after two or three years of data collection and projects resulting in premature termination. This is particularly wasteful given the large capital and intellectual investments required for most large field projects. More convincing arguments need to be made to funding agencies regarding the importance of long-term field data. Moreover, decision makers in funding agencies need to become better informed about the importance of long-term field data. Long-term stewardship is also an area in need of emphasis for both remediation and containment. As with field experiments, interest in long-term monitoring to ensure compliance and public safety wanes after sites are closed. Regulatory agencies generally are the main drivers behind long-term monitoring and, as government budgets tighten and regulatory staff are reduced, less emphasis will be placed on ensuring that closed sites are monitored. One approach to deal with this issue is to reduce the cost and effort associated required by developing low-cost web-based remote monitoring systems. Sustainable development and construction are also important issues that will affect future generations. Geoengineers can play an important role in this regard by finding better ways to design and build project by reusing industrial byproducts and recycled materials. Emphasis also needs to be placed on assessing the entire lifecycle of projects (i.e., development, construction, and ultimate destruction and reuse). Education: The key to successful education in geoenvironmental engineering is interdisciplinary training that still includes enough depth in one of the key areas to ensure the long-term viability of engineering graduates. Some programs have been more successful in this area than others. A 4

5 key difficulty is changing the mindset of existing curricula. For example, should geoenvironmental engineers educated in a geotechnical engineering program be required to take courses in retaining structures and foundations? Or, should the emphasis be refocused on mass transport, chemistry, and biology. Also, how much of a core discipline should be required to ensure long-term viability? A key difficulty in re-thinking curricula is to ensure that graduates have a toolbox that will serve them well throughout a career. As engineering markets change, engineers need to adapt so as to remain viable and useful to their clients. Geoenvironmental curricula generally fall between the mainstream curricula in environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, chemical engineering, and hydrogeology. As a result, geoenvironmental engineers often have some training in each of the disciplines, but may not have adequate training in any of the base disciplines to be viable and authoritative should the geoenvironmental marketplace wane considerably. An obvious answer to this issue does not exist, and discussion is needed. The Geological Engineering (GLE) Degree Program at UW-Madison is one approach towards providing both sound fundamental training in geoengineering along with interdisciplinary training in geoenvironmental engineering. Fundamental training in geoengineering comparable to that obtained in many MS programs is achieved at the BS level in GLE. Specialized interdisciplinary training in geoenvironmental engineering is then obtained at the MS level. The GLE program provides educational opportunities to integrate geology, applied geophysics, hydrogeology, geoenvironmental and geotechnical engineering, and rock mechanics in a rigorous engineering curriculum. The program typically has undergraduates and up to 20 graduate students. Practice: One of the biggest obstacles to engineering practice is the difficulty in ensuring budgets are large enough so that careful and creative geoenvironmental engineering can be conducted. Most industrial clients see geoenvironmental engineering as a debit, and try to reduce this debit to the greatest extent possible. They have been largely successful, as low cost engineering appears to be cutting away at margins associated with larger firms with more educated staff and greater expertise. As a result, many projects are conducted with insufficient characterization, study, and planning to ensure quality results. The geoengineering (geoenvironmental, geotechnical, and geological) industry as a whole must deal with this issue. One approach is to manage the practice using the strategies employed by the legal and medial profession. Another is to reduce the number of engineers graduated annually. Reducing the supply of engineering skills will drive costs up and may result in more realistic budgets. Perspective on Emerging Geoenvironmental Issues and Technologies (limit to 1-2 pages): The following are some areas that appear to be emerging research topics: 5

6 Containment: Potential inadequacy of current composite liners to preventing groundwater contamination by VOCs Use of reactive liners for control of contaminant flux. Prediction of the characteristics of bioreactor landfills (physical, chemical, biological) Long-term stewardship and remote monitoring systems. Mine waste containment Remediation: Long-term performance and maintenance of permeable reactive barriers Long-term assessment of effectiveness of remediation methods Model development and refinement for application to heterogeneous geological environments Sustainable Development: Environmental impacts of expanded beneficial use of industrial byproducts and waste materials. Lifecycle evaluation of geotechnical projects. Development of models and tools for rapid evaluation of the environmental and mechanical suitability for reuse of byproducts and waste materials. 6