AEG News December 2018 - Vol. 61, No. 5

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Vol. 61, No. 5 – December 2018

Scenes from

AEG/IAEG 2018 San Francisco

AEG 62ND ANNUAL MEETING Asheville, North Carolina September 17-21, 2019 “Old Mountains - New Beginnings”

Renaissance Hotel Downtown Asheville • 20 minutes from Asheville Airport • Walking distance to all downtown brewerriies, s restaurants and sh hops

SPECIAL EVEN E T: "A Night in the M Mountains" Outdoor southern banquet in the heart of the mountains Live entertainment, games, local crafftt beer, hay rides, and more…

Field Courses • Landslides • North Fork Reservoir Dam • River Arts District/Brewery Brownfields Sites • Geology and Mining Guest Tours • Biltmore House & Gardens • Lake Lure/Chimney Rock • Spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway/Linville Caverns

Symposia and T Te echnical Sessions • Dams • Landslides, Rockfall, & Debris Flow • Coastal Processes & Hazards • Emerging Contaminants • Remediation & Geochemistry Vapor Intrusion • Va • Mining oject • Transportation & Infrastructure Pro • Geophysics and more…

Short Courses AV Vs for Reconnaissance • UA • Environmental Field Equipment Calibration and Demonstration • Geologic Field Mapping

Student & Y Yo oung Professional Networking Events and more…..

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Vol. 61, No. 5 – December 2018

AEG News (ISSN 0899-5788; USPS 954-380) is published five times a year by the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG). This includes three regular issues published in April (#2), July (#3) and December (#5) and two special issues: the Annual Report and Directory (#1) in March and the Annual Meeting Program with Abstracts (#4) in September (digital publication only). Digital copies of the Program with Abstracts are distributed at the AEG Annual Meeting. Association members receive an electronic copy of all five issues of the AEG News as part of their dues. Print subscription for Association members, which includes all three regular issues of the AEG News, is $30 in addition to annual membership dues. Nonmember annual subscription is $40 and includes only the three regular issues; the Annual Report and Directory issue is priced separately. Back copies of AEG News regular issues are $12 each. Inquiries should be sent to AEG Headquarters: Association Manager, 201 East Main St., Suite 1405, Lexington, KY 40507 859-469-5800.

Periodical Postage paid at Lexington, KY, and additional mailing offices: POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AEG News, 201 East Main St., Suite 1405, Lexington, KY 40507, USA. AEG News is printed by Allen Press, Lawrence, KS, 66044, USA. © 2018 Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists—All Rights Reserved Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those officially representing the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists except where expressly stated.

AEG News Co-Editors Chrissey Villeneuve Anna Saindon chrissey.aeg@gmail.com Geotechnology, Inc. Ashley Wachhaus 11816 Lackland Road, Suite 150 ashley.aegnews@gmail.com St. Louis, MO 63146 General Submissions: 314-581-6286 news@aegweb.org news@aegweb.org

Managing Editor/Production Andrea Leigh Ptak Communicating Words & Images 6542 52nd Ave. So. Seattle, WA 98118 206-300-2067 www.andrealeighptak.com andrealeighptak@me.com

Table of Contents News of the Association 4 The President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vice President’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Secretary’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Headquarters’ Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Foundation Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 News of the Profession 14 2018–19 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Applied Geology Deborah Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Publishing in Environmental & Engineering Geoscience: The Hidden Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 AEG 61st Annual Meeting/IAEG XIII Congress 17 AEG Annual Meeting/IAEG Congress in San Francisco: A Successful Collaboration! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Photo Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Sage Advice (Words from the Women in AEG/AWG Breakfast) . . . . . . . . . .30 Takeaways from the September 2018 Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Professional Contributions 33 Recent Projects of the US Army Corps of Engineers– Nashville District . . . . .33 The HomeFront

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Index to Advertisers

42

On the Cover

In order of preference:

A field trip to discuss the geology of San Francisco within the San Andreas transform boundary zone with the adjacent Pacific Plate was one of the highlights of the 2018 Annual Meeting held in conjunction with IAEG’s XIII Congress.

Coverage begins on page 17.

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The association

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2018–19 Officers President: DAVID FENSTER Retired, president@aegweb.org Vice President/President Elect: CYNTHIA PALOMARES Texas Engineering Extension Service, Texas A&M University, VP@aegweb.org Treasurer: WILLIAM GODWIN Consulting Geologist, treasurer@aegweb.org Secretary: MADDIE GERMAN Geologist, Municipal Engineering, secretary@aegweb.org Past President: GREGORY (GREG) L. HEMPEN Geophysical Consultant, PP@aegweb.org

Association Contacts

Advertising in the News Submission Deadlines

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Contact AEG Headquarters at manager@aegweb.org.

December 2018

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NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Our New Strategic Plan Focuses on Membership Dave Fenster, AEG 2018–19 President

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am deeply honored to be your AEG President for the 2018–19 service year. My term as an Association officer follow ten years on the AEG Foundation Board of Directors and several years serving on the old Section/Chapter Support Committee and as Chair of both the High-Level Radioactive Waste and Rock Mechanics Technical Working Groups. I joined AEG as a member of the North Central Section in 1982 and have been an active member/chair of the Baltimore-Washington-Harrisburg Section (current DMV Chapter) since 1985. My activity in the Foundation and Association has had many benefits and is also “pay-back” for everything AEG has done to help me thrive, both personally and professionally, in our chosen profession.

“To provide applied geology professionals a place to thrive personally and professionally” is a goal in our new strategic plan that is focused on our membership. This plan will be described in more detail elsewhere but three objectives that support this particular goal are: provide benefits designed around members’ needs, expectations, and values; grow membership; and, create opportunities for volunteer leadership growth and engagement. The Association is striving to improve its performance for each of these objectives. Currently, some of our benefits include discounts on registration fees for technical forums and for Annual Meetings. We conduct field trips and short courses on both the chapter and association level.

We provide news of the profession in both AEG News and the Insider. We also provide an opportunity for members to publish the results of their projects in the Environmental & Engineering Geology journal, co-published with the E&EG Division of the GSA. Importantly, AEG is in the forefront of advocating for registration and licensing of applied geology professionals. We can, however, be more effective in educating our news media and legislators that professional work performed by qualified applied geologists is a vital tool for protecting the health and welfare of the public and the environment.

On a more personal level, AEG provides multiple opportunities to network with other professionals at the chapter, regional, and association levels. Many chapters provide a welcoming environment that draws attendance regardless of the technical presentation. Those of us who attend the Annual Meetings find that many members look forward to this event as a means to reconnect both personally and professionally. I am happy to say that this warm, welcoming environment is characteristic of AEG and may not be possible in much larger professional associations. Thriving professionally is also characteristic, as many of us have given technical presentations at chapter and Annual Meetings. I’ve even “used” chapter meetings as a dry run for Annual Meeting presentations. It’s a great way to get feedback from a friendly audience. I’ve also 4

noticed that some members are always willing to help other members solve a technical problem. For example, a DMV member who had extensive experience with fracture flow in the Mesozoic Newark Basin was enthusiastic about sharing that experience with another member who had only worked with unconsolidated deposits and now had an environmental project in a similar geologic setting.

In conclusion, as your 2018–19 President and with the help of a very active Executive Council, Board of Directors, and Committee Chairs, I am looking forward to beginning the implementation of our long-term strategic plan.

As part of that effort, I want us to deliberately focus on enhancing AEG’s welcoming environment as a means for retaining current members and attracting new student and professional members. To remain fiscally healthy, we must meet our goal of holding two technical forums each year.

Our technical forums have been meeting many members’ professional growth needs. However, with your input and participation, we can expand the topics of these forums to meet the needs of more members. As a proponent of technical excellence, AEG needs to be proactive regarding antilicensing/registration legislation rather than react late in the legislation process. Our Strategic Initiative Coordinators are working with multiple committees to enhance our performance in these areas. The Executive Council and I will continue to enhance existing and develop new relationships with other professional organizations.

A large part of our success is up to you, our members.

Please visit our website to see which operational committees or technical working groups are of interest to you. Joining an AEG committee is easy; just email the chair or a co-chair. Participation on a committee is a great way to enhance technical and management skills while growing your personal network. If you have questions about association activities, or the absence thereof, do not hesitate to contact Chapter officers. These officers may need to contact your Regional Director, Committee Chairs or Headquarters. Information should be flowing down to you, the members, and we on the Executive Council and Board of Directors need to hear from you via two-way communication, if needs and expectations are not being met.

I’m looking forward to making this another great year for AEG. Thanks for your support!

AEG News Disclaimer Authors alone are responsible for views expressed in signed articles.

Advertisers and their agencies are solely responsible for the content of all advertisements printed and also assume responsibility for any claims arising therefrom against the publisher. AEG and AEG News reserve the right to reject any advertising copy.

AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Updating Our Strategic Plan Cynthia Palomares, AEG 2018–19 Vice-President

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major role of the VicePresident of AEG is to work with the Operational Committees to help implement the Association’s updated Strategic Plan.

As I begin my tenure as VicePresident, I’m impressed with the work that the AEG Board of Directors (BOD) has done in updating our Strategic Plan.

At the 2018 Annual BOD Meeting held in conjunction with the joint IAEG-AEG meeting in San Francisco in September, we voted to approve the updated Strategic Plan. It has been under development since a workshop was conducted at the 2018 Mid-Year BOD Meeting held on May 5–6 in Lexington, Kentucky. At this workshop, we identified three major goals for the Association: 1) Communication: To improve the AEG experience and communicate it effectively 2) Profession: To promote and advance the value of applied geology for the public good 3) Membership: To provide applied geology professionals a place to thrive personally and professionally

For each of these goals, the BOD developed a set of objectives with their respective tracking metrics and specific tactics to be completed by volunteers and/or AEG HQ. Each of these goals/tactics will be paired with a “champion” committee, working group, or individual volunteers. As VicePresident, I will facilitate collaboration between committees,

working groups, and other volunteers in achieving our goals, and help the Strategic Initiative Coordinators (SIC) track progress and completion of these objectives and tactics.

While all the tactics identified in the Strategic Plan are important, we identified six that will take priority: 1) Develop at least two Professional Development Forums annually as a benefit to the public.

2) Redesign and refresh AEG website.

3) Develop and improve better communication methods between RDs, Chapter Chairs, and members.

4) Develop focused, coordinated internal communication plan.

5) Assess the prior needs assessment for member benefits that have not been furnished or fully implemented.

6) Generate a roster of non-renewing members and ask chapters for personal outreach.

Implementation of these tactics within the Strategic Plan will help AEG entice new members and provide a robust set of benefits to our existing members. Each of the operational committees is poised and ready to tackle these goals.

I appreciate your vote of confidence and have already rolled up my sleeves to begin working with the SIC and committees to implement the Strategic Plan. If you are interested in joining us in any of these efforts, please contact me or one of the Strategic Initiative Coordinators: Nate Saraceno, nsaraceno@gmail.com; Curt Schmidt, cschmidt@h2m.com; or Renee Wawczak, rene.wawczak@gmail.com.

The 2018–19 EC (L to R): Past President Greg Hempen, President Dave Fenster, Vice President Cynthia Palomares, Treasurer William Godwin, and Secretary Maddie German.

December 2018

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HEADER NEWS OFHERE THE ASSOCIATION – TREASURER’S REPORT

Mapping AEG’s Fiscal Strategy William Godwin, AEG 2018–19 Treasurer

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am excited to be your AEG Treasurer for 2018–19 and am also pleased that I been handed off a healthy and well organized financial situation for the Association. Thank you, Past-Treasurer Cynthia Palomares and our Association Manager AMR Management Services. I will touch base below on several items: including our new 2019 Budget, the recent Annual Meeting, and some goals for this next year.

The Board of Directors approved our new 2019 budget at the 2018 Annual Meeting, which has a projected revenue of $689,194 and expenses of $679,081. By and large, it is similar to the previous year’s budget with adjustments for a future legislative tracking system and funding to combat efforts in several states to shutdown licensure, additional income from professional forums (which were absent this last year), and substantially less anticipated revenue and expenses for the Annual Meeting.

AEG, with the help of AMR, has moved our bank accounts (Operations, Annual Meeting, and Licensure) out of Huntington and over to Central Bank. The Treasurer’s Reserve balance is $354,975, as compared with $338,631 for the same period last year.

The joint AEG Annual Meeting and IAEG Congress had a total attendance of 946, and by all accounts was a success.

At press time for this issue of AEG News, which reflects the end of the third quarter; our revenue and expenses are still being adjusted and are shown in the following table.

will also be a small amount of additional revenue in October and November. In summary, I cannot say we will have a large surplus as a result of the Annual Meeting, but I can say that we will not take a loss. A complete accounting of the Annual Meeting finances will be forthcoming in my report in the next issue of AEG News.

Diligent accounting and tracking by our Meeting Manager Heather Clark and 2018 Meeting Co-chairs Sarah Kalika and Gary Luce has allowed us to evaluate anticipated expenses and prepare a reasonable budget for next year’s Annual Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.

Going forward in this next year, we hope that there will be additional revenue from our professional forums, including the Risk Assessments for Dam and Levee Foundations Workshop, and the 7th International Conference on Debris Flow Hazard Mitigation.

AEG’s membership revenues as of the end of September (third quarter) are $215,397 compared to $207,976 in the same period in 2017. This represents a healthy increase and our goal is to increase membership by 3% this next year. In addition, $10K budgeted in 2018 (and not used) will be rolled over into 2019 to begin addressing AEG Strategic Initiatives, whose goals will greatly benefit members and the Association.

Revenue & Expenses – 9/30/2018 Revenue Actual YTD $765,536.50

Budget $1,251,270.00

Expenses Actual YTD

Budget

$446,109.33

$1,147,524.18

Current Balance $319,427.17

$ 103,745.82

The amount reported in the table does not include some exhibitor/sponsorship and registration fees that were processed in early October. In addition, the net revenues will be reduced substantially due to the additional expenses (hotel and other) that will be processed in October and November. There 6

AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – SECRETARY’S HEADER REPORT HERE

Listening, Documenting, and Capturing Discussion…

Maddie German, AEG 2018–19 Secretary

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am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve AEG as the new Association Secretary. For the upcoming year, I will work to accurately document the discussion, motions, action items and votes for the Executive Council and Board of Directors meetings, providing a record, as the meeting minutes, to the entire association. I encourage everyone to at least skim these minutes to provide you and your Chapter with a better understanding of the activities occurring across the Association. Also, please reach out to me with questions or comments related to these documents, as open discussion fosters creativity.

The secretarial role offers the unique opportunity to truly experience listening—something that is increasingly shrinking into the background. In capturing the discussion and intent of the motions and votes, a distilled version of Association values are passed down and lifted up. My challenge for this year is to wait to speak and address those issues and topics not yet presented, while providing the various viewpoints equal attention and representation.

At the BOD meeting following the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, your board identified several issues including membership, licensure, and international outreach on which to focus future discussions. The Strategic Plan was approved and implementation through various committees has already begun. Part of this plan will also foster the link between local Chapters and between Chapters and the Association. A few questions to ponder across the Association: Where is AEG going as an organization? Are we addressing the professional needs of the membership? How does our Association fit into

the larger community? As AEG tackles these questions, ask yourself, “How has AEG benefited your life and your career?” Can you share this experience with a co-worker or fellow geologist in your local community?

The memberships dedication to applied geology, licensure, and professional responsibility provides credibility and value to the entire geologic profession. Additionally, membership creates the avenues to work together, learn from one another, and help form friendships that span decades.

Thank you all for your confidence in me to fulfill the duties required. I believe there can never be too much gratitude in the world. If you feel stuck, excited, frustrated, optimistic, or any other emotion say “thank you” to yourself.

Personally, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing geologists who have made their way through this organization paving the way for myself and the younger generation to enjoy the bounty AEG has to offer and am excited to work to continue to keep the Association relevant and interesting for upcoming geologists.

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L to R: AEG 2017–18 President Greg Hempen, AEG Foundation President Kerry Cato, and AEG 2018–19 President Dave Fenster

December 2018

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HEADER NEWS OFHERE THE ASSOCIATION – HEADQUARTERS’ REPORT

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The Key to AEG’s Growth?

Telling Your AEG Story

EG staff members had the opportunity to meet hundreds of IAEG and AEG members by working at the registration booth and attending many elements of the recent IAEG Congress/AEG Annual Meeting.

Among the benefits of attending the conference was the opportunity to talk with so many of you and hear your AEG story—how you got involved in the association, why you’ve stayed a member, why you felt called to be active on a committee or in another leadership position, etc.

Something we heard frequently is that a professional colleague took the time to invite you to attend an AEG Chapter meeting or spoke of the value he/she derived from AEG membership. So, with a membership renewal and recruitment campaign ongoing, it feels like the time is right to ask each of you—who in your professional world would benefit from AEG? Did a name come to mind? If so, please reach out and invite

him/her to be involved!

It’s clear from the stories we heard that many new members come to the Association through the valuable networking and educational programs offered by AEG’s Chapters, at the professional or student Chapter level. A critical point in that experience is that someone—maybe you—invited them.

With busy schedules and competing priorities, it may take multiple tries to get colleagues to attend a Chapter event but, once they do, they experience the value of being affiliated with a network of professionals who share their experiences and concerns.

Please take a moment to reach out to a colleague to tell your AEG story—you may be doing them a tremendous favor, as well as supporting the continued growth of your professional association.

Holding Down the Fort…

As many of you know, AEG Association Manager Kristy Howard is on maternity leave through the end of 2018, having welcomed a beautiful baby girl (her second) to the Howard family. In the interim, Tommy Morrison and DeLaine Bender are working to support AEG in the Association Manager role. Please continue to use the manager@aegweb.org email address to reach Tommy, DeLaine, and the AEG headquarters team.

AEG MEMBERSHIP Renew or Join by December 31* *This deadline insures that your listing will be included in the 2018 Annual Report/2019 Directory issue of AEG News.

AEG needs your continued support in order to provide networking and professional development opportunities like the AEG Annual Meeting and specialty conferences like the Risk Assessments for Dam and Levee Foundations Workshop. These conferences, workshops, and meetings are excellent opportunities to grow as a professional through continuing education while fostering relationships with geoscience colleagues that can last a lifetime.

Have you already renewed your membership and you’re looking for other ways to support your association? AEG’s membership grows primarily through word of mouth and the excellent local and regional programs offered by AEG chapters. Please invite your coworkers and professional colleagues to a chapter event and encourage them to join you as an AEG member.

For complete details, please go to: https://www.aegweb.org/page/JoinOrRenew.

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AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – FOUNDATION HEADER REPORT HERE

AEG Foundation and Year-End Donations

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Nichole Wendlandt-Vetter, AEGF Communications Committee

es, it’s time to start thinking about the end of the year and what donations you would like to make. Donations help our geoscience students with their education and our career geologists with their professional development. No matter the amount of your donation, the strength of your donation combined with the donations of others has brought in thousands of dollars to fund all of the different funds and programs offered by the AEG Foundation. A big THANK YOU to all who donated!

If you haven’t already done so please consider making a donation this year; it’s EASY! All you have to do is visit https://www.aegfoundation.org/donate/ and complete the form. You can designate the amount, frequency, and even the fund to contribute to. Did you know that there are 24 funds that you can choose from?

If you are 70 ½ or older, you can also consider donating directly to the AEG Foundation from your retirement account using a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). A QCD allows you to meet the required minimum distribution and has the added benefit of not being included in your taxable income.

Remember that the AEG Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and when you donate, you will receive a letter from our headquarters to verify your donation.

Again, THANK YOU and the AEG Foundation would greatly appreciate you considering to make a year-end donation, or setting up a monthly donation for 2019! If you have any question, feel free to contact me at njwendlandt@gmail.com.

Attention Students and Faculty Members:

AEG Foundation Scholarship Deadline February 1, 2019!

Did you know that the AEG Foundation awards scholarships and grants to student members to assist with costs associated with attending field camp and supporting student research? There are over twelve scholarships available, and include the following:

Stout Fund: Provides support to graduate and undergraduate students in environmental and engineering geology Tilford Fund: Provides support to graduate and undergraduate students for field studies

Beardsley-Kuper Fund: Provides support for field camp tuition and expenses

Robert J. Watters Great Basin Chapter Scholarship Fund: Provides support for geoscience studies by students at the undergraduate and graduate levels

Carolinas Scholarship Fund: Provides support for geologic studies by undergraduate students enrolled in a geology or geoscience program at an accredited university in North Carolina or South Carolina

West-Gray Scholarship Fund: Provides support to undergraduate and graduate geology students in the eastern half of the United States

Lemke Fund: Provides support to AEG Student Members presenting at professional meetings at which AEG plays a substantial role Marliave Fund: Provides support to graduate and undergraduate Scholarships in engineering geology and geological engineering Mathewson Fund: Provides support to AEG Student Members studying in Texas John Moylan Student Chapter Grant: Provides support to AEG Student Chapters for field trips, visiting professionals, and other program needs through small grants.

Shlemon Quaternary Engineering Geology Fund: Provides support for geologic studies by students at the graduate level Susan Steele Weir Scholarship Fund (Women Of “Steele”): Provides support the continued development and advancement of women in the profession of engineering geology

December 2018

Check out the AEG Foundation’s Fund page at www.aeg foundation.org/funds/ to learn more about the different scholarships, qualifications, and the various requirements to find out which one(s) are best suited to you and/or your Student Chapter.

The application process is straightforward and painless, but it’s best to start now! The deadline for 2019 scholarships is February 1, 2019. Applications are only accepted online, so visit the website www.aegfoundation.org/applications/ to apply.

PLEASE NOTE: You must set up an account for the application process that is separate from your AEG log-in.

A list and photos of the 2018 Foundation Scholars can be found in the 2018 Program with Abstracts on our website.

AEG NEWS 61(5)

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NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – COMMITTEE REPORTS

Geologists’ Day

Advocacy Committee Announcing the 2018 Advocacy Awardee – Jennifer Bauer Jennifer Bauer, of Landslide Consultants PLLC, Asheville, NC, has been selected by the AEG Advocacy Committee as the recipient of the first Advocacy Award. Jennifer has made significant contributions as a grassroots advocate for geology, geologists, and their work.

In recent years, Jennifer has volunteered with the North Carolina Geological Survey to determine evacuation needs before the arrival of tropical depressions. She used Facebook to alert the public of coming heavy rains and the landslide risks they posed, and works with local emergency managers to identify areas having the highest landslide risk. Jennifer has been a respected technical resource for local television news and newspapers and has been interviewed numerous times by reporters.

Jennifer has also carried her passion for the geosciences to Washington DC Last year, she presented during a briefing organized by USGS for US Congressional Members and their staff on landslide hazards. In 2014, she presented on landslide hazards to US Congressional Members in a program organized by the Hazard Caucus Alliance.

Since 2011, Jennifer has spoken on landslide hazards to more than 2,000 people in emergency management, local government, real estate organizations, and civic groups. She regularly provides technical input to emergency plans for local and regional disaster response communities.

The 2018 Advocacy Award was presented to Jennifer at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco. It is planned that the Advocacy Award will be presented annually to the AEG Member who best proactively promotes the value of geological practice among the general public and/or a legislative body.

Geologists’ Day was part of the 2018 AEG/IAEG Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Recognized on September 20, the AEG Advocacy Committee led the effort to make Geologists’ Day an annual event. The purpose of Geologists’ Day is to remind all geoscientists to do something extra. This something extra may be to write a letter to the editor about a geosciencerelated local issue. Maybe you could give a talk to a science class, community group, or a collateral professional organization. A short, clear, polite email to one of your elected officials—federal, state, or local—may be in order.

Geologists’ Day has been recognized in Russia on the first Sunday in April. It was held then as an unofficial beginning of field season after their long winter. But in the US, this day is clearly not the best. One year in seven, it will coincide with April Fools’ Day—yikes! It will often overlap with religious holidays and spring breaks at colleges and universities. And, being on a Sunday, doesn’t easily lend itself to mainstream media outreach.

Geologists’ Day on September 20 will often coincide with the AEG Annual Meeting. This may be a bit more intriguing to reporters looking to cover the meeting or for ideas for a future story.

At the 2018 Annual Meeting, about 100 “Geologists’ Day” buttons were distributed. More are planned to be given away at the 2019 AM in Asheville, NC (September 17–22). The buttons are simply one more physical reminder for every member of AEG to advocate for our science and our profession—and Geologists’ Day is a great day to make that promise to yourself!

The members of the AEG Advocacy Committee are Briget Doyle, Eldon Gath, Stephen Semmens, Phyllis Steckel (Chair), and Paul Weaver.

Chapter Support Committee The Chapter Support Committee (CSC) is alive and well— and here to help YOU! Our goal is to keep Chapter officers informed and connected to the Association and to help chapters thrive. The committee helps to share information and ideas with leaders from all AEG chapters and regions.

Tune in for discussions about how to effectively run field trips and meetings, how to boost student involvement, how AEG operates, and more!

CSC is also seeking committee members to help run these calls, prepare talks, and keep information flowing between Chapter officers and the rest of the AEG membership. The committee is co-chaired by Morley Beckman and Stephanie Coffman. If you would like to help out, email Morley at morley.beckman@gmail.com!

Our calls are held at 9:30 am Pacific/12:30 pm Eastern on the third Friday of each month. Contact manager@aegweb.org to be added to the calendar invite.

Jenn Bauer (center), recipient of the first Advocacy Award, with AEG 2017–18 President Greg Hempen and Advocacy Committee Chair Phyllis Steckel.

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AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – COMMITTEE REPORTS

Meetings Advisory Committee Be the “They” Sarah Kalika & Madeline German The Meetings Advisory Committee (MAC) is spending this fall reviewing the 2018 Meeting in San Francisco and looking ahead to AEG’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Asheville as well as the upcoming professional forum on Landslides in Colorado, and future Annual Meetings in Portland 2020 and San Antonio 2021. Did you know that AEG’s Annual Meeting Planning process begins three to four years in advance at a minimum?

Do you have any ideas on where you’d like to meet in 2022 or beyond?

What is the MAC? The MAC meets every other month to assist in planning future meetings and works to transfer meeting planning knowledge to the incoming Annual Meeting chairs and others looking ahead at their local Annual Meeting. The MAC is made up of Heather Clark (AEG’s Meetings Manager), volunteer chairs from the previous Annual Meeting, two to three future years’ Annual Meeting chairs, representatives of the EC and HQ, and other interested members. It is imperative that lessons learned from previous meetings get transferred effectively (and far enough in advance) so the planning committees can implement changes and prepare for the future. Hotel contracts are signed many years in advance, so we’re committed to the location, food and beverage pricing, audio-visual capabilities, and projected hotel room block rate long before meeting registration begins. If you planned a meeting over 10 years ago, you would be pleasantly surprised at how streamlined and professional the process is now. With the assistance of Heather and headquarters staff, the meeting chairs have access to up-to-the-minute financial reporting and decades of professional meeting planning experience. AEG meetings are becoming an increased source of revenue for the Association, so well-planned, professional meetings are our expectation.

MAC Achievements In recent years the MAC has implemented Speaker and Moderator Training webinars that are presented during the month before the Annual Meeting. These webinars are intended to assist first time presenters—and those that might need a refresher—and moderators prepare quality presentations and convey our expectations that the presentations stay on time and on schedule. In an effort to make this information accessible to speakers and moderators, the webinars are presented several times in advance of the meeting. While we’ve observed that not everyone has completely changed their approach to assisting us with keeping the speaker schedule on time, we have noticed vast improvements over the past few years. The accompanying slideshows can be viewed anytime and are available on aegweb.org.

The MAC also prepares an annual flyer, Reasons to Attend the AEG Annual Meeting your Boss Will LOVE, which details ways your attendance at the Annual Meeting will benefit your company and your professional development. The flyer, December 2018

updated annually and available for download on the web at aegannualmeeting.org, includes a summary of expected total costs (registration, hotel rate, meals, airfare) so you can prepare an attendance cost/benefit analysis to present to your employer.

The MAC is additionally a resource for professional forums, short courses, and local meeting planning. The MAC has prepared a meeting planning guidance document with advice and planning tips. This guidance document is available to view on aegweb.org under Committees/Operational Committees/Meetings Advisory Committee.

Your Feedback Matters If you attended the 2018 San Francisco AEG Annual Meeting/IAEG Congress, you received a feedback survey request. Thank you to those who completed the survey, it is always helpful to receive constructive feedback! We are pleased that over 98% of the respondents found this meeting valuable. While some of the feedback pertained to issues that we cannot plan in advance, or stemmed from a misunderstanding of the meeting’s structure (IAEG Congresses are five days, so if you weren’t a fan of the longer format that was part of AEG’s bid to host the Congress), we want you to know that we heard you and we have noted ideas that we are working to implement for future meetings.

Often the MAC and the Annual Meeting planning committees receive comments about “why don’t they/you/AEG have more talks/symposiums on (insert topic you’re enthusiastic about)” or “why don’t you/they offer (insert social activity)” The short answer is, we definitely can do this and we are all volunteers—please help us!

Methods to participate and see the changes you are suggesting include: submit an Abstract, recruit your colleagues to speak on the subject in a Symposium (you just need four talks to create your own session!), or, if your area of interest appeals to others in AEG, start up a Technical Working Group.

A final way to get involved is to join an Annual Meeting Planning Committee! Committees always need help, in fact, at least half of the 2018 meeting committee was comprised of members who do not live anywhere near San Francisco and all of the planning activities were conducted via conference call.

Hosting AEG meetings has truly become a national effort and the Annual Meeting committees welcome assistance regardless of your physical location. AEG as an association and the “public facing” side of the association (Annual Meetings, Professional Forums, Chapter meetings, Chapter events) are successful because of all of the volunteer hours behind the scenes to make them happen. If you want a say, be the “They”!

If you’d like to be the “They,” join our next MAC conference call on December 13, 2018, at 9am Pacific/12pm Eastern. We meet every other month.

Biographies, Memorials, and Citations Committee This little-known AEG committee has put together the Legendary People Page: www.aegweb.org/?page= LegendaryPeople. If you would like to submit a biography for consideration or know of the recent passing of an AEG member, please contact AEG at manager@aegweb.org.

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HEADER NEWS OFHERE THE ASSOCIATION – COMMITTEE REPORTS

Strategic Initiative Coordinators STRATEGIC GROWTH: A Summary of AEG’s Updated Strategic Plan Nate Saraceno, Curt Schmidt, and Renee Wawczak – Coordinators The role of AEG’s Strategic Initiative Coordinators (SIC) had until recently been to participate on operational committee meetings, provide support to the committees on an as-needed basis, and communicate committee activities to AEG’s Board of Directors (BOD) during the mid-year and annual BOD meetings.

Moving forward, the role of the SIC is shifting to a more proactive, focused approach to implementing AEG’s strategic goals, and can generally be described by the following charges: ■ Coordination with AEG leadership [Executive Council (EC) and BOD] to develop and disseminate Association goals and tactics; ■ Pair these goals/tactics with a “champion” committee, working group, or individual volunteers; ■ Facilitate collaboration between committees, working groups, and other volunteers in achieving goals; and ■ Track progress and completion of these goals and tactics.

During the 2018 Annual BOD meeting, which took place on September 22 and 23, the BOD voted to approve a new Strategic Plan for AEG. This strategic plan has been in development since the mid-year BOD meeting that was held on May 5 and 6 in Lexington, KY. The details of this process have been well documented in articles by both Dave Fenster and Bill Godwin in the July 2018 issue of AEG News. As a brief summary, the EC, BOD, and SIC participated in a strategic planning workshop led by a facilitator through AMR, our Association Management company. During that workshop, the EC, BOD, and SIC, along with members of the AMR staff reviewed, discussed, and explained many aspects of AEG from its history and mission to our policies and procedures. Through this workshop and challenges by the facilitator, we identified three major, overarching goals for the Association: Communication: To improve the AEG experience and communicate it effectively Profession: To promote and advance the value of applied geology for the public good Membership: To provide applied geology professionals a place to thrive personally and professionally For each of these goals, we also developed several objectives and respective metrics for tracking progress toward achieving these objectives, and specific tactics to be completed by volunteers and/or AEG Headquarters.

AMR has developed a one-page document that describes the Strategic Plan, which was released through the website, distributed to Chapter leaders and promoted in the Insider e-newsletter.

What does all of this mean for our operational committees and technical working groups? In simple terms, if a committee 12

or working group is identified as the most appropriate to complete a strategic tactic, the SIC will work with them to develop SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resultsfocused, and Time-bound) associated with that tactic, as well as help to prioritize and support all tactics/initiatives that the committee is working on. We’ll also be tracking progress much more efficiently and effectively than before, with the help of a tracking system already established by AMR. We would like to stress that our Strategic Plan is a living document. As such, if you are a volunteer working on something that you are interested or passionate about but isn’t listed as one of the tactics in our Strategic Plan that’s OK! We have room to grow, and for AEG to move forward, we want and need just as much input and guidance from you, our volunteers, as we are trying to give. It’s likely that your initiative aligns with one of these strategic goals—if not, we would love to hear your input and discuss further.

On a related note, Renee Wawczak has agreed to step up as our third Strategic Initiative Coordinator along with Curt Schmidt and Nate Saraceno. This is important not just because the plans we have in mind for the SIC role will require a lot of effort, but because she has previously served as a Chapter Chair, AEG Board member, and Governance Committee Chair. Renee brings a great amount of experience and perspective that will undoubtedly benefit our goals and help AEG move forward. Thank you, Renee!

Finally, AEG’s foundation is its members and volunteers. If you are a volunteer on one of AEG’s many operational committees, technical working groups, or in any other capacity, THANK YOU for all you do! If you are looking for ways to get involved, we need more champions on our committees to help us advance AEG’s Strategic Plan. We have a wide range of opportunities that provide networking and leadership building, and perhaps most importantly, camaraderie. Contact manager@aegweb.org if you’re interested in volunteering!

Tunneling Committee Review of 2018 Tunneling Symposium in San Francisco Paul Headland, Ike Issacson, and Mike Piepenburg – Committee Co-Chairs With the help and assistance of the previous tunneling committee members (Alan Howard and Richard Escandon), we held our first Tunneling Symposium at the 2018 IAEG/AEG Meeting in San Francisco. We conducted three technical sessions with a total of 22 presentations. Our two keynote speakers included Don Deere (Deere & Ault Ltd), who presented Dr. Don U. Deere, The Consummate Engineering Geologist, the first in our Standing on the Shoulders of Giants lecture series, and Gary Brierley (Dr. Mole Inc.), who presented Engineering Geology as Applied to Tunneling Projects.

In addition, the Committee had the opportunity to meet with several AEG Executive Council members as well as the past, current, and future AEG Presidents, to seek advice and guidance on developing the Tunneling Group moving forward. We would also like to thank Heather Clark and Sarah Kalika of

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December 2018

NEWS OF THE ASSOCIATION – COMMITTEE HEADER REPORTS HERE AEG for all the help and assistance in making the 2018 Tunneling Symposium such a success.

Looking ahead to the 2019 AEG Annual Conference in Asheville, NC, we have already made arrangements to have a two-session Tunneling Symposium included in the program. The call for abstracts will be in early 2019, and we ask that you let people in the tunneling and engineering geology field know about the Symposium and encourage them to consider submitting an abstract for consideration. We also plan to continue our Standing on the Shoulders of Giants lecture series in Asheville.

In 2020, we are looking to develop a one-day Engineering Geology & Tunneling Forum with the intent of having leaders in the industry get together and present on fundamentals of the trade and current trends and issues related to engineering geology. The forum would also aim to include a site visit to a current tunnel project or site of engineering geologic interest.

We would like to extend our thanks to Ashton Krajnovich (Colorado School of Mines) for agreeing to lead the development of the Tunneling Group AEG Webpage. Over the next few months, we plan to launch an updated tunnel group page with a link to the 2018 Tunneling Symposium presentations and continue to add useful content to engineering geologists within the tunneling community. If you have suggestions for information that would be useful, please contact the committee members.

Planning a Conference?

AEG’s MEETINGS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MAC) has put together a list of useful tips to help your Chapter/Region host a conference. These tips will guide your path to success. Conferences, symposiums and short courses are essential to help your chapter financially as well as advocate for the geologic sciences and promote membership.

These tips cover everything from the size of your planning committee to scheduling and locating and working with the venue.

Go to the MAC page on aegweb.org and download your copy of the “Conference Tips” today.

Workshop on Risk Assessments for Dam and Levee Foundations For Engineering Geologists and Geotechnical Engineers Denver West Marriott, Denver, Colorado April 24–26, 2019 AEG’s Dams Technical Working Group is proud to present a workshop that focuses on the role and contribution of engineering geologists and geotechnical engineers in the Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) process in managing dam and levee safety programs. Risks associated with geological potential failure modes and communicating these conditions to the Risk Assessment (RA) team will be emphasized including the methodology, and implementation of RA for dam and levee foundations.

Target Audience: Engineering geologists and geotechnical engineers who are mid to senior level and anticipate being involved in RIDM or a RA relating to engineering geology and geological failure modes for a dam or levee. It is anticipated that attendees will be participating in some component of dam safety programs (field investigations, risk assessment and elicitations, review, etc…), or they will be performing RAs. Logistics: The workshop will include breakfasts, breaks, and lunches each day, and a social hour after at the conclusion of the first day. The cost for AEG members will be $425 and $475 for nonmembers.

Hotel rooms will be available at the Denver West Marriott for $144/night.

Registration NOW OPEN: For additional information, visit aegriskworkshop.org!

Sponsorships and Exhibit Space Are Aavailable: Details are on the website.

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2018–19 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Applied Geology

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Deborah Green

he Jahns lectureship, established in 1988, is jointly sponsored by AEG and the GSA’s Environmental and Engineering Geology Division. The program is funded by the AEG Foundation and GSA Foundation and supports the travel for an experienced geologist to present lectures at colleges and universities to promote student awareness of applied geology. The lectureship is named in honor of Richard H. Jahns (1915–83), an engineering geologist who had a diverse and distinguished career in academia, consulting, and government.

Deborah Green is just the second woman to hold the honor—the first being Mavis Kent in 1999.

A city kid, born in Queens, NY, Deborah Green was lucky to travel and camp throughout the United States and Canada with her family during her childhood summers, doing much of her growing up in National Parks. She now makes her homes in a passive solar adobe house at the north end of the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico and on a sailboat in British Columbia during the summers.

Her father, an earth science teacher, informally taught her geology on their summer adventures and she fell in love with it.

She jokes that the Greens don’t have family pictures from that time, but rather she and her sister posed in front of outcrops for scale.

She holds geology degrees from the University of Rochester and Texas A&M University, where she got her

Masters from the Center for Engineering Geosciences. She has worked as an environmental and engineering geologist for 34 years in more than 35 states, with 23 of those years as a selfemployed consultant. Active in AEG, Green has mentored many young professionals. She also champions the Norman R. Tilford Field Studies scholarships, named in honor of her late husband, an internationally recognized engineering geologist who died in 1997 in a small plane crash on his way to lead a student field trip. The awards provide support to students learning geology in the field.

Having written poetry as a girl, she rediscovered her love for creative writing after establishing herself in her professional career. As the GeologistWriter, Deborah strives to understand and convey the wonder of the landscape and the complexity of earth processes while also exploring the mysterious terrain of the human heart through compelling stories and essays. She’s written a novel whose protagonist is an engineering geologist working on a dam with a problematic foundation.

Interested institutions can contact Green at http://geologist writer.com/contact/ to schedule a presentation on one or more of the following topics from now through September 2019.

Read more about Deborah and her writing projects, and find the complete abstracts for the following lectures at http:// geologistwriter.com/distinguished-lecturer/.

You Don’t Look Like a Geologist: A Conversation on Diversity (Or the Lack Thereof) in Our Profession According to recent statistics from the American Geosciences Institute, at least 40% of geology graduates are women. However, the same report indicates that less than 12% of geology graduates identify themselves as belonging to underrepresented minority groups.

Statistics serve as a starting point to talk about why there is so little 14

AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

NEWS OF THE PROFESSION

2018–19 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer Deborah Green gives one of her first talks at UNC Asheville.

diversity in our field, and in this presentation, structured as a conversation, we’ll explore ways to be more inclusive in our profession.

Let’s Talk: A Conversation on How We Communicate about Science Geologists love to talk with each other about our work but speaking with those who don’t know or understand our geologic “language” isn’t necessarily comfortable, and doing it well isn’t easy. We need to embrace communicating about science as much as we embrace the work itself. Advocating effectively for our work will make it possible to do more of the science we value, and for society to realize that value. In this presentation, we’ll talk about the challenges of conversing with non-scientists about science, and why we must face those challenges head on.

Always Book a Window Seat: The Lens through Which We View the World as Geologists The best geologists “read” the landscape and “geologist” becomes the lens through which they observe the wider world.

A sense of curiosity and desire to learn, not just in the classroom or lab or on a job site, but every day, are traits to cultivate. In this presentation, there will be plenty of pictures through a geologist’s lens, and some of the stories those views tell. This presentation appeals to geologists and non-geologists alike. It’s a great choice for a Geology 101 class, where students who may never take another science class can learn what applied geology is and why it’s important.

How to Schedule a Jahns Lecture

How to Build a Geology Career You Love From consulting work in small shops to mega companies, to being an in-house geologist for private industry, to staffing regulatory agencies from municipalities to the federal government, to teaching STEM subjects from middle school grades up to the university level—there are myriad possibilities to build a fulfilling career. Working in applied geology you can make a living and make a difference!

A Tale of Two Waste Sites Once upon a time, a consulting geologist was contracted to evaluate a site for a low-level radioactive waste facility. The geologist’s report summarized the geology and hydrology. He concluded: if operated properly, the site would be safe and effective. Unfortunately, that ending to the tale was fictional. In the non-fictional story, the operational constraints outlined by the geologist were not followed and the facility’s last chapter was written when it was listed as a Superfund site. We’ll talk about how more sites can have happy endings, when the tale the geology tells is heeded.

December 2018

The individual Jahns Lecturer does almost all of their own scheduling and logistical coordination with the local Chapter. In addition, the Lecturer is conducting talks in other areas— all while trying to perform their "real" day job back home.

Setting up a Jahns Lecturer takes patience and understanding on both ends, but the product is invaluable in its knowledge transfer, career guidance, and mentoring to students.

If your AEG Chapter would like a Jahns Lecturer’s visit to your area, check out the helpful tips on our website at: www.aegweb.org/?page=LecturerVisit or https://www.aegweb.org/page/JahnsLecture2018.

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NEWS OF THE PROFESSION

Publishing in Environmental & Engineering Geoscience: The Hidden Benefits

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nvironmental & Engineering Geoscience (E&EG) is a quarterly scientific journal jointly published by the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) and the Geological Society of America (GSA) (https://pubs. geoscienceworld.org/eeg). Nearly 25 years ago, E&EG replaced AEG’s venerable Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists in this partnership to better connect the work of practioners and academic researchers applying geology to societal issues. The scientific legacy represented

by Bulletin articles continues to be accessible digitally through the E&EG archives with issues going back to 1976.

More recently, E&EG began publishing accepted manuscripts online to make the content of future printed articles available more quickly.

So how does E&EG benefit AEG members? The most straightforward answer is a member benefits from reading about environmental and engineering geology as it is currently being practiced in the USA and elsewhere. The articles illustrate how both advances in geological knowledge and technology are being applied to solve environmental and engineering problems.

The array of articles found in E&EG over time also reflects the changing societal needs for applied geology.

Beyond the value of staying current with developments in your profession, members who also publish in E&EG gain additional benefits. Among these additional benefits are the satisfaction of sharing your experience and knowledge gained during an interesting project. Certainly, authorship of a published article can enhance your professional credentials for future advancement. Publication in a recognized journal becomes an additional qualification when submitting a proposal for a future project. Not only do you personally benefit from this recognition, so does your employer or agency, which stands to gain from a potentially successful project bid or grant submission.

Successful publication of contributed papers can also bring hidden benefits to the authors. First, AEG presents a publication award annually for the paper deemed by the editors to be the best one published in the preceding four issues. The award is presented during AEG’s Annual Meeting.

This is valuable recognition for both the author-recipient and his company or agency.

The second hidden benefit is a publication receiving the AEG Publication Award is forwarded to the committee responsible for selecting the E.B. Burwell Jr. Memorial Award given by the Environmental & Engineering Geology Division of the Geological Society of America. The Burwell Award is recognition that a publication is a distinguished contribution to Engineering Geology. Since 2010, four articles published in E&EG were chosen for this honor. The most recent recipient, Geologic and Geotechnical Factors Controlling Incipient Slope Instability at a Gravel Quarry, Livermore Basin, California, 16

Environmental & Engineering Geoscience AUGUST 2018

VOLUME XXIV, NUMBER 3

THE JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERING GEOLOGISTS AND THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA SERVING PROFESSIONALS IN ENGINEERING GEOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY, AND HYDROGEOLOGY

authored by Johnson, P.L., Shires, P.O., and Sneddon, T.P., was in 2017. The previous year, this paper received AEG’s Publication Award.

So consider submitting a paper for possible publication in Environmental & Engineering Geoscience. It is an opportunity to share your experience and knowledge to a wider audience and support your AEG journal. With publication of your paper, you get both personal satisfaction and the possibility of recognition through consideration for the AEG Publication Award and E.B. Burwell Jr. Memorial Award. Information on preparing and submitting to E&EG is found on the web at: https://eeg.allentrack.net/cgi-bin/main.plex?form_type=display_auth_instructions&j_id=100.

Call for Submissions…

AEG News Editors are planning the themes for the April issue now and will put out the details after the holidays with a notice in The Insider. Papers, Field Trips, and HomeFronts are due Feb. 15.

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December 2018

AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

AEG Annual Meeting/IAEG Congress in San Francisco:

A Successful Collaboration!

Sarah Kalika, 2018 Meeting Co-Chair

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or those of you who were not able to attend the AEG Annual Meeting/IAEG Congress in San Francisco this year, you missed a great event filled with opportunities to interact with over 900 geologists from 51 countries! The meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero hotel, which is located along the picturesque and historic San Francisco waterfront. Many attendees enjoyed views of the bay from their rooms! We had absolutely perfect, sunny weather for the entire week.

As you know, we followed the typical IAEG Congress format of a five-day meeting that featured four days of technical presentations with a mid-week field course. This year’s meeting had a choice of one of thirteen field courses (included in the meeting registration for full meeting, three-day registrants, and students). IAEG Congresses occur every four years, so AEG hosting this event was like hosting the Olympics of Engineering Geology! We packed many events into this lengthened format.

To follow an IAEG Congress format, we started the opening session with a welcome speech by the California State Geologist: John Parrish and two keynote speakers: Prof. J. David Rogers (Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA) and Prof. Runqiu Huang (Chengdu University and Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment, People’s Republic of China). Subsequent days began with two morning keynote speakers: Tuesday: Prof. Atiye Tugrul (Istanbul University, Turkey) and Prof. Alessandro Gualtieri (University of Modena, Italy); Thursday: Prof. Simon Loew (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland) and Prof. Kerry Sieh (Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore); and Friday: Prof. Jean Hutchinson (Queens University, Canada) and Dr. William Haneberg (Kentucky State Geologist, Kentucky Geological Survey and Professor, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA).

Opening Session notables, clockwise from top left: Meeting Co-chairs Gary Luce and Sarah Kalika, AEG 2017–18 President Greg Hempen, 2017–18 IAEG President Scott Burns, California State Geologist John Parrish, 2017–18 Jahns Lecturer John Wakabayashi, and 2018–19 Jahns Lecturer Deb Green with AEG Foundation President Kerry Cato.

December 2018

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AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

The Hyatt Regency Embarcadero made for an aesthetic setting for our Opening Session.

Recipients of AEG’s Outstanding Environmental and Engineering Geologic Project Award for 2018 – Calaveras Dam Replacement Project

BELOW: The Chinese contingent of IAEG.

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Six to eight concurrent technical sessions were held daily for a total of 57 technical sessions and nearly 400 oral presentations! Additionally, we had over 150 posters presented over three days. 153 authors also published a peer-reviewed paper within one of the six-volume Meeting Proceedings.

Each meeting attendee received (paperless on a USB drive) a copy of the proceedings, the Program with Abstracts, Cities of the World Publications for Sacramento and San Francisco, the field course guidebooks for each course, and a copy of the 1966 publication A Walker’s Guide to the Geology of San Francisco published by the California Division of Mines and Geology.

On Wednesday, meeting attendees traveled on a field course to various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, including: the San Francisco Presidio; Telegraph Hill in San Francisco; Marin County; Alcatraz; Hayward Fault offset features in Fremont, Hayward and at UC Berkeley; Calaveras Dam Replacement Project; West Napa Fault; local aggregate quarries in Napa and Vallejo; San Mateo County coastline; San Andreas Fault trace on the San Francisco peninsula; a reboot of the classic book “Streetcar to Subduction” featuring geology of San Francisco; Black Diamond Mines historic park in Contra Costa County; and a day trip to Yosemite which featured an inpark tour by the Yosemite Park Geologist.

Four guest tours transported our guest registrants to Muir Woods and Sausalito, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Disney Family Museum in the San Francisco Presidio, and on a walking tour of San Francisco’s famous Chinatown.

The meeting additionally featured four weekend field courses including Sonoma County with wine tasting, a visit to Oroville Dam, a two-day trip to Yosemite, and Mélanges and Bimrocks of the San Francisco Peninsula.

Our Tuesday night Special Event featured a dinner cruise on the Hornblower cruise ship San Francisco Spirit, which sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, then proceeded around the bay for nighttime views of Alcatraz, the San Francisco skyline, and Bay Bridge. After enjoying dinner, we packed the dance floor!

As a benefit to our exhibitors, we included many events within the exhibit hall to encourage foot traffic and booth visits: nightly drink tickets at a poster session Happy Hour event, open bar and passed appetizers during Thursday night’s poster

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December 2018

AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

Meeting by the Numbers: 51 countries represented (Approximately 60% of the registrants were AEG members or from the US, the other 40% traveled from 50 countries around the world.)

439 Full registrants 151 Three-day registrants 79 Single-day registrants 68 Guests 103 Students 1 Short Course on geoDRONEology 4 Guest Tours 4 Weekend Field Courses 13 Wednesday Field Courses 1 K–12 Teacher Workshop 1 Special Event: San Francisco Bay Cruise Numerous formal and informal events for Younger Members- including Young @ Heart Happy Hour and meet ups at local bars 43 Exhibitors 37 Sponsors

was outstanding and participants were able to socialize with colleagues, compare and contrast projects, and share research being conducted throughout the world.

AEG would like to extend a sincere thank you to our over 60 planning committee members from across the US who volunteered countless hours and worked to make this meeting successful! In particular, the committee would like to thank General Chairs Sarah Kalika, Gary Luce, and Coralie Wilhite; Field Course Chairs Chase White and Drew Kennedy; Meeting Proceedings editors Abdul Shakoor, Kerry Cato, and Karen Smith; Special Event Chair Morley Beckman; Student and Young Professional Events Chairs Kevin Mininger and Morley Beckman; Guidebook App Chairs Nate Saraceno, Clay Johnson, and Nolan Walker; Short Course Chairs Byron Anderson, Morley Beckman, and Chrissey Villeneuve; Sponsorship Chair Courtney Johnson; Guest Tour Chairs Alice Tepel and Linda Upp; K–12 Teacher Workshop Organizer and presenter Cynthia Pridmore; AEG’s Meetings Manager Heather Clark; and AEG Headquarters staff. Additional thanks to Scott Burns and Jeff Keaton for IAEG support and knowledge transfer to the committee.

We would also like to thank the additional 57 session moderators/symposium conveners and dozens of student volunteers who kept the sessions running smoothly. We would additionally like to thank the over 900 people who chose to join us in San Francisco!

If you’d like to assist with planning the upcoming AEG Annual Meetings in Asheville (2019), Portland (2020), or San Antonio (2021) please contact the Meetings Advisory Committee. We’re also looking for a host for meetings in 2022 and beyond!

reception, twice daily coffee and snack breaks, icebreaker reception, and exhibitor’s luncheon.

The meeting ended with a Friday afternoon closing session that featured the presentation of several IAEG Awards, transition of IAEG leadership, and advertisements for future IAEG and AEG meetings. The session was followed by a hosted appetizer and drink reception, which provided a nice closure and a final opportunity to celebrate the week with friends both new and old.

It Takes a Committee The meeting planning committee worked tirelessly for over four years to organize this event from the initial proposal stage prior to the IAEG 2014 Congress where our bid was submitted and since being awarded the meeting location. The committee overcame challenges including finding a suitable hotel in an attractive downtown location, but within a union-labor city (which resulted in higher than usual costs for food and audio visual that unfortunately trickled down to the registration rate), an unknown number of expected attendees from outside the US, US State Department challenges related to the granting of travel visas, and dozens of last minute cancellations of oral presentations—many by participants who were unable to get a visa. Despite all of these issues, we greeted over 900 attendees, which might be an AEG meeting record! Overall feedback December 2018

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s p i r T Field TOP FOUR: West Napa Earthquake and Wine

BOTTOM THREE: Hayward Fault at UC Berkeley, Hayward, and Fremont Walking Tour

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December 2018

AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

s p i r T Field TOP TWO: Syar Lake Herman Aggregate Quarry in Vallejo

REMAINING THREE: Coastal Geologic Hazards, San Francisco Upper Peninsula

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AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

s p i r T Field

TOP TWO: Environmental Geology in the San Francisco Presidio BOTTOM THREE: Geology of Alcatraz

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December 2018

AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

& s p i r T d l e i F t Tours Gues TOP LEFT: Yosemite National Park

TOP RIGHT: Walt Disney Family Museum LEFT AND BELOW: Streets of San Francisco – Geologic Walking Tour of Telegraph Hill

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AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

& s d n ‌ Frie dF d o o ‌ e o n i o F

Nothing fosters friendship like a shared meal. From the initial Icebreaker to casual events like the Exhibitor Luncheon and the Student Poster Reception to the more formal events like the Corporate Luncheon, Banquet, and Special Event Dinner Cruise, the Annual Meeting offered a variety of opportunites to eat, drink, and be merry with old friends and new.

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December 2018

AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

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AEG 61ST ANNUAL MEETING/IAEG XIII CONGRESS

n o i t a d n u o F AEG

…funding scholarships for the next generation of environmental & engineering geologists.

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Engineering & environmental geologists bridging borders to share knowledge and experience…

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s r e t s o P t n e d Stu

…giving Student Members a chance to shine!

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…dinner, dancing, and spectacular sunset views

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Sage Advice Jeriann Alexander, PE, REPA Editor’s Note: Jeriann Alexander was the Keynote Speaker at the Women in AEG/AWG Breakfast.

“Advice” is a noun which can be defined as “guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative.” With 30-plus years of geoscience consulting experience equally split between working at a small, scrappy, geotechnical and environmental engineering consulting firm and a very large, multi-national, geoscience firm, what I have to say may well be considered “Advice”—advice I wish I had when I was a young professional.

If you would have asked me 30 years ago if I would ever carry any real “clout” I would have told you no. I was far too busy trying to figure out what the client needed on a project or how to best write a report which would not garner more redlining than text I had worked so hard to provide, to stop and consider what attributes I would need to make me a more effective project manager or supervisor. I wanted to be that person others could turn to, but the path forward was just as murky as a mason jar full of sediment and water. Each professional and managerial challenge I faced made my insides feel like the jar after a good shaking. And sure, my life settled after each challenge. However, I was in need of something more than functioning in self-preservation mode.

Looking back on my first 15 years on the job, I learned a lot about how to fight to keep a place at the proverbial table where decisions were being made about the correct path for the small, scrappy former startup company I called my home away from home. More than once my projects were reassigned to my employers’ friends without even a casual conversation. I often heard my supervisor exclaim “Do whatever you need to do to keep the client happy, but don’t ask me how to do it.” No college course prepared me for how to deal with the social and mental challenges of working in a male-dominated field. Challenges occurred weekly, if not daily, and I had to develop a set of tools I could rely upon to survive the stress level. I call my tools “Life Concepts” and I turn to them daily. They have allowed me to become a trusted advisor to staff and clients alike. Though I do not think I would have developed them to the level they are at now if it had not been for Fugro.

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Fugro acquired the small, scrappy firm in September 2001 and I have outlasted all previous associates and principals of the previous firm, finally having found a place at the Fugro table where my opinions matter, collaboration is appreciated, and my management style is accepted and valued.

Here are my top nine Life Concepts which promote my healthy work–life balance, support my self-worth and keep me sane.

Owning My Mistakes OWNING my mistakes and actions and OWNING that I may have to make MORE time to build more understanding and consensus to allow a course correction; these are critical to the success of my projects. Recognizing that it takes time to change the focus from the WHY (an excuse) to the RESOLUTION receives more appreciation from my clients and peers.

Teaching Moments Recognizing that each and every situation provides a teaching moment, for all parties involved. Be open to be the pupil, as well as, the teacher.

Ethics and Integrity Character-building events occur throughout your career. You have a choice when facing dilemmas and it’s ALWAYS best to take the high road. Following a Code of Ethics and acting with Integrity are paramount to building and maintaining relationships and a respected reputation.

Managing People My staff are key to our group’s success. I make sure they know I care and appreciate them and I use management styles which I think will work to challenge them to succeed and encourage them not to ever settle for being subpar.

Controlling My Reaction In any situation you have a choice of how you react. It’s much better to pause before reacting, be calculated in your approach, and deliver your message with measured care to the audience present.

Support System Identify people who can provide you with both mental and social support and look to them often as your sounding board. My support system includes family, friends, and co-workers, and they push me to be a better manager, a stronger communicator, and to be their advocate.

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My Motto: Failure is NOT an Option Failure to me is settling for a response that is something less than giving my all. This became my motto in 2014 and it keeps me focused on finding a positive end result regardless of the circumstances.

Being Present Strive to provide enough attention to the matter at hand without distraction. This means being mindful of the situation and present in the situation; learn to be an active listener. When I practice mindfulness, I am more at peace and I feel better about the quality of time spent.

RESET Reflect on mistakes and course corrections. Reflect on how you are implementing your own “Life Concepts.� Reflect on how to be a better you. Then force a RESET, reorder loose ends and action items, set out a new course, and MOVE FORWARD.

About the Author Jeriann Alexander, PE, REPA is Principal Engineer and Manager of the Western Region Environmental Services Group for Fugro USA Land, Inc. AEG Past Presidents, L to R: Dorian Kuper, Susan Steele Weir, and Jennifer Bauer at the 2018 Women in AEG/AWG Breakfast

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Takeaways from the September 2018 Board of Directors Meeting

he 2018 AEG Annual Meeting/IAEG Congress was a success on multiple fronts. The Association is looking at a significant surplus, as well as starting to establish itself among other international associations.

There is excitement related to the upcoming 2019 Asheville, NC, Annual Meeting.

AEG Chapters are encouraged to volunteer to hold future annual meetings and smaller events of regionally related topics.

Ideally, AEG should have Annual Meetings planned for five years into the future. At present, Annual Meetings are only scheduled for the next three years. The shorter the timeline, the more difficult it is to acquire good dates and hotels and to negotiate pricing and concessions. A larger influence of environmental symposia at future Annual Meetings is encouraged.

Chapters are requested to host forums, conferences, and technical symposia locally and regionally to provide important professional development for AEG members and others in the profession and to help bolster chapter unity and funds.

Regional forums should be planned preferably for three years into the future.

2019 Events April 24–26 – Risk Assessments for Dam and Levee Foundations Workshop (Denver, CO) – Ed Friend June 8–14 – Grand Canyon Rafting Field trip – Ken Fergason.

The Code of Conduct’s implementation with other Bylaws issues for the membership was approved by the membership in the annual AEG election (summer of 2018). The Code of Conduct will be required for members renewing once or for new members.

Other Professional Organizations Eldon Gath was elected as the US-national representative of AEG to IAEG. His term begins in January of 2019.

AEG is working with other geological and environmental organizations (IAEG, GSA, GeoCoalition, Canadian Geotechnical Society, American Geosciences Consortium at National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Geological Insitiute) on a wide range of issues.

Licensure The Texas Sunset Commission in its periodic review of geologic licensure has recommended an adverse action for the Texas Geoscience Licensure. $20,000 from the AEG Legislative Fund has been provided to the Texas Geologic Coalition to obtain a positive action in the Texas legislature concerning geologic licensure in Texas.

Licensure in Idaho is also under review, many geologists in the state and in nearby states already organized and battling to keep licensure.

June 9–13 – 7th International Conference on Debris Flow Hazard Mitigation (Golden, CO) – Paul Santi September 16–21 – Annual Meeting (Asheville, NC) – Paul Weaver & Briget Doyle

Chapter Support and News All Chapter Officers should be receiving updates and call-in information related to the Chapter Support Calls. The Association is looking to rekindle the bonds between the local Chapter leadership and these calls are the first step in that process.

Topics range from helping new Chapters develop improved dinner meetings and field trips, manage their accounts, and navigate legal issues related to contracts and insurance. AEG wishes to connect local chapter leadership to one another and to association leadership.

The Chapter Support Committee, Governance Committee and Advocacy Committee need members! Please consider developing your skills, while aiding AEG with these important committees.

The AEG South Africa Chapter was dissolved at its request.

Those geologists have long been associated with a local body and IAEG. There are now no AEG chapters outside the US. The BOD voted to implement the Strategic Plan, a living document crafted to prioritize the memberships’ stated goals.

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AEG’s 2018–19 Board of Directors is made up of the Executive Committe and 11 Region Directors elected by AEG membership.

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PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS HEADER HERE

Photo Essay:

Recent Projects of the US Army Corps of Engineers – Nashville District A. Bruce Rogers, PG, Geologist, Engineering and Construction Division The Center Hill Foundation AT LEFT: USACE personnel inspecting dam foundation at Center Hill for seeps and voids, Cannon & Catheys Formations BELOW: Overall view of Center Hill RollerCompacted Concrete Dam excavation looking north—Cannon Formation—at bottom, Catheys Formation at top

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The Chickamauga Lock Project The blasting pit at the center of the new lock chamber within Hermitage Limestone

Excavation of the blasting pit in Tyrone Limestone at lower left, note green bentonite layer in the wall

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Susan Avritt, Chair, and Maddie German, Past Chair AEG Carolinas has been busy this summer/fall with meetings in August, September, and October! We had a summer dinner meeting this year on August 2 at Clouds Brewing in Raleigh, NC. Heather Kennealy (Law Offices of F. Bryan Brice, Jr.) and Ed Woloszyn (S&ME) presented Legal and Technical Aspects of the GenX Issue. They discussed the issues related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are considered emerging contaminants. Emerging contaminants, such as GenX, typically don’t have regulatory standards—yet, so the regulatory community takes a conservative approach in establishing health goals or action levels, which can result in costly assessments and remediation efforts. There were approximately 90 regulators, professionals, and students in attendance. Chapter sponsors Hazmat Emergency and Response and Remediation, Inc., and SGS North America generously provided drink tickets for paid attendees.

We had a summer/fall joint dinner meeting with the Western Section of ASCE on September 7 at Habitat Brewing in Asheville, NC. Then AEG Vice President Dave Fenster presented Why is Engineering Geology Important for Nuclear Plant Siting?

Dave’s extensive work in this topic made for an interesting and thoughtful presentation. The meeting was attended by over 50 people, approximately half of which were students. Chapter Sponsor Geologic Exploration generously provided drink tickets for paid attendees.

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We hosted the 2018–19 Jahns Distinguished Lecturer, Deborah Green, in October. Deb gave presentations at Western Carolina University, UNC-Asheville, East Tennessee State University, Appalachian State University, and Furman University.

Thanks to Deb for coming to visit our Chapter and to Jenn Bauer who chauffeured her to all of the venues!

Deb was also the presenter at our October 18 meeting at Kitchen + Market in Greensboro, NC. Deb presented Lets’ Talk – A Conversation on How We Communicate about Science. This was an aptly-timed presentation given the abundance of available information (or misinformation) that can be so easily obtained via the internet and social media, and the importance of effectively communicating our work with the public. Deb was back in the town where she began her career, and as such, was able to catch up with old friends and colleagues.

AEG Carolinas offers a 50/50 raffle at our dinner meetings to raise money for the Carolinas Scholarship fund and continues to put earth science education as a top priority. As part of this, we sponsored two NC Science Teachers Awards: the Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) Award—2018 Southeastern Section (and NC) won by Phillip Cox, and The NC Outstanding Earth Science Educator (OESE) won by Krista Brinchek. Each educator received $250 from the Carolinas Chapter. Congratulations Phillip and Krista!

We are also actively planning the 2019 AEG Association 62nd Annual Meeting to be held in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina, next September. With the amazing selection of hiking trails and breweries, this will not be an event to miss. Mark your calendar for September 12–17!

Guests enjoying dinner at the August 2nd meeting in Raleigh.

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Inland Empire Chapter James Burns, Secretary The Inland Empire Chapter returned from its summer hiatus on October 17 with Ryan Bulatao, Western US Business Development Manager of Roctest, presenting Permanent Safety Assessment of Dams, Levees, Waterways with Fiber Optic Distributed Sensing. He discussed the growing difficulties facing facility owners and engineers in the wake of the complex regulatory environment created by disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey and other dam incidents like Oroville. This presentation informed attendees about recent advances in technologies as well as new applications of existing technologies. These allow geologists and engineers to better assess the state of their structures using long-base fiber-optic technologies and distributed sensing techniques that can be used to create an array of sensors capable of matching the scale of dams and levees. Several large-scale case studies of the application of these technologies were presented from dams across the planet. AEG Inland Empire thanks Ryan Bulatao for his informative presentation.

On November 10, the Inland Empire chapter joined the Southern California Chapter and California State Polytechnic University Pomona to host a fall seminar at the Kellogg West Conference Center and Hotel addressing Debris Flows: Understanding the Hazard that included a discussion on the 2018 Montecito, California, mudflows. This seminar had presentations from multiple experts on the topic of debris flows from various academic and professional backgrounds.

Oregon Chapter Nancy Calhoun, Secretary Oregon Chapter meetings have recommenced for the 2018–19 year with momentum! The board reconvened in August with a changing of the guard. As the new Secretary for the Oregon Chapter board, I’d like to start by acknowledging the many hours of dedicated work from our outgoing Past-Chair, Stephen Hay. He kept the ship upright and full steam ahead, with his welcoming demeanor and thorough attention to details related to Oregon Chapter issues and events. Thanks, Stephen!

I’d also like to acknowledge our long-time newsletter editor, Scott Braunsten, who carried the torch for over six years and into a fully digital era. Scott set us up for efficient and snazzy newsletters into the future. Thanks, Scott!

Our speaker series kicked off in September after our annual summer hiatus. And we kicked off with a bang! Our first speaker, Curran Mohney, the lead engineering geologist from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), spoke of ongoing analysis of road resilience to a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, with an emphasis on proactive mitigation and necessary updates for the road network. It was an in-depth talk highlighting the planning and analysis process, funded projects, and future goals ODOT is concentrating on for the large regional issue of road resiliency and connectivity for supplies 36

and post-earthquake needs, in the event of a large Cascadian zone earthquake.

Our second speaker, Dr. Alan Hull from the Portland office of Golder Associates, gave a wide-ranging, multicontinental talk entitled Fault Rupture Hazards. He walked us through several versions of risk assessments for surface fault ruptures, as well as introducing several regulatory frameworks from around the globe and associated standards and guides to meet these regulations. He then took us on a global tour of case studies—from terribly active faults in our neighboring cities of Seattle and San Francisco to sleepy, ancient, East African-plate faults.

Our November meeting hosted Dr. Andrew Fountain, a professor from Portland State University who has an active and avid research history in glaciers, around the world! And our December meeting will host Drs. Ben Leshchinsky and Mike Olsen from Oregon State University, and I expect we’ll enjoy hearing about the cutting edge research all of these professors are conducting.

The January meeting will be our annual joint meeting with our local ASCE chapter, which we always look forward to!

We had many Oregon Chapter members present and attend the joint IAEG/AEG national conference in San Francisco, with what sounded like a stellar program. We are very proud to have Scott Burns at the helm of IAEG, representing Oregon and the US as the first American IAEG president with the very first US-held IAEG meeting. We heard rave reviews about the exciting field trips, the cooperative weather, and provocative talks. It was clear from those who attended what a galvanizing influence it is to have international members of the engineering and environmental geology community come together!

The Oregon Chapter awarded a merit-scholarship to assist in travel and conference costs to attend the joint IAEG/AEG conference to Bryan Allen of Portland State University, who spoke about the Use of Multi-Temporal Ground Penetrating Radar to Locate the Slip Surface of a Western Cascade Landslide Complex.

With excellent participation last spring in our Student Poster night, we hope to keep up the student numbers at monthly meetings, with free entrance to all students—which includes pizza! And we are also dedicated to continuing scholarships and travel grants to national AEG meetings.

A number of members of the Oregon Chapter AEG board and active members of the Chapter have begun to plan for the AEG National Meeting in Portland, OR in 2020—with ideas swirling for field trips and logistics—we hope to make the 2020 AEG national meeting impactful.

All in all, the Oregon Chapter is healthy and that is thanks in large part to our dedicated and engaged members. Many of our members participate and contribute to discussions on local, regional and national issues of professional licensure, among other relevant issues.

We wish all our AEG fellow chapters and members a happy holiday season from Oregon!

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Nashville Chapter A. Bruce Rogers, Secretary Fall Field Trip / Karst Hydrogeology Seminar at Mammoth Cave, KY The AEG Nashville Chapter 2018 Fall Field Trip was held the weekend of October 13–14 at the Mammoth Cave National Park and the Hamilton Valley Research Center. The guest speaker was distinguished karst hydrogeologist, Dr. Ralph Ewers, PG, Professor Emeritus Eastern Kentucky University, GSA Fellow, and President of EWC Water Consultants, Inc. In addition to guiding our tour through Mammoth Cave, Dr. Ewers gave several presentations on karst throughout the evening, including geophysical investigations of karst, dye tracing and several case studies from his career of almost 50 years. The Hydrogeology of Mammoth Cave presentation was of particular interest to the students, which were just coming back from a guided tour of the cave with Dr. Ewers. Great food, fun and interesting conversations carried on well into the night and we are still getting compliments on how well the event was planned and the quality of the presentations. A big Thank You goes out to Dr. Ewers for sharing his vast experience of karst, dye tracing and knowledge of Mammoth Cave with our chapter members.

AT RIGHT: (Top) Dr. Ralph Ewers presenting at the Hamilton Valley Cave Research Center during fall field trip (Bottom) Old saltpeter works in Mammoth Cave

Nashville AEG Chapter and Dr. Ralph Ewers at Fall Field Trip to Mammoth Cave, KY

The AEG Nashville Chapter has been busy with monthly Chapter meetings that coincide with our guest speakers presenting seminars. We are proud to announce that our fall field trip to Mammoth Cave and karst hydrogeology seminar that evening at the Hamilton Valley Research Center was a great success and enjoyed by all.

Our Chapter t-shirts are in and selling well, as we continue to pursue some other avenues of raising funds for use on our field trips and seminars. Geology is a subject best taught in the field and our goal is to

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THE HOMEFRONT HEADER HERE have as many field seminars as our budget will allow. We are already planning the 2019 field trips, more to come on that.

We continue to reach out to prospective members and cordially invite anyone interested to attend our monthly presentations that are given in conjunction with our chapter meetings.

Students from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN presented their research at our Student Night on November 15, 2018. AEG Nashville continues to mentor and support our younger members in their career development and recognize their importance to the future of our chapter.

Reaching out and getting expert technical presenters at our monthly AEG meetings remain great recruiting tools for our Chapter. We strive to find the best speakers that feature relevant topics on emerging technology, in order that all of our members benefit from the seminars. We also actively engage our students to give presentations on their research. Our continuing mission at AEG Nashville is to provide a forum for the exchange of technology and fellowship for all of the professional engineering and environmental geologists in our region, regardless of the stage of their career. A successful chapter is one that is diverse in both experience and age!

Our August Chapter meeting was held at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Nashville. Our speaker was Robert Jowers, PE, Geotechnical Engineering Section Manager for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. His presentation, TDOT’s Use of Geofoam for a Vertical Embankment, included a very informative slide show on the use of geofoam as an alternate and effective means of engineered fill for embankments.

The September meeting was held at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Nashville. Our speaker was Lannae Long, PE, of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District. Her presentation, Use of Snap Sampling for Groundwater Sampling near Nesting Bald Eagles – A Case Study, focused on alternate sampling methodologies required to assess groundwater pollution that was in proximity to nesting bald eagle nests. The presentation included an overview of the economic and practical advantages of using snap sampling compared to conventional methods.

The AEG Nashville Chapter 2018 Student Night was held on November 15, 2018 at the Bavarian Bierhaus in Nashville.

Several students came and presented their research topics and term papers. This is part of the mission of AEG-Nashville, to allow our student members to get experience with speaking at technical forums in order to develop their professional communication skills. We plan to schedule these student presentation nights in the spring and fall of each year.

New York-Philadelphia Chapter Loren Lasky, Newsletter Editor The New York-Philadelphia (NYP) Chapter has maintained an active schedule this year, with monthly dinner meetings at the Clarion Hotel in centrally located Somerset, New Jersey. In between snow storms in March 2018, we were happy to host Mark Eisner, PG, President of Advanced Land and Water, Inc., from neighboring Baltimore, for a thought provoking presentation on the Sources of Nitrate in Rural Groundwater. Old friends from Mark’s grad school days at the University of Delaware, 38

Tim and Andrea McGahan, surprised him by coming out to hear his talk. Matt McMillen of Enviroprobe Service Inc., a firm that provides engineering and environmental geophysical services on land and water, was our dinner meeting sponsor.

In March, we also honored our long-time member and past

Speaker Mark Eisner (R) from Baltimore, catches up with old grad school friends from the University of Delaware, NYP’s Andrea and Tim McGahan

Section Chairman, Mark Zdepski (JMZ Geology), on the occasion of his retirement. Funny anecdotes and touching tributes were shared by John Jimenez and Rich Britton among others, to thank him for his chairmanship and his friendship. For example: “Mark has always had the highest ethical standards” and “Mark is the Geologist’s Geologist!” and famously, “Mark doesn’t like forms!”

Many recalled their shared work history with Mark at Earth Technology Cor- Mark Zdepski (L), venerable early Chairman poration (ERTEC) circa of the New York Philadelphia “Section,” is 1985, later, AECOM, congratulated on his retirement by noted which included many hydrogeologist, Dr. Andy Michalski (R) NYP regulars: Andy Michalski, Joe Torlucci, Bharat Patel, Joe Sorge, Tom Myers, George and Louellen Klepp, Paul Montney, Mike McGowan, Rich Bizub, John McGann, John Grelis, Murray Rosenburg, Jerry Cirilli and Curt Schmidt. Jim Peterson also cited the impressive knowledge of urban architecture and railroad history that Mark displayed on field trips. John Jimenez presented Mark with his retirement gift from all of us, a nuts and bolts statue, labelled: “Mark Zdepski, Retired Geologist: No job, No clock, No cares, No memory!”

Congratulations are also due to long time NYP Member and Geology Professor, Jim (“Dr. Seamus B”) Brown, retiring after many years of teaching geology at Montclair State University and William Paterson University.

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Geophysicist Matt McMillen, of Enviroprobe Services, Inc., a land and sea engineering and environmental geophysical services firm, is an NYP regular and favorite dinner meeting sponsor.

their track-mounted geoprobe rigs, and their air rotary, mud rotary, and sonic drilling services.

Over the summer, we put together our new slate of officers and NYP is pleased to welcome Jim Peterson of Princeton Geoscience Inc. (PGI) as our new Chapter Chair! Rose DeLorenzo (LSRP Consultants), our outgoing Chair, will stay on as Vice Chair; Tim Hull and Tyler Thompson (PGI) will serve together as our Co-Secretaries; and Niall Henshaw (Parsons) will stay on as Treasurer.

As our chapter grows, we are excited to add the following individuals in newly created posts: Mike Newtown (Stantec) as Programming Chair, Ricky Chenenko (CDM Smith) as Field Trip Chair, and Thomas Cumello (Dewberry) as Membership Chair. Curt Schmidt will serve as Bylaws Chair and Loren Lasky will stay on as Newsletter Editor. Filling new Regulatory Liaison positions, we have Ted Toskos (representing New Jersey), George Marshall (New York) and Curt Schmidt (Pennsylvania).

We are grateful to have the continued support of the very hardworking Professor Alex Gates of Rutgers as our Student Outreach Coordinator; Amanda Forsburg, who will join him; and Jennifer Cherlin-Fras as our Social Media Coordinator.

Lastly, congratulations to Rose and Mark DeLorenzo on the birth of their baby boy, Vincent, in October!

St. Louis Chapter Jessie Goodwin, Chapter Editor

NYP’s Rob Garfield (L) of Hager-Richter Geosciences, and John Dougherty (R) of CDM Smith, packed the house for their presentation on “Multi-Level Well Design, Selection and Construction.”

In April 2018, two of our own local NYP members teamed up for a very technical presentation on Multi-Level Well Design, Selection and Construction. John Dougherty, Senior Hydrogeologist at CDM Smith, and Rob Garfield, Principal Borehole Geophysicist and now owner of Hager-Richter Geoscience, Inc., presented a summary grid that factored in many important investigative criteria to consider when planning work in different hydrogeologic settings. They packed the house, and several Bucknell alumni came out to hear Rob’s talk. Hager-Richter, one of the largest geophysical specialty firms in the northeast, also sponsored the meeting and fielded questions before and after the talk.

In May 2018, we had a presentation on Groundwater Treatment for 1,4 dioxane and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) by Steve Maxwell, PG, LSRP and Dick Toro, CEC Consultants. PFAS are a group of organic compounds that include PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) and PFNA (Perfluorononanic acid.) These “Emerging Contaminants” have been detected in unexpected areas, have complicated actual and proposed regulations, and have extraordinarily low, parts per trillion, regulatory standards. They discussed sampling and treatment technologies and cited a recent lawsuit that settled for almost a billion dollars. NYP was grateful to have Enviroprobe sponsor our May meeting and they displayed info about December 2018

On August 10, about 30 members and friends of AEG gathered in the picnic grounds of the 11,000-seat Muny Theatre in Forest Park. The group enjoyed a quick supper and backstage tour of this landmark outdoor theatre, which celebrated the close of its 100th season. The production, Meet Me in St. Louis, was a pull-all-the-stops humdinger, complete with a real trolley,a theylive-happily-ever-after ending, and fireworks. Despite some severe weather in the area before the show and some showers afterwards, as promised, the weather during the show was balmy, mild, and dry. A special thanks to Phyllis Steckel for organizing this excellent event!

Vicki Voigt, RG, Chief of the Geologic Mapping Unit with the Missouri Geological Survey, presented at the St. Louis Chapter’s meeting on September 27, 2018. She discussed the updates to the Missouri Geological Survey’s GeoSTRAT system.

GeoSTRAT, or the Geosciences Technical Resource Assessment Tool, is a web-based interactive tool to explore geologic and geotechnical data for the state of Missouri. The GeoSTRAT system is now available on a mobile platform.

On October 27, 2018, members of the St. Louis Chapter toured Waste Connection’s Champ Landfill in Champ, Missouri (near Maryland Heights, Missouri). Champ Landfill is the largest landfill in the state of Missouri and is projected to be in operation until 2100. The Subtitle D landfill is in an operating limestone quarry and the site includes a composting operation, a concrete plant, an asphalt plant, and a landfill gas power generation center. Leachate is treated by air sparging before being discharged to the POTW to remove methane for the safety of the sewer system.

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Scenes from the October 2018 St. Louis Chapter tour of the Waste Connection’s Champ Landfill in Champ, Missouri

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Texas Chapter

Inside the Cave Without a Name

Rusty Branch, Eric Stiffler, Pat Frost, Melissa Cordell, and Stephanie Coffman – AEG Texas Board AEG Texas Chapter Fall 2018 Meeting: Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop, Boerne Texas The AEG Texas Chapter was a sponsor of the 5th Annual Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop held at the Cave Without a Name in Boerne, TX (http://www.hydrogeoworkshop.org/sponsors.php).

The Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop consisted of a well-organized series of training sessions led by knowledgeable professionals in their field for a range of topics covering the collection, processing, analysis, and evaluation of hydrologic and geologic field data for students and professionals.

The AEG Texas Board and members participated at the AEG booth and engaged with students, professors, and professionals. Skye Ibarra, our Student Liaison, organized our team and ensured that we had AEG swag—including pens and booklets—for students, and a covered booth with an AEG banner. In addition to water and snacks, a raffle for AEG shirts, books, caps/visors, and donated items drew students to our table.

Set up began on Friday, with participants coming in to camp and having discussions about on-going and completed research at the evening “Lightning Talks.” Thanks to our efforts, we received 42 student applications to join AEG. The workshop’s training modules were free for those volunteering with the Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop, so our AEG members were able to get professional development hours.

Sessions were held on Saturday and included exploring wet caves, learning about emerging contaminants in drinking water, modeling groundwater, and understanding more about karst features, just to name a few. On Saturday night, we went down into the Cave Without a Name for the keynote address, Listen

Students registering as AEG Texas members

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to the Hole in the Ground, by Dr. Todd Halihan, a Professor of Geology at Oklahoma State University and Chief Technical Officer for Aestus, LLC. What is said in the cave stays in the cave, so you will just have to trust us that it was an entertaining, sobering, and riveting talk.

After the keynote address, there was a Yodeler/Hog Caller contest held in the Cave Without a Name (which has great acoustics) in which our own Rusty Branch participated.

While he was beaten out by a Burmese cattle call, Rusty’s TexasLouisiana call, complete with stomping, wowed the crowd.

Our own AEG Texas member, Rebecca Funderburg, won the rock ID contest. Later that night, we decked out our raffle winners (aka newly signed up

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HEADER THE HOMEFRONT HERE students) in AEG shirts, hats, etc. Saturday night ended with another round of “Lightning Talks” inspiring discussion on research that will soon be published.

Sessions were held on Sunday as well and included an additional opportunity for a geology tour of Cave Without a Name (assisted by Pat Frost). The workshop grounds were then returned to their previous condition applying “the leave no trace” concept. This first time of sponsoring and supporting the Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop was an all-around success.

Watching the Lightning Talks on Friday night

University of Houston AEG Student Chapter Members at the AEG Texas Booth

Index of Advertisers AEG 2019 Annual Meeting........................Inside Front Cover AEG Corporate Sponsors ..................................................43 Geotechnology, Inc. ............................................................6 McMillen Jacobs .................................................................7 Penn Master of Science in Applied Geosciences .......................................Back Cover

For information on supporting AEG through sponsorship and/or advertising in AEG News, contact AEG Headquarters: headquarters@aegweb.org.

Philip Pearce of SWCA sharing his knowledge of karst feature evaluation at the Texas Hydro-Geo Workshop

ONLY ONE SPOT LEFT … for the AEG Grand Canyon Field Trip: Rafting the Colorado River – June 8–14, 2019

Don’t See Your Chapter?

Ask your officers to submit an article and/or photos about your recent meetings and field trips!

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Contact Vicki Mackay at Colorado River & Trail Expeditions: crate@crateinc.com

AEG NEWS 61(5)

December 2018

s r o s n o p S e Corporat

AEG is grateful to the corporations and individuals who contribute to our operating fund through their sponsorship.

Kilauea

SHN Engineers & Geologists Gary Simpson

Steele and Associates, LLC

812 W. Wabash Ave. Eureka, CA 95501 707-441-8855 gsimpson@shn-engr.com www.shn-engr.com

Susan Steele Weir 2390 Forest St. Denver, CO 80207-3261 303-333-6071 steeleweir@aol.com

For information on sponsorship opportunities: www.aegweb.org/?page=BecomeASponsor

AEG FOUNDATION SHLEMON SPECIALTY Conference STATE OF THE SCIENCE: Investigations of Active Faults in the Basin and Range Province In Honor of Dr. Burt Slemmons (1922–2017)

Las Vegas, Nevada at UNLV Campus • March 28–29, 2019

Call for Abstracts!

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL: January 15, 2019.

CRITERIA FOR APPLICATION: www.aegfoundation.org Please have a backup author prepared to give your presentation should you not be able to attend.

Your abstract will be reviewed for subject and for-mat appropriateness; notifications of acceptance/rejection will be sent by February 1, 2019.

December 2018

Who Should Attend: Practitioners, Researchers, State Survey Representatives, Federal Researchers, and Students

Format: Day One–30-minute presentations with time for comment and discussion.

Day Two–field trip to fault locations in the Las Vegas area.

Capacity: Limited to 75 participants For more information, contact: John H. Peck at 702-556-5229, peckj1@juno.com Gary Luce at 775-883-1600, lucegc@charter.net Shlemon conferences are sponsored by the AEG Foundation and supported by a generous gift from Roy Shlemon. The conferences are meant to engage leading researchers and practitioners in the subject field of scientific endeavor in order to advance the state of knowledge.

AEG NEWS 61(5)

43

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