A planar, pliable sealing member is provided as a flexible seal for covering an upper opening of the well pit for any configuration of sump pump system. The sealing member forms a continuous membrane that provides a gas seal formed of any suitable non-gas diffusive or selectively gas diffusive material, including various elastomeric rubbers, such as butyl rubbers or other similar or functionally equivalent polymeric or co-polymeric rubbers. A seal at an outer periphery hat forms a continuous adhesive seal. The membrane further forms access orifices to allow for the passage of egressing structures such as pump discharge, ventilation, sump electrical connections, etc. A second sealing element is then applied or affixed providing an air-tight seal between the membrane at each orifice and a surface of any egressing structure. The second sealing element may be a similar adhesive, mastic or caulking material as with the first sealing element.

Systems and methods of the present invention include a method for the treatment of drilling wastes and coal combustion residues, comprising combining at least a first drilling waste with coal combustion residues to form a paste, combining at least a second drilling waste with coal combustion residues to form a compactable fill, and placing the paste and the compactable fill in a landfill. Other embodiments include a method of treating drilling wastes and coal combustion residues, comprising combining at least one drilling waste with a coal combustion residue to form a paste. Further embodiments include containing the paste within at least one geotextile container. Still further embodiments include placing the geotextile container in a landfill.

A membrane-lined wall for levee reinforcement or leak prevention, prevention of water migration, and pollution control of impoundments. The membrane-lined wall generally includes a cementitious or concrete wall formed within an excavated trench. The concrete may be internally reinforced, and the wall may also comprise a double-layer of impermeable geomembrane liner that forms a barrier between the concrete and the sides and bottom of the trench. The membrane or liner reduces water migration, prevents levee leakage, and prevents the escape of contaminants in impoundments.

A method for forming a geomembrane liner testable for leaks by securing adjacent panels together with the conductivity of the lower surface of an overlying panel broken along a line adjacent the panel overlapping edge, and the overlapping edges sealed along the line. A heat welder has slots for the overlapping panel edges, with a heated wedge between the slots and having a projection to break the conductivity of the overlying panel bottom surface as it passes the wedge. The slots merge to press the liner edges together to heat weld them along the line of broken conductivity as the welder is moved along the panel edges.

Provided is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) multilayer sheet used for the fabrication of liners and covers for the geotechnical industry (geomembrane), which sheet has both good flexibility and excellent barrier properties to organic solvents and gases.

A geosynthetic clay liner for containing low pH, acidic fluids including a dry blended mix 90%-99% by weight bentonite and 1%-10% by weight high molecular weight cellulose ether polymer, and a method and containment including the liner to protect an environment around a site having low pH, acidic fluids.

The invention relates to a low-permeability geotechnical barrier material including a blend of approximately equal parts of: aggregate particles, sand-size particles and manufactured composite particles that include a hydratable sealant material composed of naturally-occurring clay minerals and/or polymer-enhanced clay minerals, such that the actual percentage of clay mineral component is less than 10% by weight in the blended material. In a particular embodiment, the construction of a low-permeability geotechnical barrier using predominantly coarse grain materials by conventional compaction efforts is rarely attempted due to the difficulty of maintaining a uniform mix of well-graded sand and aggregate blends necessary to achieve low permeability. The regularly achievable permeability offered by this material blend when installed with specific proscribed techniques using conventional equipment can be 510.sup.8 cm/sec or lower.

A device for protecting against the scouring of granular fillings submerged in gravity structures in which a filling with granular materials must be deposited once the structures are submerged, so that the structures reach a weight sufficient to en sure the stability thereof against the actions to which they are subjected. The device consists of one or more porous covers that sit and/or are secured as an upper closure of the structure to protect the inner filling, each of the covers having a plurality of openings that are distributed on the surface thereof and have a size suitable to allow the passage of the filling material, which filling material is transferred to the inside of the structure simply by pouring until a height close to the cover is reached, leaving a margin or chamber between the two that is suitable for generating an internal turbulence that dissipates wave energy and incident currents, thereby making it difficult for the filling material to escape from the inside through the openings.

A device for protecting against the scouring of granular fillings submerged in gravity structures in which a filling with granular materials must be deposited once the structures are submerged, so that the structures reach a weight sufficient to en sure the stability thereof against the actions to which they are subjected. The device consists of one or more porous covers that sit and/or are secured as an upper closure of the structure to protect the inner filling, each of the covers having a plurality of openings that are distributed on the surface thereof and have a size suitable to allow the passage of the filling material, which filling material is transferred to the inside of the structure simply by pouring until a height close to the cover is reached, leaving a margin or chamber between the two that is suitable for generating an internal turbulence that dissipates wave energy and incident currents, thereby making it difficult for the filling material to escape from the inside through the openings.

In a method for producing a concrete foundation for a wind power tower externally preloaded and made of precast concrete parts, a formwork for the concrete foundation is erected, core elements for producing passage openings in the concrete foundation for the loading elements are positioned and fixed on the formwork, and the concrete foundation is cast. A measurement reference system is established in order to position the core elements, at least one first positioning aid having an adapter device for a core element and having at least one reference segment is provided on the formwork. A corresponding concrete foundation is produced in accordance with the described method. A positioning device for orienting core elements in a concrete foundation comprises at least one first positioning aid, which has an adapter device for a core element and at least one reference segment for calibrating the first positioning aid.