Geotechnical Business Committee

Welcome to the Geotechnical Business Committee Portal, your one-stop shop for information to help you in your geotechnical practice!

 

Mission of the Geotechnical Business Committee

To respond to geotechnical issues as they arise and develop educational content to help members deal with these and other geotechnical issues in a manner that enhances their professionalism and demonstrates value.

Click for a list of Geotechnical Business Committee Members

Click the link above for a listing of our members. We need new members to carry out the important work being done by GBC. If you are interested in joining, please contact Rick Heckel, PE, D.GE at  or rheckel@geoengineers.com

The Geotechnical Business Committee (GBC) focuses on providing educational materials including case histories, practice alerts, webinars, and speakers for our spring and fall general membership meetings. GBC also interacts with other professional and standard producing organizations such as the International Building Code, ASTM, USACE, ASCE and others. Below is a partial listing of our initiatives:

  • Prepare  best practices paper on bridging the gap in responsibilities between the geotechnical engineer of record and geotechnical specialty contractors based on a  special task force meeting held in Seattle, WA in October 2016,
  • Provide speakers for upcoming GBA membership meetings
  • Publish case histories demonstrating the value provided by geoprofessionals in outside publications
  • Prepare model geotechnical specifications
  • Update GBA’s document on the Geotechnical Engineer of Record
  • Interact with various organizations producing geotechnical and geology standards to represent the interests of our membership
  • Review current GBA educational materials to evaluate whether or not they are still relevant or need to be updated
  • Prepare a practice alert on green infrastructure or climate change
  • Prepare a practice alert on geotechnical software verification
  • The Tailings Engineer of Record (EOR) Task Force: The mission of this task force is to, “Raise awareness among GBA member firms who perform tailings storage facility design services of the concerns and issues related to Engineer of Record (EOR) for these ever-changing facilities; outreach to industry, other organizations, and regulatory agencies, as appropriate, for feedback on the issues; and develop internal and outreach documentation on the issue, including defining roles/responsibilities of the EOR, and implementation of a transfer process for EOR for tailings storage facilities.”

TASK FORCE MISSION:To raise awareness among GBA member firms who perform tailings storage facility design services of the concerns and issues related to Engineer of Record (EOR) for these ever-changing facilities; outreach to industry, other organizations, and regulatory agencies, as appropriate, for feedback on the issues; and develop internal and outreach documentation on the issue, including defining roles/responsibilities of the EOR, and implementation of a transfer process for EOR for tailings storage facilities

TASK FORCE EVENTS:

Tailings EoR Workshop:

Workshop Introduction


    

Workshop Agenda

Workshop Presentations:

Tailings EOR Task Force Mission, Workshop Objectives & Insurer Concerns Pertaining to Tailings Work (Kim Morrison)

Review of Pre-Workshop Survey Results

One Size Does Not Fit All – EoR Program Design and Scalability

Engineer of Record – An Owner’s Perspective

EOR – Canadian Evolving Practice

U.S. Society on Dams (USSD) Tailings Committee Update

A Consultant’s Perspective on EoR Responsibilities
Overview of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO)

Current Requirements for Tailings Dam Engineers in Alaska

State and Federal Government EoR Positions

Oil Sands Dam Safety Practice in Alberta Canada Regarding the EoR

Breakout Session Summary

Conference Calls

Meeting Minutes May 12, 2016

Meeting Minutes June 17, 2016

Meeting Minutes August 19, 2016

Meeting Minutes October 13, 2016

OTHER REFERENCE MATERIALS:

Tailings Dam Failure Investigations

Mount Polley Independent Expert Investigation and Review Report

Samarco’s Fundão Tailings Dam Investigation and Panel Report

International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM)

ICMM’s Position Statement on Preventing Catastrophic Failure of Tailings Storage Facilities

British Columbia Ministry of Energy & Mines (BCMEM)

British Columbia’s Mining Code Guidance Document

United States Society on Dams (USSD)

USSD’s Committee on Tailings Dam Charter

Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO)

ASDSO Resolution 1-2016: Support for Tailings Dam Safety (2016)

Canadian Dam Association (CDA)

Mining Dams Committee

Other References:

Morrison & Hatton (2016) “Engineer(s) of Record, Changing the Dam Paradigm.” Tailings & Mine Waste ’16, Keystone, Colorado. (Presentation)

GBC continues to build upon an extensive library of educational materials for geoprofessionals. These materials include: