AEG Sacramento Section Quarterly Newsletter Summer/Fall 2012 · AEG Sacramento Section Quarterly Newsletter Summer/Fall 2012 5 News and Announcements ANNUAL MEETING IN SALT LAKE CITY:

AEG Sacramento Section Quarterly Newsletter Summer/Fall 2012

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AEG Sacramento Section Dear Fellow AEG’ers,

Hope you are busy and having a wonderful summer field season.

As we get prepared for the annual meeting in Salt Lake City this month it is a good time to look ahead at all the

activities we have planned for the remainder of the year. Shortly after our annual meeting in two weeks

(September 18-21) we will be having our October monthly meeting. This will be our second joint meeting with the

folks from GeoInstitute and we look forward to having another record turnout. Last year we had over 100 people

attend this meeting to hear Leslie Harder and Ross Boulanger give a wonderfully illustrated talk about the

geotechnical aspects of the Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. We also have monthly meetings planned for November

and our joint holiday meeting, Wednesday 12 December with the GRA. AEG is the host for both the GeoInstitute

and GRA joint meetings this year. Last year’s holiday meeting had close to 200 people attending, so let’s see if we

can break 200 in attendance this year.

We are putting the finishing touches on a field trip to Folsom Dam and will be announcing the date of that field trip

shortly. Keep on the lookout for the field trip flyer, which should be available before the annual meeting.

We are also co-sponsoring (with the San Francisco Section) a one-day symposium on naturally occurring asbestos

(NOA) in December in conjunction with the Annual Fall AGU meeting in San Francisco. We are beginning

preparation now and expect to have a symposium announcement within the next few weeks.

Also, in October is the election of section officers. If any of you are interested in becoming more active in the

section leadership, or know of someone who you think would make a good section officer please feel free to contact

me, or any of the other section officers listed at the end of this newsletter.

Bottom line………we have an event-filled Fall you won’t want to miss.

Sincerely,

Garry Maurath, Chair AEG Sacramento Section 916.679.2002 | [email protected]

PS. If there are any students looking for free transportation to the Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City there are several

members from our section driving to the meeting who have volunteered to give students a free ride to and from the

meeting. Please contact either me or Eric Chase if you are interested.

mailto:[email protected]


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Legislative Update

Contributed by Bill Fraser

Sacramento Section Legislative Chair

AB 975 (Wright) passed the both houses of the legislature on August 29th and has been sent to

the Governor for signature. The bill’s sponsor is American Council of Engineering Companies

(ACEC), whose website states their government advocacy program seeks to provide a

favorable business climate for the engineering industry. AB 975 is the reincarnation of a bill

introduced last year that sought to prevent the State Water Resources Control Board from

requiring training and a license to prepare Storm Water Pollution Protection Plans. AB 975

was amended several times and essentially prevents any agency from imposing a licensure

requirement beyond the professional license issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The bill argues that it is too much of a burden on the licensees to have requirements outside

that of the professional license. The bill further states those agencies that believe additional

expertise is needed should work with the Department of Consumer Affairs to improve the

exam process accordingly. The Governor has until September 30 to sign or veto the bill.

While discussing the increasing importance of the professional licensing process as the

exclusive means to insure geologists are prepared and qualified for engineering and

environmental practice, the distinction between the PG and the CEG/CHG license is often

made. Legally, the CEG and CHG licenses allow the holder to call themselves an engineering

geologist or a hydrogeologist; but it’s the PG license that allows the holder to practice the

various applications of geology. Several questions arise from this important distinction. First,

does the PG license holder really have sufficient training and qualification to perform

specialized engineering geology and hydrogeology work? Secondly, can a jurisdiction require a

CEG or CHG perform certain work to achieve a higher level of expertise when needed? These

are important questions; affecting both public safety as well as the business of engineering

geology, and will ultimately be decided by any future legislation or BPELSG’s administrative

policies. As such it is very important that geologists proactively shape their profession rather

than simply accept an outcome driven by other interest groups.


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AEG Sacramento Section

Date to be Announced

Location: Aviator’s Restaurant, Sacramento Executive Airport

6151 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, CA.

Lots of free parking! Link to map

Speaker: James McCalpin, Jahns Lecturer

Topic: Title to be determined

Agenda: 5:30-6:30pm – Social hour and student posters

6:30-7:30pm – Dinner

7:30-8:30pm – Speaker

8:30-8:45pm – Questions

Meeting Cost: $25 members (with RSVP) and $30 non-members

There will be a $3 surcharge for no RSVP

$5 students (no surcharge for student walk-ins)

Student Sponsorships welcomed! Sponsor a student for $20

We now have PayPal – you can register and pay online at the

AEG Sacramento Section Website

You may RSVP by going to -- http://www.aegsacto.org or by sending

an email to: [email protected]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=6151+Freeport+Blvd,+Sacramento,+CA+95822&sll=38.511389,-121.502254&sspn=0.010108,0.017424&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=6151+Freeport+Blvd,+Sacramento,+California+95822&ll=38.515148,-121.500227&spn=0.010107,0

http://www.aegsacto.org/



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Jahns Lectureship

A Brief History and the Current Lecturer

The Jahns lectureship was established in 1988 to commemorate the professional

contributions and leadership of Dr. Richard H. Jahns (1915-

1983). During his long and prolific career, Dick Jahns served as a

US Geological Survey geologist; a professor at Caltech; a

professor, division head, and Dean of the College of Mineral

Industries at Penn State; and dean of the School of Earth

Sciences at Stanford, where he was instrumental in founding its

Department of Applied Earth Sciences.

A meticulous observer and mapper, Dick Jahns was a geologist’s

geologist. His expertise ranged from the origin of pegmatites to

glacial geology to seismic hazards to strategic mineral deposits.

Dick enjoyed widespread respect as a leader and was also

renowned for his love of teaching. To that end, the primary

objective of the Jahns lectureship is to increase student

awareness of careers in engineering geology with special emphasis on colleges or universities

without established programs in applied geology.

CURRENT JAHNS LECTURER

James McCalpin (aka Dr. Rox) is a geologist who performs research and consulting in geological

hazards, especially earthquakes and landslides. He studied geology at the University of Texas

(BA, 1972), University of Colorado (MS, 1975), and the Colorado School of Mines (PhD, 1981).

He was a field geologist for US Geological Survey in Alaska and

California (1976-78), and later County Geologist for Jefferson

County, Colorado (1981). Then came 10 years as a professor at

Utah State University (1982-1991). Since 1991 he's been a full-time

consultant in Colorado, heading GEO-HAZ Consulting

(www.geohaz.com). For GEO-HAZ projects he travels the globe,

having visited 40 countries in his career, and having learned bad

words in many languages and dialects.

Dr. Richard H. Jahns


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News and Announcements

ANNUAL MEETING IN SALT LAKE CITY: If you haven't already registered, it's not too late.

You won't want to miss this year's meeting! Go to: www.aegweb.org to find more

information on the meeting and how to register.

o Thanks to all the members of the Sacramento Section AEG: because of your

generous contribution to the AEG Foundation Fund, the AEG Foundation Board

of Directors invite you to a special Donor Reception during the Annual Meeting,

which will be held on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM in

the Trofi Restaurant, located in the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, for beer, wine,

and light hors d'oeuvres.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is now accepting pre-orders of a new

publication titled "Rockfall: Characterization and Control." The publication will be

released later this fall in both hardcover ($110) and paperback ($90) versions.

Shipping costs for the 600-plus page publication will be waived for all orders placed

before October 1. See Bob Sydnor’s pre-publication review in this newsletter for more

information.

The Friends of the Pleistocene Pacific Cell is having a Meeting/Field trip to Lake Tahoe

and neighboring basins on September 14-16. Go to

http://funnel.sfsu.edu/fop/Tahoe_2012/FOP_main.html for more information.

Professional Geologist exam writing workshops: o September 11-12, and 25-26;

o October 23;

o November 14, and 27-28.

Certified Hydrogeologist exam writing workshops: o September 19-20;

o October 22-23; and

o November 15.

In order to participate, you must already have a current PG/CHG license, a California

resident, no pending/active Board disciplinary actions, and neither Professors/teachers

and/or State Employees. If you are interested in participating and meet these

requirements, please contact Vania Sevilla at the Board for Professional Engineers,

Land Surveyors and Geologists at 916-263-1855 or [email protected].

Future engineering geologists (let us know if there are more!): o Makena Chayse White, daughter to Chase and Kelly White, born April 4th

has already been introduced to Sierra Nevada geology and made her

first visit to Yosemite with mom and dad while driving over Tioga Pass on

the way home from a long road trip to Arizona and Las Vegas.

o Marina Jean Morley, daughter to Holly Nichols and Derek Morley, born

April 7th already knows the difference between intrusive and extrusive

rocks by taste, which she discovered on a recent trip to Mammoth

Lakes.

http://funnel.sfsu.edu/fop/Tahoe_2012/FOP_main.html



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New 2012 Rockfall Handbook

from the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council

pre-publication review by Robert H. Sydnor, LM-AEG September 2012

AEG members will be pleased to learn about the impending publication of a new book on rockfalls. It is edited by Dr. Keith Turner (M-AEG, professor of engineering geology at the Colorado School of Mines), and Dr. Robert L. Schuster (HM-AEG; emeritus USGS). The 600-page treatise on rockfalls will be published late Autumn 2012 by the National Research Council, Transportation Research Board. This carefully edited book was five years in preparation. Significant contributions have been made by AEG members: Dr. Jerry Higgins (Colorado School of Mines), John Duffy (Caltrans, San Luis Obispo), Lawrence Pierson (Cornforth Consultants, Portland, Oregon), and Thomas Badger (Washington State Department of Transportation). This unprecedented book will be immediately adopted by all state highway departments, will be used and cited by consulting engineering geologists in specific reports, and will be used by academia in engineering geology classes.

For pre-publication orders before October 1, 2012, there is no shipping cost. The hard-back edition is $110, and the paperback edition is $90.

A four-page brochure that fully describes this new rockfall book is available at this hyperlink: http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/general/RockfallBrochure.pdf The 18 chapters and authors are listed below, so that AEG members can readily perceive the broad

scope of this long-awaited comprehensive treatise.

Part 1, Recognition of Rockfall Hazard Chapter 1, Introduction, by A. Keith Turner and G.P. Jayaprakash Chapter 2, Rockfall Types and Causes, by Jerry D. Higgins and R. Andrew Chapter 3, Rockfall Hazard Rating System by Lawrence A. Pierson Chapter 4, Implementation of Rock Slope Management Systems by L.A. Pierson and A.K. Turner Chapter 5, Rockfall Risk Assessment and Risk Management by A. Keith Turner

Part 2, Fundamentals of Rockfall Analysis and Investigation Chapter 6, Site Characterization by R. Andrew and Jerry D. Higgins Chapter 7, Instrumentation and Monitoring by R. Andrew, B. Arndt, and A. Keith Turner Chapter 8, Evaluation of Rockfall Mechanics by A. Keith Turner and John D. Duffey Chapter 9, Modeling and Prediction of Rockfall, by A. Keith Turner and John D. Duffy Chapter 10, Conducting Field Test Experiments, by John D. Duffy and A. Keith Turner

Part 3, Rockfall Mitigation Chapter 11, Mitigation Selection, by Lawrence A. Pierson and M.P. Vierling Chapter 12, Avoidance of Rockfall Areas, by Thomas C. Badger and John D. Duffy; Chapter 13, Stabilization of Rockfall, by R. Andrew and Lawrence A. Pierson; Chapter 14, Protection, by Thomas C. Badger, John D. Duffy and K. Schellenberg; Chapter 15, Flexible Rockfall Fences, by John D. Duffy and Thomas C. Badger Chapter 16, Drapery Systems, by Thomas C. Badger and John D. Duffy

Part 4, Rockfall Maintenance and Management Programs Chapter 17, Maintenance, Monitoring, and Response, by Thomas C. Badger Chapter 18, Rockfall Management Programs, by S. M. Lowell and N. I. Norrish

Appendix A, Stereographic projections and structural analysis Appendix B, by John D. Duffy, description of enclosed 29 short video clips as DVD movies of rockfalls and

rockfall field tests.


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AEG FOUNDATION FUNDRAISING - AT THE ANNUAL MEETING


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Meeting Photos

Bill McCormick - Speaker at June meeting

Jenn Bauer - AEG National President (left) and

Woodward Drilling (sponsors) at July meeting


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Sponsorships

www.MichelleBuller.com [email protected]

http://www.michellebuller.com/



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AEG Sacramento Section Event Calendar – 2012

January 25th Speaker: Dr. Sujan Punyamurthula and Mr. Derek Morley, URS Corp

Mtn Mikes, Natomas " California's Levee Geotechnical Evaluations Program"

February 28th Speaker: Eric Chase and Sandra Flint, HDR Engineering

Aviator's, Sacramento " Geoarchaeology - The Context of Prehistory"

March 27th Speaker: Dylan Duvergé, ESA PWA

Aviator's, Sacramento " Background Arsenic Concentration in Soil of the Urbanized San

Francisco Bay Region "

April 24th Student Night Speaker: Dr. Mike Oskin, Dept of Geology, UC Davis

Sudwerk, Davis "Near-field coseismic deformation from airborne and terrestrial LiDAR of

the April 2010 M7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake rupture")

May 22nd Speaker: Mr. Dave Bieber

Aviator's, Sacramento "Gold Run Pipeline Replacement")

June 26th William V. McCormick, PG, CEG

Geology and Geohazards of Alcatraz Island (and other cool behind the

scenes pictures)

July 18th Jennifer Bauer, President of AEG

Aviator’s, Sacramento Landslide Mapping on Slippery Slopes:

Lessons learned by the North Carolina Geological Survey

August No meeting - summer break

September No meeting - Annual AEG Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah

October 23rd

Aviator’s, Sacramento

Joint meeting with GeoInstitute

TBD

November 20th TBD

December 18th Joint Holiday meeting with GRA

Aviator’s, Sacramento " TBD "


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Order online!

www.aegsacto.org

http://www.aegsacto.org/


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www.aegweb.org

http://www.aegweb.org/


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Advertisements may be full color and include logos and other artwork. Please provide a PDF

or JPG format proof of the advertisement to be incorporated into the newsletter. Questions

regarding advertising may be directed to Garry Maurath, [email protected], 916-679-

2002 or Holly Nichols, [email protected], 916-376-9883.

Advertising rates are based on a per-issue basis of the newsletter or all four issues over a one-

year period. The newsletter is published on a quarterly basis.

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Chair – Garry Maurath

Vice Chair – Pete Holland

[email protected]

[email protected]

916.679.2002

916.322.9993

Treasurer – Tim McCrink

Secretary – Chase White

[email protected]

[email protected]

916.324.2549

916.366.1701

Scholarship chair – Drew Kennedy

Newsletter Editor – Holly Nichols

[email protected]

[email protected]

916.729.8050

916.376.9883

Legislative chair – Bill Fraser

Membership chair – Teresa Butler

[email protected]

[email protected]

916.227.4628

Immediate past chair – John Pfeiffer

[email protected]

916.852.9118

Sponsorship chair – (vacant)

Legislative committee –Bill Fraser, John Pfeiffer, Eric Chase, and Garry Maurath

Lobbyist – Judy Wolen

Section website: www.aegsacto.org

Section Leadership










Documents

AEG Sacramento Section Quarterly Newsletter Summer/Fall 2012 · AEG Sacramento Section Quarterly Newsletter Summer/Fall 2012 5 News and Announcements ANNUAL MEETING IN SALT LAKE CITY: