2011 Sinkhole Conference

In January 2011, PELA sponsored the 12th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering & Environmental Impacts of Karst™.

PELA's Chairman of the Board, Dr. James LaMoreaux, served as conference co-chair. Internationally renowned karst expert Dr. Barry Beck was named Honorary Conference Chair.

The proceedings of the 2011 Sinkhole Conference will be published as a USGS investigative report. A special issue of the journal Carbonates and Evaporites, to be published in September 2011 by Springer, will feature articles from the conference.

PELA hydrogeologist Gheorghe Ponta chaired the Conference’s session, Contaminant Monitoring and Remediation. Mr. Ponta also presented two papers: “Multiple Remediation Strategies for Halogenated Hydrocarbons in Fractured Limestone at a 23 Acre Site”, co-authored with PELA’s Vice President of Environment and Ecology, Mrs. Lois George; and “Geology and Dynamics of Underground Waters in Cerna Valley/Baile Herculane (Romania)”.
View PDF of Program

====== May 2nd. 2011

We are very sorry but due to the April Tornado Outbreak we have decided to cancel our 50th Anniversary. Funds earmarked for this event will be donated to Tornado Relief Organizations.

====== April 25th, 2011.

Vigilance Environmental, LLC.

January 2011 ushered in a new year. For PELA, it also marked the beginning of the firm’s latest investment.

In 2010, in the middle of the Great Recession, PELA’s marketing department was searching for ways to improve their marketing, particularly in the federal sector. That’s when PELA’s President, Mike Lee, and two project managers came up with a solution: create a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business with the two project managers, service-disabled Navy Veterans Art Pettit and Curt Spikes at the helm.

After deliberation, PELA’s senior staff and Board of Directors voted to invest in the idea. With the two disabled veteran’s as majority owners, PELA will serve as Vigilance’s third, minority interest party.

Vigilance’s headquarters will be in Kenner, Louisiana, with a satellite office in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The firm will focus on NEPA Assessments and water sampling, as well as geologic and hydrogeologic investigations.

For an in-depth look at Vigilance, please visit the news story about the company at:
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110325/NEWS/110329778?p=1&tc=pg

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====== April 1st, 2011.

Welcome Stacey Simpson!

PELA is pleased to announce the recent addition of Stacey Housley Simpson to our firm. Stacey is a licensed Professional Engineer in Alabama and Mississippi with more than 23 years of technical and project managerial experience in geotechnical and environmental engineering. Her professional practice has been focused in the western Alabama and eastern Mississippi areas, extending into north Alabama, South Alabama, and southern Georgia.

She is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honorary Fraternity.

Her achievements include:

• ASPE Tuscaloosa Branch Young Engineer of the Year (1996)
• ASPE Tuscaloosa Branch – Vice President, President
• ASCE Tuscaloosa Branch – Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, President
• ACEC Engineering Excellence Award, National Finalist – Design Team for Cypress Point Load Transfer Platform

PELA is excited to have another highly qualified professional join our team.

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====== March 7th, 2011.

PELA HYDROGEOLOGIST PARTICIPATES IN LAOS EXPEDITION

Gheorghe Ponta, a hydrogeologist specializing in karst or limestone terrane, with PELA GeoEnvironmental Inc. (PELA) participated in an expedition in Khammouane Province, in the central part of Laos. The expedition explored the karst terrain, springs, and caves of the area. The "Geokarst Adventure" Association, under the auspices of the French Speleological Federation through its Commission for International Relations and Expeditions and the Romanian Speleological Association through its Commission for Exploration, organized the expedition.

Eighty (80) percent of the country of Laos is covered by limestone; therefore, development and proper management of water resources in karst areas are critical issues in the country. Local authorities’ specifically requested the expedition to focus their work in the field of karst hydrogeology, identifying main springs and their areas of recharge as potential sources of water supply.

The difficulties of such an expedition are diverse, including climate, jungle environment, exo-karstic morphology, and distance. Participation requires knowledge of caving, climbing, and cave-diving techniques.

The team, composed of five French cave divers and seven Romanian cavers and cave divers, continued the humanitarian work started in years past. This year the team identified possible micro-projects to aid the isolated communities of those karstic regions they plan to explore.

Mr. Ponta is a naturalized US citizen from Romania; he was recruited by PELA as a karst specialist to come to the United States to work for the company.

Other sponsors of the hydrogeological investigation in Laos are PELA GeoEnvironmental, University of Alabama, University of Minnesota, and University of South Florida. PELA Geo Environmental is an international consulting firm providing services in hydrogeology, geology, environmental sciences, engineering and archaeology.

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====== January 31st, 2011.

PELA GeoEnvironmental is 50 years old! 

Come help us celebrate our Golden Anniversary throughout the 2011 year. 

For information on our 50th Anniversary festivities, please contact us.