GMA hosts successful Lobby Day event

The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) hosted the first of its two 2015 Lobby Days, April 20–21, in Washington, D.C., to educate U.S. Congress members on the role geosynthetics can play in strengthening the country’s infrastructure.

Attendees celebrated the language “geosynthetic materials” being used for the first time in federal legislation—the U.S. Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) signed into law by President Obama in 2014. They were also briefed by Jeff Davis of the Eno Center for Transportation on issues facing the transportation industry, such as funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). GMA members met with 23 congressional offices representing 14 states to discuss coal ash, the gasoline tax and the inclusion of geosynthetics language in upcoming transportation and aviation reauthorization bills.

In addition, three changes were made to the GMA executive council. Boyd Ramsey of Houston, Texas-based GSE Environmental ended his four-year tenure as executive council chairman, and Keith Gardner of Toccoa, Ga.-based Crown Resources LLC was elected as the new chair. Fred Chuck of Pendergrass, Ga.-based TenCate Geosynthetics Americas was elected first vice chair, and Doug Brown of Atlanta, Ga.-based Tensar International Corp. Inc. was elected second vice chair.

GMA’s next Lobby Day event will be in fall 2015. For more information, contact Jonathan Curry at jicurry@ifai.com or +1 651 225 6956.