Registration for the eighth annual Shale Network Workshop is now open.
The workshop will be held May 16 and 17 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College, Pa. The theme of this year's workshop is "Monitoring Communities and Their Environment."
The workshop provides an opportunity for citizen scientists, researchers, government officials, energy company representatives, and environmental professionals to compare lessons learned about water and environmental issues within areas where shale energy development is occurring.
The 2019 workshop features a field trip to two shale energy-related sites that manage solid and liquid wastes derived from well drilling and oil and gas production. The first is a tour of the Eureka Resources Williamsport, Pa. facility, an oil and gas wastewater management plant. This facility is designed for the pretreatment, recycling and disposal of wastewater from natural gas drilling and production operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shales. The second is a tour of the Wayne Township Landfill in Clinton County, Pa. The landfill manages drilling cuttings and muds generated primarily from shale well drilling operations and uses some novel practices to minimize the industry’s environmental footprint. In addition, the facility hosts a compressed natural gas filling station for vehicles, including trash hauling vehicles. The tentative field trip schedule is as follows:
9:30 a.m. |
Meet in Nittany Lion Inn lobby |
9:45 a.m. |
Depart for Williamsport |
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Tour Eureka Resources gas well wastewater treatment facility |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Bring your own lunch |
1:00 p.m. |
Depart for Wayne Township |
1:30 - 3:30 p.m. |
Tour Wayne Township Landfill |
4:30 p.m. |
Return to Nittany Lion Inn |
The Shale Network is a collaborative effort between Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences Inc. (CUAHSI) to collect and analyze data on water quality in the Marcellus Shale drilling region. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection participates in organizing parts of the workshop. Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) also provides funding.
2019 Shale Network Workshop TENTATIVE Agenda
Monitoring Communities and Their Environment
Thursday, May 16, 2019 | ||
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
Field Trip to Eureka Resources, LLC and Wayne Township Landfill |
|
***All Sessions are in Boardrooms 1 & 2 at The Nittany Lion Inn unless noted otherwise*** | ||
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. |
Registration | |
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. |
Ice Breaker |
|
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. |
Group Discussion (facilitated by the PA Coal – Gas Committee): Issues Related to the Interface of Coal Mining and Natural Gas Development Greg Rumbaugh (MSHA Technical Services), John Love (Dominion Energy Transmission), Carl Carlson (Range Resources), Casey Saunders (Consol), Heather Dougherty, Daniel Su, Steven Schatzel (NIOSH) |
|
Friday, May 17, 2019 |
||
7:15 a.m. |
Registration | |
7:30 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast and Poster Setup |
|
8:00 a.m. |
Shale Network: Promoting Better Dialogue about Environmental Issues around Shale Gas Development for Communities |
|
8:20 a.m. |
Collaboration in Shale Gas Development: The Case of the Center for Responsible Shale Development |
|
8:40 a.m. |
The Trajectory of Shale Gas Development, Natural Gas Liquids, and the Plastics Industry in the Northeastern USA |
|
9:00 a.m. |
Petrochemical Facility Overview and Update, Monaca PA: The "Cracker Plant” |
|
9:20 a.m. |
Involving Communities in Decision Making: The PA “Cracker Plant” |
|
9:40 a.m. | Mapping and Reservoir Characterization of Geologic Intervals for Natural Gas Liquids Storage Applications Kristin Carter (PA Geological Survey; Douglas G. Patchen (WV University Research Corporation); Jessica P. Moore (West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey); Mohammad Fakhari (Ohio Division of Geologic Survey); Gary Daft, Philip Dinterman (West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey); Michael P. Solis (Ohio Division of Geologic Survey); Robin V. Anthony, Katherine W. Schmid, Brian J. Dunst, Antonette Markowski, Stephen Shank (PA Geological Survey) |
|
10:00 a.m. | Where Does Frac Water Come From? An Overview of Regulatory and Monitoring Experiences from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission with Focus on Natural Gas Development James Shallenberger (Susquehanna River Basin Commission) |
|
10:20 a.m. |
Coffee Break |
|
10:30 a.m. |
Panel Discussion: Can Government, Industry, and Citizenry Work Together? How It Works and How It Could Work |
|
11:30 p.m. |
Beneficial Re-Use of Shale Gas Brines? |
|
11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. |
Reception-Style Lunch and Poster Session |
|
Coffee service located outside Boardrooms |
Boardroom 1 |
Boardroom 2 |
1:00 p.m. |
A Semi-Quantitative Geospatial Pollutant-Specific Exposure Metric for Use in Health Studies Associated with Unconventional Natural Gas Development in Pennsylvania |
Petrochemical Development and Plastics: Community Impacts and Economics |
1:20 p.m. |
Investigating Hydrocarbon Sources in Upland Groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York |
Connecting Community Organizations, Schools, and Volunteers through Water Quality Monitoring |
1:40 p.m. |
What to do with shale gas brines if recycling for hydraulic fracturing is not feasible? |
Working with citizen scientists and homeowners to understand hydrocarbon-related contamination of water resources near oil and gas development |
2:00 p.m. | Break for coffee, rooms opened back up for Plenary | |
2:15 p.m. | Methane Emissions from New and Legacy Oil and Gas Development Mary Kang (McGill University) |
|
2:35 p.m. |
Methane Emissions from Unconventional Natural Gas Production in the Marcellus Shale |
|
2:55 p.m. |
A Status Report on the Management of Legacy Well Liability by PA DEP |
|
3:15 p.m. |
A Legal Perspective on Abandoned Wells in Pennsylvania |
|
3:35 p.m. |
Wrap Up Plenary Discussion: What Do We Need to Do Next? |
|
4:00 p.m. |
Assessment and Adjournment |
Click here to register for the workshop.