Tag: Energy & Environment

Trans Tech Conference comes to Morgantown

The term “TransTech” has been floating around for about five years, according to Carl Irwin, creator of the TransTech Energy Program at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy.

It refers to technologies that try to transition the nation’s energy portfolio into something that’s more economically sustainable, while at the same time, being competitive and using lower amounts of carbon. Carl Irwin says the public plays an important part in recognizing transitional technologies.

“The average consumer sees the price of fuel, sees what the gas bill is at the home. They are going to be out looking for, what are the new technologies, are there ways that biomass can reduce the pollution of a coal-fired power plant. I’m hoping these become more prevalent in the general public for sure,” Irwin said.

Ideas presented by the entrepreneurs include one company who wants to distribute nano-engineered “Frac balls” that are designed to keep natural gas wells from getting clogged. Another wants to develop better technologies for piping at natural gas pumping stations. Irwin says the sky is the limit when trying to develop these new ideas.

“This is the future of the state, it’s new jobs, continuing to use our research, to use our innovative people, and create new businesses and new jobs. I think that’s very important for all of us,” said Irwin.

One person who came looking for inspiration is Abigail Morrisey. She’s a WVU student that’s involved with a special academic program at the university known as “EQuad.” This program brings together elements of energy, the environment, entrepreneurship, and economics. Morrisey says she wants to work in the farm and agricultural industry, and this event got her thinking about new ideas.

“Agriculture has always been a big part of my life, so I’ve always wanted to do something with that,” she said.

“Having the EQuad Major, and that opportunity, here at the university, has really broadened everything I can do.”

While natural gas and shale technologies were hot topics at the conference, biomass technologies were also discussed. Researchers at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy have been looking at how biomass can help reduce carbon emissions in burning coal, amongst other methods.

W.Va. among most improved in energy efficiency

An organization that promotes energy efficiency puts West Virginia among the top five most improved states in this year’s annual scorecard.
 
     The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its rankings Wednesday.

Executive Director Steve Nadel says many states are doing more and more each year, and they must constantly improve to retain their rankings.
 
     Joining West Virginia among the most improved are Mississippi, Maine, Kansas and Ohio.
 
     The report says that after years of virtually no activity, West Virginia utilities have begun to roll out some small-scale efficiency programs for its customers.
 
     With residential consumers facing dramatic price increases, the report says energy efficiency is starting to gain traction as a way to lower energy bills.
 
     Lawmakers showed interest in 2011, but proposed legislation failed.

Will fracking waste soon hit the Ohio River?

The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking public comments on a proposal that would allow barges to transport shale gas wastewater.

The waste is a byproduct of the drilling process, and it can include both man-made chemicals and naturally occurring heavy metals and radiation. The waste fluids are currently stored at drilling sites or transported by truck or train to treatment plants and deep underground injection disposal wells. The Coast Guard says some companies want to use barges instead of trucks to move the waste to disposal sites.

One such company, GreenHunter Water, recently purchased an 11-acre barge terminal site in Wheeling that sits along the Ohio River. The company is converting the former gasoline storage facility into a shale wastewater handling and storage site designed to recycle and/or dispose of  gas drilling water.

Phase two of the company’s plans will use river barges to transport waste fluids to various injection disposal sites, but those plans are contingent upon the Coast Guard permitting the transport of fracking waste on inland waterways.

Some environmental groups says the comment period should be longer than 30 days and that the proposal is flawed because it doesn’t mention environmental safeguards. The Coast Guard is accepting comments until Nov. 29. The official title of the proposal is Carriage of Conditionally Permitted Shale Gas Extraction Waste Water in Bulk.
 

Study: Fracking requires more water than we thought

The Marcellus water resources and water footprint report takes a critical look at water-use data provided by natural gas drillers over the past couple years to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection—data operators are required to provide under the Horizontal Well Control Act of 2011.

The study interprets that data as well as compares it to the data reported in Pennsylvania, where the gas industry is substantially more developed. The president of Morgantown-based environmental firm Downstream Strategies, Evan Hansen, began his explanation by showing an image of what once was a pit where waste fluid from a fractured hydraulic well used to be stored.

“This is a waste pit that’s located in West Virginia and you’ll notice that there’s no waste in it,” Hansen explained. “And that’s because it was recently pumped dry. And that plastic liner is being removed. The reason is that in this case the flowback fluid that was stored there was draining through cracks in the liner directly into the bedrock that underlies this pit and contaminating the drinking water aquifer.”

Hansen went on to explain that ground water monitoring data was collected before, during, and after development of the site. That data confirms pollution levels increased in the drinking water. He says it’s a cautionary tale that underscores the importance of diligent attention to water issues related to oil and gas development.

Wet Footprint

Hansen says there are about 2000 well sites in West Virginia and 9000 in Pennsylvania. He says the average Marcellus well in West Virginia injects about 5 million gallons of water into wells as fracking fluid. One of the key findings in the report is that “the amount of water used per well is higher than previously estimated for Marcellus Shale wells.”

“And by far most of the water comes from surface water—it’s about 81 percent—plus a portion of purchased water. That’s water purchased from local water utilities,” Hansen said.

Hansen found that 8 percent of the 5 million gallons that goes into each well comes back up. 

Flowback

Hansen says the DEP and industry should be applauded for adopting new recycling practices so about 75% of that flowback is now being reused. He says the remainder is disposed of in deep well injections.

“That’s important because every gallon of water that comes from reuse rather than withdrawal is protective of the environment,” Hansen said.

He added that tracking this waste water should continue to be a priority. West Virginia already sees 100-million gallons of waste water each year and PA, across the border where the industry is significantly more developed, sees nearly a billion gallons of waste each year.

Wet Footprint

Hansen’s report also indicates a need to improve data collection and reporting requirements. 

Hansen says one of his biggest concerns is that West Virginia’s state law only requires operators to report flowback water. It’s a different story in Pennsylvania where flowback only accounts for 38% of reported waste.

“In Pennsylvania, all types of waste are reported,” Hansen said. “And not only are all types of waste reported, they are reported every six months. So there’s a good, full accounting of the waste generated from Marcellus operations in Pennsylvania. It’s different in West Virginia.”

Operators in West Virginia are required to submit data once a year, but according to the study, only about a third comply. Moreover, errors in data submissions are common.

“Roughly one third of the data we found to be suspect and so we decided to eliminate it before we crunched our numbers because we wanted to be sure that the data that we used for our analysis was reliable.”

Environmentalists offer details of coal ash ruling

A federal judge issued a memorandum Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to finalize federal coal ash…

A federal judge issued a memorandum Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to finalize federal coal ash regulations.

United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton issued a ruling giving the Environmental Protection Agency 60 days to name how long it will take to review and revise coal ash regulations. 

Coal ash, also referred to as fly ash, is a byproduct of burning coal.  Anything that doesn’t burn up, usually inorganic matter in the coal like shale, is left behind in boilers and is usually disposed of in landfills and settlement ponds.

Power plants in the U.S. produce about 140 million tons of the ash each year and according to the EPA, about 1,000 active coal ash storage sites exist across the nation. West Virginia is home to more than twenty sites.

Judge Walton’s ruling is the outcome of the lawsuit filed in early 2012 by nearly a dozen environmental groups challenging the EPA’s inaction to revise coal ash regulations.

In a conference call senior administrative counsel at Earthjustice, Lisa Evans, spoke about the court’s decision. She referred to the coal ash disaster that occurred in late 2008 when over a billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge burst through the dam of a waste pond, located 60 feet above the Emory River at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee. The waste covered 300 acres below the plant, destroying homes, poisoning watersheds. The event provided impetus for many groups to demand new regulations for the disposal of the power plant waste.

“EPA is now required to come forward with a proposed schedule for completion of the ongoing coal ash rule making within 60 days,” Evans said. “Consequently on or shortly after the 5th anniversary of the Kingston Coal Ash disaster, EPA must finally announce its schedule for new coal ash rules. Once approved by this court the schedule will be enforceable against the agency should it delay again. Thus today’s order creates a clear path to obtaining a binding deadline for the much delayed and critically needed coal ash rule.”

But the ruling flies in the face of the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, passed in the House this past summer.  West Virginia’s Republican Congressman David McKinley introduced the bill in an attempt to revise coal ash regulations, but leaves individual states in charge of mandating rules. The act which hasn’t yet come up for a vote in the Senate limits the EPA’s authority to regulate the waste and, most importantly, disallows the EPA from labeling the waste a hazard.

“The bill that passed through the house would take away EPA’s authority to issue this rule that is the subject of the opinion,” Evans said. “What the house bill was attempting to do was prevent the EPA from issuing this rule. So in 60 days we will see the proposed schedule for EPA’s issuance of the rule. And we hope that EPA will be able to proceed to issue that rule without interference by Congress.”

During a press conference environmentalists speculated the EPA will project a date within 2014 to issue their final ruling on any new regulations.

Breaking down the Consol-Murray sale

Consol Energy is selling five of its long wall coal mines in West Virginia to Murray Energy. It’s a deal slated to cost more than $3 billion.

In the deal, Consol will get:

$850 million in cash;

Almost $200 million in value of future payments;

The acquisition of $2.4 billion in Consol’s liabilities, to Murray Energy.

In return,

Murray Energy will receive:

Almost 4,000 new employees;

6 more coal preparation plants;

5 more active mining complexes;

6 more longwall mining systems;

23 more continuing mining units;

1 reverse osmosis plant;

609 barges;

23 harbor boats and tow boats;

5 additional coal transloading facilities.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller have requested a meeting with Murray Energy to discuss the transition. Among the liabilities picked up by Murray are retiree health care plans by mining employees.

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