Spring Cleaning and Back to Blogging!

David Patte, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

M&A has been MIA in the blogosphere as of late, but a busy spring will do that to a blog! What’s new?

Well, we just posted about a recent M&A publication in Chemosphere. It’s an environmental forensics paper that identifies the likely source of a unique contaminant in the Passaic River in New Jersey. You should check it out!

In a similar vein, we will be presenting and attending several conferences this spring and summer. Check out the details on River Rally 2014 and the Shale Energy Engineering Conference...

River Rally 2014

Hosted by the River Network & Waterkeeper Alliance

Pittsburgh, PA: May 30^th – June 2^nd

River Rally is an annual conference devoted to bringing individuals and organizations invested in watershed conservation together to educate, inspire, and connect. Featuring speakers like Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Sally Jewel; and numerous workshops on everything from the Clean Water Act, to advocacy basics, and river restoration to urban greenways; the conference has broad appeal to nonprofits, public agencies, and private businesses.

Our own, Eric Chase, PG, will be presenting, “Stream Flow Measurement 101.” As the name implies the workshop will teach the basics of surface water measurement (data collection, devices, and analysis) in relation to protecting and preserving local waterways. He’ll be presenting on June 2 from 1:30 to 3:00. 

As a sponsor M&A will also have a booth at the conference – stop by and visit our booth and check out Eric’s talk! Registration information can be found here.

Shale Energy Engineering Conference: Technical Challenges, Environmental Issues, and Public Policy

 Hosted by ASCE

Pittsburgh, PA: July 20^th – 23^rd

This conference, hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers, addresses the continued growth of the shale gas extraction and production industry and the hurdles presented to regulatory frameworks, public policy, and water resources. The conference is geared toward industry, consultants, and academics interested the latest advances and changes in technology, best management practices, and the regulatory environment.

In the latter category, Eric Chase will be presenting: “Regulation of TDS and Chloride from Oil and Gas Wastewater in Pennsylvania.” He has frequently contributed to our blog on Marcellus Shale, water resources, and oil and gas plays. His talk at the Shale Conference addresses a gap that exists in effluent standards for Centralized Waste Treatment facilities (CWTs) in Pennsylvania that treat conventional oil and gas wastewaters. 

As a brief synopsis: Wastewaters from oil and gas operations, as many know, are contaminated with extremely high total dissolved solids and chlorides, which most treatment plants are not designed to treat. As a result, such wastewaters were historically discharged untreated. In 2010, new effluent limits were set, but the regulations grandfathered in those facilities already permitted to treat oil and gas wastewater. To eliminate this loophole, regulators targeted CWTs and Publicly Owned Treatment Works that accepted wastewaters from unconventional national gas production with voluntary agreements and regulations. So while unconventional shale gas wastewater has largely been addressed from a regulatory standpoint, conventional remains problematic. 

Eric will be presenting on July 22 during the 1:30 to 3:00 session of the Water Resources Track. Hope to see you there!

Registration information can be found here – sign up before 5/21 for the Early-bird discount!