Latest version of proposed regulation changes on hydrofracking expected this week

It’s no secret that hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, has been a popular topic for debate in recent years. Another occurrence revolving around this that has garnered support from some, and opposition from others, is Texas’ oil and gas regulatory agency, the Railroad Commission, updating its rules to address all aspects of the drilling process.

The latest version of the proposed rule changes is expected this week, and will be the largest revamping of Texas well construction regulations since the 1970s. These rules are important to ensure that toxic, fracking-related fluids do not leak into aquifers due to poor construction of oil and gas wells. These regulations will require examinations of things such as the quality of the protective cement placed between layers of pipe in a well, and a pressure test for the pipes themselves.

Keeping with the controversial theme around hydrofracking, some say the rule changes are too restrictive, and others say they aren’t enough. But most agree that hydrofracking does have the potential to contaminate groundwater if not performed correctly.

The contamination of groundwater can occur from faulty drilling or well completion. For the natural gas industry to ensure this doesn’t happen and to stay in compliance with these new regulations, it must keep up with an ongoing monitoring of site conditions and air emissions, management of production water, and the remediation of adverse environmental impacts: all of which involve the collection and analysis of large quantities of complex data.

Owners of hydrofracking sites and drilling companies need to take advantage of existing software tools to better organize their hydrofracking waste and water quality data. By using SaaS based software like Locus’ EIM to organize, manage, validate, visualize, store, and report this information, they can effectively demonstrate that this drilling can be done safely and transparently.

Locus Featured in 12 Environmental Management Software Developers to Watch

Enablon, IHS and SAP have emerged as key application providers for forward-thinking businesses looking beyond compliance for ways energy and resource conservation can make them more competitive.

Locus’ CEO to present Cloud Solution for Environmental Information Management for Railroad Industry at the Railroad Environmental Conference at University of Urbana-Champaign.

Environmental, Energy, Emissions, and Compliance Management in the Cloud presented by Locus’ CEO, Neno Duplan.

RailTec, University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign

Abstract of Original 2012 Presentation Follows:

As they go about the lengthy, tedious, expensive and very often dirty job of decontaminating polluted industrial sites, environmental consultants bill their clients by the hour, capturing…and then completely controlling…the superabundance of project-related environmental data that underlies remediation strategies. As a result of this process, a “consultant-centric model” has dominated the field of corporate environmental data management.  This is primarily because environmental data is not integral to the daily functioning of a company, and because the quantities and complexities of the data produced are enormous.  So company managers are generally quite comfortable with letting their consultants do all the querying, analysis, reporting…and then storing the data.

And since the consultants derive increased billing hours from controlling their clients’ data, the ultimate incentive for them is a renewed or extended contract, an outcome which, though certainly not guaranteed, is optimized by their control of the data.

But change is coming.  The environmental data management practices of corporations and their consultants are undergoing a profound transformation as new Web-based software provides a low-cost means of making available the critical information that organizational decision makers need not only to better understand and manage their overall environmental liabilities but also to improve their operations by analyzing the valuable data.  While environmental data is collected primarily for compliance reporting, when mined with the right tools it can also be used to point to weaknesses in data gathering and processing operations and provide valuable information on how to eliminate or reduce these.

A new “company-centric” environmental data management model now offers a remote data repository situated in the Internet “Cloud” and equally accessible in real time to all, including both the client and its consultants.

Cloud computing is a software outsourcing model that offers great promise for managing environmental, energy, emissions, and compliance  information of any type. It is slowly making its way into companies that have to manage large quantities of data and meet routine compliance requirements. The model fits the way environmental information needs to be managed through mashups (applications that integrate data or functionality from multiple sources or technologies), and has the potential to completely upend the way railroad industry  organize, manage, and report their environmental and energy data and information. Companies that have large portfolios of sites and facilities can use Cloud computing as a very low-cost means to take control of their mission-critical environmental data and information, gain new functionality and capabilities, and at the same time circumvent the involvement of their IT department if they so desire.

Cloud-based data management can completely replace existing stand-alone data systems and reporting tools to provide a comprehensive integrated solution to the railroad industry’s one of the most vexing problems—the centralization and management of complex data pertaining to contaminated water, groundwater, soil, and air.

At many contaminated transportation sites or at facilities and other sites contaminated with hydrocarbons, Cloud-based information management systems already provide market-tested solutions that were rapidly deployed and provide a high level of functionality and data security, an extensive set of QA/QC standards, and scalability.

The Cloud provides a platform for the complete electronic processing of analytical data, emissions data, compliance activities, and sustainability data beginning with the upload of electronic data deliverables from labs, and terminating in state-mandated or federal regulatory exports and reporting. When companies use such Software as a Service (SaaS) models, they eliminate most of the difficulties associated with the management of complex data sets while offering the opportunity for more rapid customization of data reporting to meet the changing needs of the industry.

Locus Joins Water Week by Offering Water Quality Management Software in the Cloud

While some scientists may still disagree as to whether or not greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities are largely responsible for global warming change, there is almost no dispute that water-related issues represent a challenge to mankind that is of no less importance than climate change.

Any emission of unwanted gases into the air can be almost instantly remediated by cutting off the source. However, any gases that have escaped cannot be recaptured to be remediated. In contrast, water that is contaminated frequently can be treated, but the process is generally lengthy, costly, and energy-intensive.

Amid the rapidly growing concerns regarding the degradation of water quality and water scarcity, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) launched the CDP Water Disclosure, an initiative that seeks to increase reporting on water-related risks and opportunities, especially by companies operating in water-intensive sectors.  Governments and other voluntary reporting organizations such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are expected to provide the industry with more water reporting frameworks in the near future that are similar to those that exist for carbon reporting. Furthermore, water-related activities such as pumping, purification, irrigation, energy production, hydro fracturing, etc. are some of the biggest, if not the biggest contributors to GHG emissions. It is estimated that over 25 percent of GHG emissions in California are attributable to water-related activities. The entire output of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant is spent on moving water in California, and that’s a lot of Giga-Watt hours (GWh).

Of all the types of water-related data that companies need, one stands out in terms of its sheer quantity and complexity: the measurements pertaining to water quality. Existing regulations require monitoring and reporting of the contamination of surface water bodies and groundwater by various industrial processes, spills, and other releases.  Monitoring and reporting on such activities generate enormous quantities of data that until recently have rarely been used for anything other than to comply with regulatory reporting requirements.  However, entities such as the CDP Water Disclosure project and the GRI reporting initiative are starting to shift the focus from compliance–based monitoring and reporting of effluents, to the scarcity and quality of drinking water supplies and the impact of energy associated with water activities on carbon emissions.

As detection technology improves and human exposure to low-level contamination is linked to more diseases, more testing will be required for ever smaller and smaller concentration levels.  All of this means only more and more information that needs to be captured, stored, managed, and reported.

If one can find information on almost any topic within seconds on the web and for free, why should companies pay their consultants to mine their own water, carbon, and other environmental data to find information that the company already owns? A different approach is called for, one that relies on new web-based software that gives environmental professionals Google-like abilities to search complex water data sets and growing piles of seemingly unrelated water quality information. Finding water quality information on the fly should be no different and as easy as creating graphs showing financial performance of the stock over time using one of the popular financial websites, such as Yahoo Finance.

New Web 2.0 technologies provide a low cost means of making critical information available that organizations need to understand and manage their overall water or carbon footprint. Web-based Environmental Information Management systems offered through Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms (increasingly referred to these days as Cloud Computing), can provide the collaborative software tools businesses need to (1) organize and manage their water quality information from a single virtual location, (2) automate workflow processes, 3) gain ownership of their data, and (4) open up relevant datasets to the public via overlays on web-based GIS technologies such as Google maps.  An added benefit of these systems is that they allow for the possibility of accessing and linking not just water quality data, but all relevant environmental information, including compliance, greenhouse gases, sustainability and climate change data, and even health data and information, from a single entry point on the web.

Governmental agencies, companies, and other NGOs that have to manage water quality data would benefit from adopting the Cloud Computing model. Cloud computing-based software allows companies to manage and organize their water quality data on a larger and more comprehensive scale, including water and carbon footprint reporting, thus avoiding the need to buy additional software or store the same data in more than one location.  It is slowly making its way into companies that have to manage large quantities of water quality data and meet routine compliance requirements. The Cloud-based enterprise software model fits the way environmental information needs to be managed through the use of mashups (applications that integrate data or functionality from multiple sources or technologies), and has the potential to completely upend the way corporations manage their water, carbon and other environmental data.  And with proliferation of smart phones connected to the Web, one can collect and report data in real time directly from a smart phone. In summary, what industry needs is Cloud-based Environmental Enterprise Resource Planning, or EERP.

Water quality issues pose potential liabilities of billions of dollars to businesses worldwide.  Companies would find themselves able to make quicker, more confident decisions at less cost if they managed the data associated with these risks using robust web-based information management systems similar to existing ERP systems.  What industry needs is a portal-like software platform that allows Single Sign On (SSO) to multiple applications for managing, organizing, and visualizing air, water, soil, emissions, energy and sustainability data that can easily mash up.

Locus will be presenting at the 2012 EPRI Groundwater Protection Workshop on June 27-29, 2012 in Orlando, FL

EPRI is happy to announce the third annual coordination of the EPRI Groundwater Protection Workshop with the NEI Radioactive Effluent Technical Specifications/Radiological Environmental Monitoring Programs(RETS/REMP) Workshop.

Managing Hydrofracking Data in Cloud

There is little dispute in both scientific and business communities that groundwater protection and water usage in general at hydrofracking sites provide the biggest challenges for this young and promising industry.

Read full article here.

Locus presents at Groundwater Resources Association Symposium on Compounds of Emerging Concern

GRA is pleased to announce its symposium on compounds of emerging concern in groundwater.

EPA announces schedule to develop hydrofracking wastewater standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from underground coalbed and shale formations. No comprehensive set of national standards exists at this time for the disposal of wastewater discharged from natural gas extraction activities, and over the coming months EPA will begin the process of developing a proposed standard with the input of stakeholders – including industry and public health groups. Today’s announcement is in line with the priorities identified in the president’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, and is consistent with the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board recommendations on steps to support the safe development of natural gas resources.

Currently, wastewater associated with shale gas extraction is prohibited from being directly discharged to waterways and other waters of the U.S. While some of the wastewater from shale gas extraction is reused or re-injected, a significant amount still requires disposal. As a result, some shale gas wastewater is transported to treatment plants, many of which are not properly equipped to treat this type of wastewater. EPA will consider standards based on demonstrated, economically achievable technologies, for shale gas wastewater that must be met before going to a treatment facility.

Locus Technologies Pioneers Water and Energy Software in the Cloud

CEO Neno Duplan’s Entrepreneur Profile

Water Price

There is a saying from the book and movie Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) “Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron. Water can carve its way through stone. And when trapped, water makes a new path.” There is also a famous Chinese proverb about water: “not only can water float a boat, it can sink it also.”

And with global water shortages on the horizon, climate change supporters say an extreme response will be needed from international governments to provide enough drinking water in some parts of the world. The World Bank in a report said that 1.4 million people could be facing water scarcity by 2025. But the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecast is even gloomier. It estimates that 47% of the world’s population could face water stress in the same period–equivalent to more than three billion people.

The issue isn’t restricted to countries that typically see temperatures soar like ones in the Middle East. Northern hemisphere nations like the U.K. are also finding themselves in the midst of a drought in some regions, forcing governments to start to take action. The U.K. government, for instance, plans to issue a Water White Paper this December (2011) that will focus on the future challenges facing the water industry and measures to increase protection of river flows during summer months. No one really knows whether this year’s snows and rains in California are providing only a temporary respite from a long dry spell or signaling a return to normal—or at least what much of the developed world considers normal.

Maybe Israel’s entrepreneurial approach to the issue is the way forward. In the recent book “The Big Thirst” Mr. Charles Fishman, makes an interesting argument for a market-based approach to water’s distribution and usage… But the fact remains that water scarcity is now firmly on the agenda of the world’s governments, and isn’t going to evaporate overnight.
“The Big Thirst” offers a torrent of statistics. It is overflowing with stories large and small about water: The average American flushes the toilet five times a day, the author says, using 18.5 gallons of water. That comes to “5.7 billion gallons of clean drinking water down the toilet.” An Australian rice farmer with 10,450 acres uses six gigaliters of water—that’s six billion liters, or enough to hand almost everyone on the planet a bottle of Evian.

Water is a local problem. The wastefulness (and water conservation) has little or no effect on people in other watersheds because water is so difficult to ship. Shipping consumes energy. Energy production generates GHG. Hence a close relationship between water and climate change. Compared to other big problems facing society today, such as finance, climate change, and energy consumption, they are all interconnected in some way. No way out. And water will move to the top of agenda during this decade.

Mr. Fishman predicts that we will arrive at a water solution by putting a market price on water, because in most places today, neither farms nor industry nor residents pay what it costs to develop, purify and deliver water to their faucets. Rather than pay a market price for their water—which would direct the resource to where it provided the most economic value—most users pay a rate set by the government or their water utility, a rate usually aimed only at recouping the portion of the cost not subsidized by the general taxpayer. This distortion tends to keep the retail price of water lower than it would otherwise be where water is scarce, encouraging consumption rather than conservation.

Mr. Fishman asserts that pricing water beyond a basic ration for all would “help fix everything else,” including scarcity, unequal distribution, misuse and waste. Putting the right price on water would stop us from using purified water to flush our toilets or water our lawns, and it would lead us to more aggressively tap our own wastewater—the water from your shower could be used to wash the car or water the lawn. “The right price changes how we see everything else about water.”