State
KCAB waste day set
Daily Corinthian
Next month’s Household Hazardous Waste Day offers a chance to rid the garage, cabinets and shed of old cleaners, oil and other materials that shouldn’t be tossed in the trash.
http://www.dailycorinthian.com/view/full_story/27254594/article-KCAB-waste-day-set?
Picture your photo in the 2017 DMR calendar
Sun Herald
Did you grab a great photo of the Gulf? A masterpiece featuring a marsh? How about a stunning shot of fresh seafood?
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article97254467.html
MDOT losing experienced engineers
Clarion Ledger
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining 30,000 lane miles of highway and 5,767 bridges at a time when one of the largest departments in state government doesn't have experienced engineers.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/22/mdot-losing-experienced-engineers/89098766/
Lawmakers look at buildings, bureaucracy
Clarion Ledger
Lawmakers looking on Monday to save state tax dollars began delving into the more than 6,400 buildings the state owns and roughly 200 small agencies, boards and commissions that regulate everything from acupuncture to veterans affairs.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/22/agencies-boards-buildings/89097910/
Oil Spill
USF Scientists Spend 40 Days At Sea Looking For Evidence Of Oil
WUSF
A team of marine scientists, led by representatives of the University of South Florida, are about midway through a six-week expedition looking for evidence left over from the two largest accidental oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/usf-scientists-spend-40-days-sea-looking-evidence-oil#stream/0
Regional
Study: Global warming means smoggier autumns in US Southeast
AP
GAINESVILLE, FLA.
The drier, warmer autumn weather that's becoming more common due to climate change may extend summer smog well into the fall in the Southeastern U.S. in the years ahead, according to a study published on Monday.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/business/technology/article97174612.html
Louisiana's sinking coast a $100 billion nightmare for Big Oil
Bloomberg
From 5,000 feet up, it's difficult to make out where Louisiana's coastline used to be. But follow the skeletal remains of decades-old oil canals, and you get an idea. Once, these lanes sliced through thick marshland, clearing a path for pipelines or ships. Now they're surrounded by open water, green borders still visible as the sea swallows up the shore.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2016/08/louisiana_big_oil_nightmare.html#incart_river_index
Duke Energy, NC agency disputing fine for coal ash pollution
AP
RALEIGH, N.C. — The nation's largest electric company is negotiating with North Carolina's environment agency over a $6.6 million fine to punish Duke Energy for a big spill of liquefied coal ash.
http://www.wral.com/duke-energy-nc-agency-disputing-fine-for-coal-ash-pollution/15951466/
National
Real-Time Water Monitoring Data Challenging for Regulators
Bloomberg
Real-time monitoring of water quality will yield voluminous data, but interpreting it for assessment or compliance purposes is a challenge, officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and state water agencies said.
http://www.bna.com/realtime-water-monitoring-n73014446663/
EPA links oil and gas drilling to Texas quakes
The Hill
Federal regulators have tied a string of earthquakes in north Texas to oil and gas drilling operations in the state.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/292248-epa-drilling-operations-behind-texas-quakes
Oil and gas waste rules put traditional drillers in a tight spot
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A new federal rule barring waste fluids out of shale oil and gas operations from being sent to public sewage plants for treatment and disposal might have inadvertently swept up Pennsylvania’s traditional oil and gas industry’s wastewater as well.
EPA Would Prefer Settlement in Texas Haze Case, Experts Say
Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency would rather work toward a settlement in the Texas haze rule than absorb an unpalatable precedent, an environmental attorney told Bloomberg BNA.
http://www.bna.com/epa-prefer-settlement-n73014446662/
FEMA Proposes Rules for Construction in Flood Areas
Federally funded projects must be 2 feet above 100-year floodplain
WSJ
The Federal Emergency Management Agency proposed regulations Monday that would require companies and homeowners using federal funds on construction projects in flood-prone areas to build on higher ground—2 feet higher, in many cases.
New York Says ‘Work Is Not Done’ on GE’s Hudson River Cleanup
Warns dredging project hasn’t adequately lowered PCBs to target levels
WSJ
New York’s environmental regulator has notified federal officials that General ElectricCo.’s seven-year, $1.6 billion dredging campaign to remove industrial pollutants from the Hudson River has been inadequate.
Commissioner Basil Seggos of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in a letter released Monday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to closely scrutinize the effectiveness of dredging in its five-year project review, due to be released by April 2017.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-says-work-is-not-done-on-ges-hudson-river-cleanup-1471897749
East Chicago children have lead in their blood from contaminated dirt. Is this the next Flint?
Washington Post
In the years since the hazardous lead plants were operating in the Indiana town of East Chicago, 1,000 people there have moved into the federally funded West Calumet Housing Complex. An elementary school was built in the region where toxic dust was once spewed. Children have played in the contaminated dirt.
Oil at $50 Tests Shale-Band Theory
Oil prices at about $50 a barrel test the influence of the ‘shale band’ on U.S. production
WSJ
The return of oil prices to about $50 a barrel presents a test for an idea that gained currency early after the market’s long swoon began two years ago: the “shale band.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-at-50-tests-shale-band-theory-1471951749
Opinion
Chemical disasters: EPA plan would keep us in the dark
The Hill
Last month's chemical leak in Baytown, Texas is a stark reminder that many of us live perilously close to extremely hazardous chemical facilities. On Sunday, July 17, an unknown amount of explosive gas was released from a refinery pipeline prompting authorities to evacuate private homes and issue a 'shelter-in-place' alert for the entire neighborhood.
Press Releases
MDMR sponsors photo contest for 2017 calendar
BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is holding a photo contest, and the winners will be used in the agency’s 2017 calendar.
The deadline to submit entries is Monday, Oct. 3.
“The Mississippi Coast has many talented photographers, both professional and amateur, and we want to be able to showcase their work in our annual calendar,” said Melissa Scallan, Public Affairs director for MDMR.
Submitted photos should depict an aspect of the marine resources available on the Coast, including recreational and commercial fishing, Coastal Preserves, marine plant and animal life, marsh areas, boating and Mississippi seafood. Photos need to be 300 dpi and 3938x3044 pixels.
Entries should be emailed to Melissa.scallan@dmr.ms.gov by 5 p.m. Oct. 3, along with the photographer’s name, phone number and a description of the photo and where it was taken.
All entries will become the property of MDMR and may be used in other promotions with credit given to the photographer.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the DMR online at dmr.ms.gov.
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Based on projections in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016), U.S. tight oil production is expected to reach 7.08 million barrels per day (b/d), and shale gas production is expected to reach 79 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2040. These values reflect Reference case projections, while several side cases with different assumptions of oil prices, technological advances, and resource availability have different levels of tight oil and shale gas production.
U.S. production of tight oil and shale gas has increased significantly from 2010 to 2015, driven by technological improvements that have reduced drilling costs and improved drilling efficiency in major shale plays, such as the Bakken, Marcellus, and Eagle Ford.
Production from tight oil in 2015 was 4.89 million barrels per day, or 52% of total U.S. crude oil production. From 2015 to 2017, tight oil production is projected to decrease by 700,000 barrels per day in the Reference case, mainly attributed to low oil prices and the resulting cuts in investment. However, production declines will continue to be mitigated by reductions in cost and improvements in drilling techniques. The use of more efficient hydraulic fracturing techniques and the application of multiwell-pad drilling, as well as changes in well completion designs, will allow producers to recover greater volumes from a single well.
As oil prices recover, oil production from tight formations is expected to increase. By 2019, Bakken oil production is projected to reach 1.3 million b/d, surpassing the Eagle Ford to become the largest tight oil-producing formation in the United States. The Bakken, which spans 37,000 square miles in North Dakota and Montana, has a technically recoverable resource of 23 billion barrels of tight oil that can be produced based on current technology, industry practice, and geologic knowledge. Bakken production is projected to reach 2.3 million barrels per day by 2040, almost a third of the projected U.S. total tight oil production.
Natural gas production from shale gas plays in 2015 accounted for 37.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), or 50% of total U.S. natural gas production. Unlike production from tight oil, which declines in the near term before increasing later in the forecast period, natural gas production from shale gas plays is expected to increase through 2040 in the AEO2016 Reference case.
The two Appalachian shale gas plays, the Marcellus and Utica, have factors favorable for production: shallower geologic formation depths and proximity to consuming markets. Both Appalachian shale gas plays have remained resilient to the low natural gas prices and are projected to continue to drive total U.S. production in the long term. Shale gas production in these plays is expected to reach more than 40 Bcf/d by 2040, providing just over half of U.S. total shale gas production.
Two oil price side cases illustrate the effect of higher or lower global crude oil prices on production from tight formations. By 2040, the global benchmark Brent crude oil spot price averages $73/b in the Low Oil Price case, $136/b in the Reference case, and $230/b in the High Oil Price case. In the High Oil Price case, drilling activities increase tight oil production through 2026, after which it begins to decline. The opposite is true in the Low Oil Price case, where tight oil production declines slightly before increasing after 2026. Production of shale gas increases in both the High and Low Oil Price cases.
In the resource and technology side cases, the estimated ultimate recovery for shale gas and tight oil wells in the United States is 50% higher or 50% lower than in the Reference case. Rates of technological improvement that reduce costs and increase productivity in the United States are also 50% higher or 50% lower than in the Reference case. By 2040, these cases result in the greater differences from Reference case production values than do the alternative oil price cases.
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=27612&src=email
