Webinar On Marcellus Shale Gas Water Issues Thursday

The natural-gas industry is pursuing ways to minimize potential environmental impacts during development of the rich Marcellus Shale formation, such as by treating and reusing water. However, according to one Penn State expert, as the Marcellus natural-gas play grows, the demand for water for hydraulic fracturing will directly increase, as will the need for infrastructure to treat flowback water for reuse or disposal.

“In order to minimize the environmental and financial costs of flowback treatment, many operators are now reusing flowback and other impaired waters such as acid mine drainage,” said David Yoxtheimer, hydrogeologist and extension associate with Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research. Yoxtheimer will be one of the featured speakers during a free Web-based seminar titled, “Water Use and Water Reuse/Recycling in Marcellus Shale Gas Exploration and Production,” which will air Thursday, Oct. 21, at 1 pm. Tony Gaudlip of Range Resources will be a co-presenter. The session will provide an overview of new strategies to conserve fresh water and reuse waters affected by the gas exploration process.

Information about how to register for the webinar is available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars. Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions during the session. Previous webinars — which covered topics such as water use and quality, gas-leasing considerations for landowners and implications for local communities — can be viewed at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars. For more information, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at (724) 837-1402 or by e-mail at jdt15@psu.edu.