Princeton Hydro is proud to present Emerging Issues: topics regarding relevant environmental issues. Some papers may be released in volumes so please check in for future releases.
EMERGING ISSUES Volume 4, No. 1 The Deepwater Horizon Accident The April 20, 2010 accident involving Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling vessel and BP's Macondo well claimed 11 lives and continues to escalate into a monumental environmental and economic catastrophe. This paper discusses in detail the cause of the accident, options for repairing or closing the well, minimizing the spill's impacts and environmental effect of the spill, both short and long term. Read the full text here.
EMERGING ISSUES Volume 3, No. 1A Broad Level Classification System for Dam Removals pH's Laura Wildman has teamed with James MacBroom to propose a broad level classification system for dam removal projects to create better conceptual models for future dam removal projects. While there is little literature on the responses of different riverine systems to dam removal, the authors of this paper have been involved in over 100 dam removal projects and have found patterns and similarities in responses between specific "categories" of dam removals. Read the full text here.
EMERGING ISSUES Volume 2, No. 1 The Philadelphia Water Department: Stormwater Regulations The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has changed the way they calculate a property's stormwater billing from meter-based to property-based fees. While the PWD found this a "more equitable" calculation for assessing fees for stormwater runoff, the owner of a large parcel - especially one with a great deal of roof and paving coverage - could see their fees jump from hundreds of dollars a month to thousands a month.
A stormwater audit can help identiry potential inaccuracies in the assessment of a property and help a property owner learn how to reduce or possibly eliminate their fees through management options. For more information, call us at 908.237.5660 or visit our Philadelphia Stormwater Credit Consultation web page here.
EMERGING ISSUES Volume 1, No. 1 The Marcellus Shale: Balancing Energy and Environmental Resource Interests Natural gas is seen as a panacea for a suite of issues ranging from global warming to national security to economic recession. The rationale is that gas is an abundant, domestic fuel source that is cleaner-burning than coal or oil; by shifting to greater reliance on natural gas the US will help mitigate climate change, reduce our energy dependence on unstable regions, and re-kindle American jobs. The Marcellus Shale has the potential to become the largest natural gas producing field in the US.
Pennsylvania is the epicenter of gas drilling activity in the Marcellus Shale right now. In the past two years, more than 700 Marcellus Shale gas wells were completed in Pennsylvania; in the next decade, some predict that more than 10 times that number of new wells will dot the Commonwealth's landscape. In this Emerging Issues post, Princeton Hydro's James Shallenberger provides insight into some economic factors that will ensure that Marcellus Shale gas production occurs while subsequent posts will present information regarding gas production technology, approaches to manage water generated by gas drilling, the environmental regulatory framework, and methods to safeguard environmental resources so that energy production and environmental stewardship are balanced. Marcellus Shale Vol. 1
