California HSR Revised Plan Passed - Abril 2012

High-Speed Rail Authority Board Passes Revised 2012 Business Plan SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board today passed a 2012 revised business plan that will provide for high-speed rail service within a decade, connect the state’s major metropolitan areas, utilize existing rail infrastructure in northern and southern California and provide earlier statewide benefits to commuters in the Bay Area and Los Angeles at a cost of $68.4 billion. "I am pleased to announce today that the High-Speed Rail Authority has taken a huge step forward toward making a coordinated statewide transportation network a viable reality,” said Authority Board Chair Dan Richard. The business plan was adopted with an amendment committing the Authority to work with transportation agencies in Orange County to identify cost-effective ways to enable a one-seat ride to and from Anaheim. As part of the amendment, the Southern California Passenger Rail Planning Coalition will consider options for a connection that will cost less and be less intrusive than a full-build connection enabling the one-seat ride to Anaheim. “We now stand poised to have an operational high-speed passenger rail system within ten years,” said Board Member Mike Rossi. “By working with community leaders throughout the state we will begin construction soon on a smarter, more cost-effective transportation option for all Californians that reflects the direction mandated by voters in 2008 with the passage of Proposition 1A.” The Board unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Southern California transportation agencies and MPOs. This document outlines a shared commitment to advance the development of high-speed rail while providing funding for local early investment projects in Southern California that will improve rail service immediately. This agreement is designed to set the stage for construction to begin on needed Southern California infrastructure projects as early as next year. In another unanimous decision, the Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Northern California transportation entities. This would electrify the popular Caltrain commuter train from San Jose to San Francisco. The MOU, which has been approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, calls for local and regional entities to provide funding for just over half the $1.5 billion agreement. The Authority would provide $706 billion from 2008 Prop 1A bond monies. Lynn Schenk, vice chair of the Authority Board and longtime proponent of high-speed rail, lauded the voice of youth represented by pro-high-speed rail groups such as UC Merced student group "I Will Ride," whose founder spoke during the public comment period. Schenk said, “I am most encouraged by the energy and enthusiasm of young professionals, teens and twentysomethings who have made it clear that this is a project that will benefit their generation.” Elected officials, advocacy groups and individuals overwhelmingly spoke in favor of the business plan at the meeting. “I hope to see, in the near future, trains pulling through all the way from Los Angeles to the Central Valley, through Silicon Valley to San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal, which we believe to be the Grand Central Station of the West,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, speaking in favor of the business plan at the meeting. “I appreciate that High-Speed Rail embraced the proposal for a blended system that Peninsula elected officials, namely Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, State Sen. Joe Simitian and Assemblyman Rich Gordon called for a year ago,” said Adrienne Tissier, who chairs the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Caltrain and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. The business plan adopted Thursday was shaped by public feedback drawn from nearly 300 statewide meetings with landowners, elected officials and the public, as well as 250 public comments received over a two and a half month comment period. California’s High-Speed Train Project    The California High-Speed Rail Authority is developing a San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles and Anaheim high-speed rail system that will operate at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour. The full system will connect all of the state’s major urban centers, including Sacramento and San Diego. Initial infrastructure construction will begin in the Central Valley, the backbone of the system, in 2012. The project will generate 100,000 construction job-years of employment over the next five years and nearly one million economy-wide job-years over the life of the project. The project is being funded through voter-approved state bonds, federal funding grants, local funding, and public-private partnerships.

Marcellus Shale - Opportunities ahead...

Great information for those looking for opportunities in different fields. From transportation to enegy, without forgetting about environmental.

Marcellus Shale

Information provided by Dave Yoxtheimer, Penn State University, Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research  (August 2011)

General Marcellus Shale Facts

·       The Marcellus Shale region covers 95,000 square miles which encompasses 6 states. Of these states, Pennsylvania covers the most area

·       The shale is found at 9,000 feet deep and is only 250 feet thick

·       500 Trillion cubic feet of gas is recoverable over its life

·       Marcellus Shale could supply current US demand for 20+ years

·       Natural gas is used for 50% of home heating currently

·       Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel

·       There are two dozen shale plays across the US

·       Marcellus Shale is the second largest gas play in the world, second only to the oil field in Iran/Qatar

·       Utica Shale can be found 2,000-3,000 feet below the Marcellus Shale

·       Dry Gas

o   More pure methane

o   Found more in eastern PA

o   Highest yield is in Bradford County; also located in Tioga and Susquehanna Counties

·       Wet gas

o   Contains methane, ethane, propane, butane

o   Costs more to refine but has more commodities available for individual sale, such as plastics

o   Found more in western PA

o   Washington, Green and Fayette counties have large supplies of wet gas

·       In the first 2 – 3 years of the well being tapped, approximately 50% of the gas is recovered

·       Permits take approximately 1 month

·       Transportation is a major expense

Marcellus Shale Drilling

·        3,600 wells drilled to date. Less than half of these are online and producing due to economics

·       1,600 Marcellus wells currently in operation

·       3,000 -4,000 wells per year drilled are predicted

·       Marcellus Shale pads

o   Generally require 6 acres to be cleared

o   Actual well pad is 3-4 acres for equipment and wells on one footprint

o   One pad can hold 6-12 wells, each accessing 2 square miles from one well pad

·       Extra casing and concrete is used closer to the top of the well to protect ground water area

·       Hydrochloric acid is used to clean the well bore to reduce friction in drilling

·       It takes approximately 6 months to build and drill the well

Water Used and Treatment in Marcellus Shale Drilling

·       Almost 2/3 of daily water use is for thermoelectric water

·       8 – 10 Million gallons of water is used each day for fracking

·       10-20% of water used in fracking returns to the surface

·       Flow back treatment options

o   Direct reuse

o   Onsite treatment with reuse

o   Offsite treatment with reuse

o   Offsite treatment and disposal

·       Chemical precipitation, evaporation and filtration are some technologies being used for treatment

·       Approximately 2/3 of the water that returns to the surface is treated, recycled and reused

·       Great opportunity lies with water treatment and varying technologies and sites

·       Pennsylvania does not permit deep underground injection; no disposal into deep wells.

·       May 2011- Governor Corbett mandated that water treatment facilities must properly and adequately treat the fracking water. As a result, several water treatment facilities across PA did not meet these new standards. Only four facilities did of the 20 that were previously in operation; three in the northeastern PA and only one in southwestern PA.

·       Eureka Resources Plant in Williamsport is the only PA plant that can discharge to a stream because of high level of treatment

·       Three other water treatment facilities in PA are permitted to treat Marcellus Shale fracking water and give it back to the industry for reuse

o   Tara Aqua (Williamsport)

o   Blosburg (Tioga county)

o   Reserved Environmental Services Plant (Westmoreland county)

·       2 Million gallons per day of treatment capacity at permanent treatment facility now. This is only 50% capacity

·       There are mobile treatment units available and in use in the field as an alternative to the four qualified permanent water treatment facilities located across the state

·       Mobile units for water treatment are loosely regulated by the state currently

·       Approximately 25-35 mobile units in the field now

·       Taking out metals in water treatment costs:

o   $0.10-$0.15 / gallon – taking out metals for reuse by industry

o   $0.25-$0.30 / gallon – talking out metals and treating the remaining water for return to streams

·       Disposal of fracking water

o   Deep injection sites in Ohio, which is below Marcellus Shale level

o   Sludge is dewatered and taken to landfills that can track radiation levels

·       Water management plan is part of the permitting process

·       Wastewater treatment plans are subcontracted as part of the plan. They also must have a plan (and usually another subcontractor) for disposal of water or sludge

Other opportunities

·       Cracker plant – converts gas to ethane to ethylene for plastics manufacturing

·       Steel making and refractory industries are growing as a result of wet gas

·       Subcontractors

o   Transportation of fracking water

o   Water treatment and new technologies

o   Sludge disposal