Comprehensive Lifecycle Planning and Management System For Addressing Water Issues Associated With Shale Gas Development In New York, Pennsylvania, And West Virginia

The objective of this project is to develop a modeling system to allow operators and regulators to plan all aspects of water management activities associated with shale gas development in the target project area of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (“target area”), including water supply, transport, storage, use, recycling, and disposal and which can be used for planning, managing, forecasting, permit tracking, and compliance monitoring. The proposed project is a breakthrough approach to represent the entire shale gas water lifecycle in one comprehensive system with the capability to analyze impacts and options for operational efficiency and regulatory tracking and compliance, and to plan for future water use and disposition. It will address all of the major water-related issues of concern associated with shale gas development in the target area, including water withdrawal, transport, storage, use, treatment, recycling, and disposal. It will analyze the costs, water use, and wastes associated with the available options, and incorporate constraints presented by permit requirements, agreements, local and state regulations, equipment and material availability, etc. By using the system to examine the water lifecycle from withdrawals through disposal, users will be able to perform scenario analysis to answer "what if" questions for various situations. The system will include regulatory requirements of the appropriate state and regional agencies and facilitate reporting and permit applications and tracking. These features will allow operators to plan for more cost effective resource production. Regulators will be able to analyze impacts of development over an entire area. Regulators can then make informed decisions about the protections and practices that should be required as development proceeds. This modeling system will have myriad benefits for industry, government, and the public. For industry, it will allow planning all water management operations for a project or an area as one entity to optimize water use and minimize costs subject to regulatory and other constraints. It will facilitate analysis of options and tradeoffs, and will also simplify permitting and reporting to regulatory agencies. The system will help regulators study cumulative impacts of development, conserve water resources, and manage disposal options across a region. It will also allow them to track permits and monitor compliance. The public will benefit from water conservation, improved environmental performance as better system wide decisions are made, and greater supply of natural gas, with attendant lower prices, as costs are reduced and development is assisted through better planning and scheduling. Altogether, better economics and fewer barriers will facilitate recovery of the more than 300 trillion cubic feet of estimated recoverable natural gas resource in the Marcellus Shale in a manner that protects the environment