orphan well plugging in new york state
TRANSCRIPT
H M
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Hudson – MohawkProfessional Geologists Association
S E P T E M B E R
M E E T I N Gw w w . h m p g a . w i l d a p r i c o t . o r g
Speaker: Theodore N. Loukides,Chief, Oil & Gas Compliance and Enforcement Section,
Bureau of Resource Development and Reclamation,
NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources
September 19, 2018
With the
Eastern New York Chapter of the A&WMA
Abstract: Orphaned oil and gas wells are unplugged wells that have been abandoned by
their original owners or operators, and for which no legally responsible owner or operator can
be identified. These wells exist in all oil and gas producing regions in the United States, and
they represent a relatively small but important part of the nation’s legacy of energy
production. Many of them have physically deteriorated and have leaked oil, gas, or brine to
the surface and/or subsurface. Left in their degraded condition, they represent significant
potential threats to air and water resources, as well as to the economy. There are records for
over 3,500 orphaned wells in the NYSDEC 's oil and gas database - most of them drilled prior
to the existence of New York’s oil and gas regulatory framework. To address the mitigation of
these potential threats to public safety and the environment, the NYSDEC has focused more
of its resources in this arena as it has developed and refined a more systematic approach to
identifying, locating, and inspecting orphaned oil and gas wells.
Orphan Well Plugging
in New York State
S e p t e m b e r M E E T I N G
About the Presenter: Ted Loukides is Chief of the Oil & Gas
Compliance and Enforcement Section in the Division of Mineral
Resources with the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), located in Albany NY.
His primary program areas include: oil and gas production
reporting; well transfers; orphan well plugging; complaint
investigation and resolution; enforcement; state land leasing;
and financial security. He received a B.A. degree in Geology
from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1981, and
was a graduate teaching assistant in Earth Sciences at Montana
State University in the early 1980s. His professional career has
included geophysical prospecting, mud logging, water well
drilling, and groundwater consulting related to a range of
impacted sites in the eastern and central U.S. Ted has been
part of the NYSDEC’s Mineral Resources team for the past 16
years, serving in various capacities, including: well permitting;
inspections; drilling and plugging oversight; annual reporting;
statistical analyses; and information technology coordination. He
is a member of several national geologic organizations, and a
former Director of both the New York State Council of
Professional Geologists and the Hudson-Mohawk Professional
Geologists’ Association, where he also served as President.
Dinner Sponsors receive free dinner, a display table set up for the social hour and a 5 minute
presentation to the dinner audience, prior to the presentation. Please contact Jesse Vollick at
[email protected] for more information.
Reservations are required by Monday
September 17, 2018Whether attending the dinner
or only the presentation.
Register on-line at www.hmpga.wildapricot.org/
Call or email Marie Cole at (518) 724-7254 • [email protected]
Location: Century House
997 New Loudon Road
Latham, NY 12110
Time: Social Hour 5:00pm
Dinner 6:00pm
Program 7:00pm
Cost: $10.00 for student members
$20.00 for dormant geologists
$25.00 for members
$30.00 for non-members
program only: Free
About A&WMA: A&WMA Is a professional
non-profit association of engineers and
scientists with a particular focus on air and
waste environmental issues. The Mission of
A&WMA is to assist in the professional
development and critical environmental
decision-making of our members to benefit
society.
The core purpose of A&WMA is to improve
environmental knowledge and decisions by
providing a neutral forum for exchanging
information.
P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e
On behalf of your incoming Officers and Board of Directors members, welcome to the 2018-2019
season of the Hudson-Mohawk Professional Geologist’s Association. Having agreed to serve as
HMPGA president this year, I would like to ask the HMPGA membership to encourage others at your
place of work or school to join the group. We all know how enjoyable HMPGA events are, why not
share this with as many colleagues and friends as we can. I also encourage members to participate in
volunteer activities. In some cases, a few are doing a lot of work to put together events and any help
that you can provide will go a long way.
If you haven’t joined in on HMPGA’s outreach efforts, give it a try this year. There is always a need for
more volunteers when HMPGA assists high school earth science classes at their spring visits to the
Cave House Museum of Mining and Geology at Howe’s Cave, and it’s guaranteed to be an enjoyable
day. The same goes for staffing HMPGA’s table at the Gem & Mineral Show at the Empire State
Plaza in February. Those HMPGA efforts have been directed for years by Paul Griggs and Tom Ebert,
respectively, and they can always use more help. Please keep a lookout in the newsletter for more
details and any other opportunities as they arise.
Vice President Jesse Vollick is again lining up speakers for our monthly meetings. We have open
speaking slots in November and in the new year. Any suggestions or contact information for potential
speakers would be appreciated. An underutilized option for our corporate members has been to
sponsor a dinner. The meeting sponsor program is a great opportunity for you to advertise your
services. As a meeting sponsor your company name and contact information will be prominently
displayed during the social hour and dinner, you will have space at the sign-in area to and out
marketing material, and you will receive mention and an opportunity to introduce your company at the
start of the evening’s program. Please contact Jesse if this is something you are interested in for
future meetings….. Continues on next page.
3September 2018
September 2018 4
As I have moved on to take the responsibilities of
HMPGA president I am no longer handling the
newsletter. Beth Moore has graciously volunteered
to produce the newsletter for the upcoming year.
Please send any geology related articles or
pictures of any vacations where you encountered
interesting or picturesque geology.
We have added several new board members to the
group and I want to extend a thanks and welcome
to Beth Moore, John Armitage, and George Pafumi
who join us for this season. I also thank Kevin for
guiding us through the last 2 seasons as he
headed into retirement. He will still be around
handling the “past president” duties and when his
first commitment of the day is a 4pm board
meeting I know I will be a little envious. Hopefully,
we will see all of you at our upcoming meetings
and events to enjoy another great year of HMPGA.
Josh
President 2018-2019
President’s Message Continued O f f i c e r s
President
Josh Gowan
(518) 348-6995
Vice President
Jesse Vollick
(518) 453-8749
Treasurer
Bill Kotas
(518) 377-9841
Secretary
Brian Taylor
(518) 560-5907
Past President
Kevin Phelan
(518) 348-6995
B o a r d M e m b e r s
John Armitage
Curtis Cappellano
Scott Hulseapple
(518) 348-6995
Elizabeth Moore
(518) 812-6984
George Pafumi
Luanne Whitbeck
(518) 475-1008
September 2018 5
7
Send your so lu t ions to kphelan@alphageoscience .com
September 2018
IN LEILANI ESTATES, THEIR MORNING JAVA,
JUST GOT UPSET, BY GAS AND LAVA.
M A Y ’ S S O L U T I O N
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M r . P h e l a n ’ s
S E P T E M B E R
G E O - C R Y P T O C I P H E R
CLUE: X = V each letter of the expression is substituted by another letter.
Scientists Discover New Clues to
Mount St. Helens Unusual LocationSeptember 3, 2018 – USGS
September 2018 8
“Mount St. Helens is the most active volcano in the
western United States, yet has long puzzled
scientists as it sits far from the area where magma
is thought to form," said Bedrosian. "This new data
suggests that deep magmas exist over a broad
area in the lower crust, including beneath St.
Helens, but that an ancient suture acts as a crustal
valve, allowing the sticky magmas characteristic of
Mount St. Helens to ascend and ultimately erupt.”
You can find a link to the full article here:
https://www.usgs.gov/news/scientists-discover-
new-clues-mount-st-helens-unusual-location
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9September 2018
H M P G A P R O G R A M D I R E C T O R S
Being active in HMPGA is a fully volunteer activity that often demands a great deal of
attention.
The following members chair this year’s committees and we thank them:
Webmaster Scott Hulseapple [email protected]
Newsletter Elizabeth Moore [email protected]
Educational Outreach Joe Osso [email protected]
Program/Communications Jesse Vollick [email protected]
Membership Luanne Whitbeck [email protected]
Sometime we have to get outside and see it for ourselves. Here are the iconic
Cliffs of Moher in Ireland(July 2018), taken by a recent RPI Graduate and HMPGA
Member, Krysia Kornecki.
Photo
court
esy o
f K
rysia
Korn
ecki
Ads in the HMPGA Newsletter range from
$100-$200 annually. For more information
contact Joshua Gowan, P.G., Alpha
Geoscience, [email protected]
C o r p o r a t e M e m b e r C o n t a c t s
2 0 1 8 - 2 0 1 9
As of 9/6/2018
AECOM Walter Howard 518.951.2200
Alpha Analytical Pat Filey 716.392.3932
Alpha Geoscience Scott Hulseapple 518.348.6995
Aztech Environmental Technologies Mary Passaretti 518.885.5383
Bond, Schoeneck & King Kevin Bernstein 315.218.8329
Brown & Caldwell Frank Williams 518.560.5912
Cascade Matt Ednie 518.355.2201
Cobleskill Stone Products Michael Moore 518.234.0221
ConTest Analytical Labortory Scott Basal 518.608.1036
Continental Placer Bill Miller 518.458.9203
Corbett Industrial Cleaners Lynne Farrell 518.688.7393
Geotech Environmental Equipment, Inc. Peter Murray 802.651.3050
Griggs – Lang Consulting Geologists Jeff Lang 518.270.5920
H2H Associates Richard Hisert 518.270.1620
Hager – Richter Geoscience, Inc. Jeffrey Reid 603.893.9944
Hanson VanVleet, LLC Kirby VanVleet 518.371.7940
HDR, Inc. Michael Lehtinen 518.937.9500
Hydrogeologic, Inc Eric Evans 518.877.0309
Intertek-PSI Bill Kotas 518.377.9841
Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. Frank Getchell 201.818.0700
Parratt Wolff, Inc. Danylo Kulczycky “DK” 800.782.7260
PVE Sheffler Chris Brown 845.454.2544
Regenesis Maureen Dooley 781.245.1320
SJB Jim Vincent 518.899.7491
Sterling Environmental Engineering, P.C. Mark Williams 518.456.4900
Eastern New York (ENY) Chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association (MASS-A&WMA). They
encompass the greater Capital District and Hudson Valley region of eastern New York State. A
professional non-for‐profit association of engineers and scientists working in the environmental field, with
a particular focus on issues related to air and waste. www.awmanenychapter.wildMAYicot.org
The Geological Society of America (GSA) strives to be a leader in advancing the geosciences, while
enhancing the professional growth of its members, and promoting the geosciences in the service of
humankind. www.geosociety.org
The New York State Museum is a major research and educational institution. It is dedicated to promoting
inquiry and advancing knowledge in the fields of geology, biology, anthropology, and history, through the
investigation of material evidence germane to New York State's past, present and future.
www.nysm.nysed.gov
New York State Council of Professional Geologists (NYSCPG) strives to strengthen and advance the
geologic sciences as a profession, promote the protection of public health and welfare and the
environment through the professional practice of geologic sciences, and create high standards of ethical
conduct among its members and within the profession of geology, as well as the legal standing of
geologists and their ability to practice geology in New York State by promoting the licensing of geologists
in New York State through statutory regulation. www.nyscpg.org
The Capital District Environmental Breakfast Club is an informal group of environmental professionals
that meets monthly to discuss current environmental issues. Each meeting features a speaker on a topic
of interest, a regulatory update, and an open forum. Meetings are held on the first Friday of each month
except July and August. The Environmental Breakfast Club meets at the Holiday Inn Turf on Wolf Road
in Colonie, New York. Meetings start at 7:30 am. The cost is $15 per person, which includes a full
breakfast buffet. www.youngsommer.com
Buffalo Association of Professional Geologists (BAPG) conducts regular membership meetings on the
third Wednesday of the month, January through June and September through November. Meetings
feature distinguished speakers and interesting topics. Field trips and technical seminars sponsored by
the BAPG encourage the exchange of scholarship and expertise. www.bapg.org
Central NY Association of Professional Geologists (CNYAPG) conducts regular meetings on the second
Thursday of each month, unless otherwise posted, from September to May. Meetings feature dinner and
distinguished speakers whose presentations invite comment and discussion. www.cnyapg.org
Long Island Association of Professional Geologists (LIAPG) is a not-for-profit professional organization
dedicated to the professional and business needs of geologists located in the Long Island / Metro New
York area. www.lipg.org
HMPGA
P.O. Box 5506
Albany, NY 12205-0506
Forwarding Service
Requested
First Class
Friday, September 21, 2018Van Patten Golf Course, Clifton Park
The Eastern New York Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA-ENY) is proud to announce the fifth annual Peter B. Desrochers Golf Tournament at Van Patten Golf Course in Clifton Park on Friday, September 21, 2018, shotgun start at 10:00am .
Your participation in this event will help fund the education committee’s Earth Day Grant program for the 2018-2019 academic year. Please consider sponsoring this event in which we will celebrate and honor all that Pete did for the Eastern New York Chapter of AWMA. His love for the outdoors and his unyielding desire to make the earth a better place continues to inspire us each year, and this year we want to do more.
“Friends of Pete” donations of any amount, with proceeds going to the Earth Day Grant Program, see website.
Starting in 2002, the local North Eastern New York (NENY) Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) has awarded over $109,000 to
motivated teachers in the capital district for over246 various environmental projects.
To register for the golf tournament please visithttp://awmaneny.org/event-2828374
$500–Golf Foursome • $125–Individual Golfer • $30–Reception onlyTo pay with a check or other inquiries please contact Stephen Le Fevre [email protected] • 518 -369-9290.
9:00-9:45 am Registration10:00 am Shotgun Start Scramble
3:00 pm Buffet Reception
GIVEAWAYS • PRIZES • RAFFLE
Reserve online at : http://awmaneny.org/event-2828374
Program
9:00-9:45 am Registration10:00 am Shotgun Start Scramble3:00 pm Buffet Reception
Prizes
1st and 2nd Low FoursomesLongest DriveClosest to Pin
Fees
Golf, snack and beverage on the turn, and buffetreception: $110.through.July.31st.($125.after)
Reception Only: $30.00/person
Sponsorship Opportunities
Please contact Stephen Le Fevre viaPhone: 518-369-9290 orE-mail: [email protected]
There are numerous sponsorship categories to choose from. In addition, we encourage you to donate a gift for the raffle that will be held during lunch.
Starting in 2002, the local North Eastern New York (NENY) Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) has awarded over $109,000 to motivated teachers in the capital district for over 246 various environmental projects. In 2016, qualifying projects could receive grants up to $750 per school.
All of the proceeds from this tournament will continue to support our mission and commitment making all of this possible.
This tournament is not possible without the generosity of our sponsors. Thank You
Registration Form
Name:
Address:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Names of other golfer(s) that will be part of your foursome:
Name:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Name:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Name:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Reserve your spot and/or your foursome by sending this form and payment
no later than September 10, 2018
A&WMA – Eastern NY ChapterC/O: Stephen Le FevreBarton & Loguidice, P.C.10 Airline Drive, Suite 200Albany, NY 12205Check should be made payable to A&WMA – Eastern NY Chapter
Questions to Stephen Le Fevre at;[email protected] or 518-369-9290
7th Annual Peter B. Desrochers Golf Tournament Friday, September 21, 2018 • Van Patten Golf Course