Co-sponsors working to plan and convene this workshop:
U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Eastern Region Science Office and Pennsylvania Water Science Center	Pittsburgh Geological Society
Agencies collaborating with the co-sponsors to plan the technical program:
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Interior	Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Welcome

Purpose

This workshop focused on the scientific basis for assessment of, and various types of geochemical analyses for, stray or fugitive gases. Stray gases can originate from a variety of sources and accumulate in natural and man-made spaces where dispersion and ventilation are inadequate. Gas accumulation can lead to problems where the fugitive nature of gases is a major safety concern.

Tools and strategies for investigating stray gases, along with case studies, were presented by scientists and specialists whose work has focused on the origins, migration, and accumulation of gases. The workshop presentations had emphasis on carbon dioxide and methane; the implications for safety, mitigation, and management of subsurface resources also were addressed. (Program with Abstracts - PDF)

Workshop Format and Sessions

(Program with Abstracts - PDF)

The workshop will be at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh. Sessions will span two full days (November 4-5) and the morning of a third day (November 6) with invited speakers as presenters each day. In addition to platform presentations, there will be poster presentations on Day 1 as part of an evening reception. Day 3 will be a half day of platform presentations and group discussions. Light refreshments will be provided at breaks. A lunch for attendees is planned on Day 2. Lunches on Days 1 and 3 are 'on-your-own.' Sessions will be organized as follows:

Tuesday November 3, 2009

7-9 p.m. Evening "early-bird" sign-in/pick-up registration packets

Wednesday November 4, 2009

7:45-8:45 a.m. Sign-in/pick-up registration packets

9:00-10:45 a.m. Plenary Session

11:00-12:15 Session 1-- Fugitive and Stray Gases: Investigation Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies

12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch "on-your-own"

1:30-5:00 p.m. Session 1-- Investigation Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies--continued

5:00-7:00 p.m. Evening Reception: "Meet the Speakers" & Poster Session

Thursday November 5, 2009

7:30-8:30 a.m. Arrivals and Sign-in

8:30-11:50 a.m. Session 2-- Fugitive and Stray Gases: Investigation Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies

12 noon-1:30 p.m. Lunch with "Science for Dessert" Speaker

1:40-5:00 p.m. Session 2-- Investigation Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies--continued

Friday November 6, 2009

8:00-11:00 a.m. Session 3-- Mitigation and Safety Topics

11:00-11:30 a.m. Workshop Wrap-Up and Adjourn

Workshop Presentations and Speakers - Confirmed

Plenary Session

Keynote Presentation: "From floating golf greens to burning cities, some reflections on the past, present, and future of stray gas identification."
D.D. Coleman, Isotech Laboratories, Inc.

Sessions on Fugitive and Stray Gases—Investigation Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies

"Stray gas migration – Elements of an investigation and case studies" F.J. Baldassare, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

"Gas cloud kills thousands at Lake Nyos, Africa: Identifying the culprit and saving lives in the future" M. L.W. Tuttle U.S. Geological Survey

"Stray gas impacts from gas well operations: pressure, migration, mixing, attenuation, dilution and other factors affecting forensic sampling, analysis, and interpretation" A.W. Gorody, Universal Geoscience Consultants

"Magmatic carbon dioxide emissions—environmental effects and hazards at Mammoth Mountain, California" C.D. Farrar, U.S. Geological Survey

"Covariation of carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of hydrocarbon gases: Distinguishing gases from biogenic, thermogenic, and inorganic CO2-reduction ("abiotic") sources" R.C. Burruss, U.S. Geological Survey; C.D. Laughrey, Pennsylvania Geological Survey

"Methods for locating abandoned wells in populated areas" G.A. Veloski and R.W. Hammack U.S. Department of Energy-NETL

"Detection of subsurface methane through geophysical methods" P.J. Hutchinson, and M.H. Beird, The Hutchinson Group, Ltd.

"Carbon and hydrogen isotopic evidence for the origin of combustible gases in water-supply wells in north-central Pennsylvania" K.M. Revesz and K.J. Breen, U.S. Geological Survey, and F.J. Baldassare, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

"Noble gases in the natural gas of Western New York State: implications for hydrocarbon migration in the Northern Appalachian Basin" A.G. Hunt, U.S. Geological Survey and R.J. Poreda, University of Rochester

"Effect of fugitive migration of methane on quality of shallow groundwater" M.L. Jagucki and R.A. Sheets, U.S. Geological Survey

"Isotopic geochemistry for determining sources of stray carbon dioxide gas" C.D. Laughrey, Pennsylvania Geological Survey and F.J. Baldassare, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

"Geostatistical modeling of CO2 flux spatial variation" K. Auwah-Offei, Missouri University of Science & Technology and F.J. Baldassare, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

"Dangerous atmosphere created by strip mine spoil" W.C. Ehler, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

"The occurrence and mitigation of carbon dioxide in residential structures" B.A. Robinson, U.S. Geological Survey

Session on Mitigation and Safety

"Carbon monoxide poisoning at a surface coal mine – a case study" K.K. Eltschlager, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, W. Shuss, and T.E. Kovalchuk, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

"Pipeline integrity - PUC's investigative and regulatory requirements for assessing natural gas migration" R. Graeser, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

"Well integrity – Vertical and horizontal cement evaluation" T. Sutton, Schlumberger Oilfield Services

"Combating air and gas issues in water well construction and water well operations" K. McCray, National Ground Water Association

Keynote Address "From floating golf greens to burning cities, some reflections on the past, present, and future of stray gas identification"
by Dr. Dennis Coleman, Isotech Laboratories, Inc.

Biographical Sketch for Keynote Speaker-- Dennis D. Coleman received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He completed an M.S. at the University of Arizona in Tucson and finally a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. From 1970 until 1995 he was on the staff at the Illinois State Geological Survey where he held various research and administrative positions. His interest in stray gas identification began during his dissertation research when he learned that you could use stable isotope analysis of methane to identify natural gas that had leaked from underground gas storage reservoirs and that carbon-14 analysis provided a way of identifying landfill methane. Collaboration with researchers at the German Geological Survey (BGR) demonstrated that combined carbon and hydrogen isotope analysis of methane could be used to differentiate the various forms of bacterial methane that occur in nature. That research collaboration also resulting in identifying the changes in carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions that occur when methane is oxidized by bacteria. To provide analytical support for his consulting activities in the area of stray gas identification, in 1985 Coleman and 3 colleagues founded Isotech Laboratories, Inc. In 1995, he retired from the Illinois State Geological Survey to devote full time to the operation of Isotech. Over the past 35 years Dennis has been involved in numerous investigations and law suits involving stray gas identification. Some of the more interesting case histories and the lessons learned from them will be presented.

Post Workshop Survey

• Please, provide your professional background Scientist Professional Engineer Manager Inspector or Field Engineer Other:
• Please, provide your affiliation Professional Consulting Energy Exploration Government Academia Other:
• What aspects of the workshop were most informative or useful for your professional development? technical presentations of stray gas principles technical presentations of stray gas case studies or applications Luncheon talk Evening reception Informal time
• Was the mix of presenters represenging government, academic, and industry perspectives appropriate? Balanced Out of Balance needing more presentations from
  needing fewer presentations from
  
• Is the topic of Stray or Fugitive Gases appropriate for future dedicated workshops or should we consider incorporating it into professional society meetings (GSA or ASCE meetings for example) that come to the region? best as a separate meeting or workshop best incorporated into professional society meetings; if so, what meeting(s)?
• If this workshop were to be held again, what is your recommendation on how soon? 1 year 2 years 5 years Other (date)
• Would a workshop proceedings compilation, including extended abstracts or papers by presenters, be worthwhile to develop for a future workshop? Definitely Maybe Probably not
• Is Pittsburgh a location that is well suited to your attendance (yes, no)? Would you promote an alternative location? yes no Alternte Location:
• Would you find an electronic clearing house (such as a wiki or www site) useful for posting stray gas background information, principles, tools, techniques, case studies, etc.? Definitely Maybe Probably not
• What stray gas questions or issues weren’t addressed as part of this workshop? What would you suggest we include in future meetings?
• In relation to other workshops that you have attended, regardless of subject matter, how did this Stray Gas workshop stack up? (1-poorly, 10-very well)
  Please let us know one thing we did right:
  Please let us know one thing we did wrong:

• Would you be interested in helping with regard to assembling stray gas information for a wiki or www page or otherwise convening future workshops on the subject? If so, please provide your name.
• Would you be willing to be contacted as a follow-up to this questionnaire? If so, please provide your name and email address
• Are there other comments you would like to make concerning this workshop?

Contacts for further information

• Program - Kevin Breen
  U.S. Geological Survey
  Pennsylvania Water Science Center
  (kjbreen@usgs.gov) 717-730-6970
  
  
• Logistics - Dan Hippe
  U.S. Geological Survey
  Eastern Region Science Office
  (djhippe@usgs.gov) 703-648-5810