The Shale Network – a collaboration between Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences – hosted its eighth annual workshop last month at the Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s University Park campus.
The purpose of the Shale Network is to collect and analyze data on water quality in the Marcellus Shale drilling region, and the workshop highlights the latest developments.
This year’s two-day workshop was attended by more than 100 people and included discussions about an ethane cracker plant in southwest Pennsylvania, environmental monitoring in communities, regions experiencing shale energy development and a proposal for new gas and liquid storage fields.
“I think it was a unique experience because of the diversity of people and the size of the workshop,” attendee Mary Kang said. “You really got to interact with different people, and that doesn’t always happen.”
The first day of the workshop included a trip to two shale-derived waste management facilities, a tour of the Wayne Township Landfill in Clinton County and a discussion on issues related to the interface of coal mining and natural gas development.
The second day featured panel discussions, presentations, and poster sessions.