WorldWide Drilling Resource

Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. Environmental Drilling - When is it going to come back? I’m probably not the most qualified person to write this article regarding the extent of environmental drilling occur- ring across the United States. I live in the Southeast, but I do travel and read a good bit. Environmental drilling, as well as most all types of drilling, has been down because of the economy, now ap- proaching almost two decades. Drilling related to new construction is under- standably down, but why should drilling related to protecting our environment and natural resources be down for so long, and to such a low level? Yes, in the 1980s and 1990s there was a huge push to monitor industrial and commercial activities, and even all gasoline stations. A lot of contamination was identified, but few sites were fully characterized regarding the extent of contamination. Many sites seemed to be abandoned, and “legal games” were played where companies sold properties to unsuspecting buyers or responsible owners walked away by declaring bank- ruptcy. Many of these sites are continuing to contaminate our groundwater, surface waters, air, and soil. Politics, sadly, has contributed to degradation of the environment. Politi- cians have run for office on platforms of no new taxes and other slogans designed to lure new industries to areas by relax- ing environmental regulations that affect our air and water quality. Regulators have been told not to hold up projects at the expense of the environment - or they may lose their jobs. Most of us person- ally know of contaminated sites where nothing has been done for years to re- mediate these sites, which continue to pollute and affect our natural resources and health. I realize cleaning up these sites is very expensive in many scenarios, and there currently is not adequate funding in many cases. We need to identify and prioritize these sites by the risk they pose, find funding from the responsible par- ties if possible, and step up progress in these areas. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to do so. Hopefully, the economy will continue to improve, construction will pick up, and money will become available to cleanup and fund more drilling and other related remedial activities. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail at michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 27 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® DECEMBER 2014 WWDR would love to include you in our February issue! Deadlines: Space Reservation - December 23 rd Display & Classified Ad Copy - December 30 th