The U.S. Water Alliance is launching a four-part webinar series Hydraulic Fracturing: Beyond Name Calling to Real Environmental Protection over the next four months. Register now for the first webinar, Knowing Your Watershed and Assessing Potential Environmental, Economic, and Social Impacts, which will take place on January 15, 2013 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST.

Shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing issues and opportunities are often politically-charged, emotion-filled debates. There’s a need to share more facts, identify data gaps and policy choices, and discuss practical steps to reduce risks. This series will bring together experts in water, energy, and conservation to explore the most important issues and disclose the most successful steps to prevent problems through each stage of the process, from locating an operation to site closure and restoration. The webinars won’t be “technical” but will involve presenters with technical expertise from industry, and regulatory, policy, and environmental NGO sectors.  Join us on Tuesday, January 15, for the first discussion: “Knowing Your Watershed and Assessing Potential Environmental, Economic, and Social Impacts”.   Ben Grumbles, president of the U.S. Water Alliance and former EPA Assistant Administrator will moderate the series.

Webinar 1: Knowing Your Watershed and Assessing Potential Environmental, Economic, and Social Impacts – Now available for on demand viewing, please click here to view now.
“Location, location, location”. Upfront analysis can make all the difference in determining success or failure. Experts will describe the array of factors that shape environmental, economic, and social impacts, from the availability of affordable water supplies, to hydrology and geology above and below ground, to the energy-water nexus, and the impact on property values and community attitudes.

Webinar 2: Transparency that Benefits All – Disclosing Fracturing Fluids and Operations – Now available for on demand viewing, please click here to view now.

Webinar 3:  Practical Considerations for Management, Re-use, and Disposal of “Waste” Waters – Now available for on demand viewing, please click here to view now.

Speakers

Yusuke Kuwayama
Resources for the Future

Yusuke Kuwayama is a Fellow at Resources for the Future.  His research focuses on the economics of environmental regulation, with an emphasis on water resources and ecosystems.  His previous work includes analysis of agricultural groundwater use and surface water pollution from agricultural activities, the water resource impacts of unconventional fossil fuel development, and the interactions between water resource use and ecosystem service function.  Kuwayama’s research often integrates economic analysis with physical modeling of water resources and draws on methods from numerical optimization and economic dynamics.  He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics and M.S. in Economics from the University of Illinois as well as an A.B. in Economics from Amherst College.

Dr. Dan Tormey
Cardno ENTRIX

Dr. Tormey is an expert in water and energy.  He conducts projects in sediment transport, hydrology, water supply, water quality, and groundwater-surfacewater interaction.  He also works with the environmental aspects of all types of energy and energy development.  Dr. Tormey actively pursues volcanology research around the world, with a focus on interactions between geophysical variables that affect risk assessment, risk preparedness, and contingency planning.

Vincent Tidwell
Sandia National Lab

Dr. Vincent Tidwell is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories. He has over 20 years of experience conducting and managing research on basic and applied projects in water resource management, nuclear and hazardous waste storage/remediation, and collaborative modeling. Currently he is leading several studies that address issues concerning the energy-water nexus including support for long-term transmission planning in the Western and Texas interconnections, carbon capture and sequestration impacts on water use,  regional study in the Great Lakes Watershed, and support of DOE’s Office of Policy and Solar Program. Dr. Tidwell is also a Lead Author for the Land-Water-Energy cross-sectorial chapter for the 2013 National Climate Assessment.