Best Special Section

Energy Profiles Cover Page 1

A Uintah Basin Standard Publication

Energy Future Improving Although political environs are shifting, regulatory oversight remains burdensome

Bugling Elk and Mining Simplotfindsbalancebetween miningandwildlifeenvironment

Education’s Role in Energy Area schools offer a variety of courses toprepareenergyworkforce


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Sun Advocate • Uintah Basin Standard • PROFILES IN ENERGY October 2011 1

4 COLOR

Profiles ENERGYTABLE OF CONTENTS

4: PERMIT APPROVALS RISE

As 2010 began, operators were looking for a stronger year in production with more drilling permits released by the state and federal govern-ments. By Mary Bernard

8: TAVAPUTS COMPROMISE

The BLM’s approval of Bill Barrett Corp.’s plans to fully develop its leases on the Tavaputs Pla-teau came after a deal with environmentalists. By Richard Shaw

12: RISK TAKING PAYS OFF

A former Bluebell resident and his business part-ner are seeing success after launching their tank manufacturing business in the midst of tough economic times. By ViAnn Prestwich

16: A DAY ON A RIG

Newfield Exploration crews spend long hours drilling for black wax crude oil in the company’s Monument Butte field, where safety always comes first. By Greg Knight

22: COMING TOGETHER

Utah’s coal miners enjoy widespread support. When disaster strikes that support multiplies as entire communities come together to support the victims’ families. By Richard Shaw

27: READY FOR THE WORST

Counties and area hospitals in the Uintah Basin are working with the energy industry and private citizens to create response plans for industrial accidents. By Lacey McMurry

36: BLOWING IN THE WIND

A Salt Lake City company is moving ahead with plans to build a wind farm in Daggett County’s Lucerne Valley. By Kevin Ashby

40: UTE ENERGY Q&A

Joe Jaggers was named president and CEO of Ute Energy in July. Jaggers, a West Point gradu-ate with nearly 30 years in the energy business, answers questions about Ute Energy’s future.

Advanced Fluid Containment – 888-99-TANKS – page 7

AM Dirt Works – 435-733-1992 – page 31

Artificial Lift and Surface Pumps – 435-722-4520 – page 58

Ashley Regional – 4350-781-3053 – page 26

Ashley Valley Realty – 435-790-4935 – page 50

B&G Crane – 435-454-3561 – page 30

Basic Energy Services – page 13Basin Auto Paint Specialists – 435-

789-3373Basin Western – 888-722-5351

– page 58Berry Petroleum – 435-722-1325

– page 53Besst Fire & Safety – 435-722-8233

– page 55Big O Tires – 435-789-8872 or 435-

722-5561 – page 10Bill Barrett Corporation – www.billbar-

rettcorp.com – page 17Bio Resources, Inc – 307-686-2051

page 37Brady Trucking – 435-781-1569

– page 47Bruno Engineering – Bodec Electri-

cal Contractors – 435-613-0700 – page 36

Bull Ring – 435-789-9474 – page 49

Burdick Materials – 435-722-5013 – page 40

C&T Construction – 435-353-4753Cameron Vernal Sales and Service

– 435-789-1796 – page 27Carbon Copy Center – 435-637-2679

– page 57Cardwell – 435-503-5297 – page

49Caro Norton Realtor – 435-219-9949

– page 37Century 21 – 435-789-2606 – page

54Coldwell Banker – 435-724-3523

– page 40Craig’s Roustabout Service – 435-

781-1366 – pg 29Dalbo, Inc – 435-789-0743 – page

9Desert Mountain Corporation – 800-

375-9264 – pg 46Devon – page 51Dinosaur Tire Service – 435-637-

2480 – page 51Double C Trucking & Excavation

– 435-724-0535 – page 20Duchesne County Chamber of Com-

merce – page 18Eastern Utah Community Credit

Union – 435-637-1209 – page 8Four Star Fishing and Rental Tools

– 435-722-2310 – page 46Golden West – 800-845-5060 – page

42Great Lakes Airlines – www.flygreat-

lakes.com – page 35Halliburton – 435-789-2550 – page

39Hullinger Mortuary – 435-722-2426

– page 55I Love Drilling – 435-789-2270

– page 26Intermountain Toxicology Collections

– 435-789-5249 – page 21J&R Construction – 435-823-6590

– page 40JBR – 801-943-4144 – page 16Johansen and Tuttle Engineering

– 435-381-2523 – page 13John Crane Production Solutions

– 435-722-2221 – page 54Jones & DeMille Engineering – 800-

748-5275Jones Paint and Glass – 435-789-

3241 – 435-722-3926 – page 37Kenworth Sales Company – 877-570-

1430 – page 34Kielbasa Concrete – 435-828-0090

– page 20L&L Motor – 435-722-2233 – Page

8Leon Ross Drilling & Construction

– 435-722-4469 – page 23M. Boren Services Construction

– 435-724-2579 – page 55MCS Inc – 435-722-9941 – page

34Moon Lake Electric Association

– 435-722-5400 – page 19Morgantown Machine and Hydraulics

– 435-472-3452 – page 53Nabors Well Services – 435-722-

3451 – page 16National Oilwell Varco – 435-722-

0653 – page 58Nelco Contractors – 435-637-3495

– page 45Newfield Exploration – 435-646-3721

– page 60Nielson Construction – 435-687-2494

– page 38Oilfield Class Transports – 435-823-

5714 – page 19Paragon Automation – 435-781-2128

– page 39PayZone Directional – 435-725-3745

– page 3Perry Insurance Agency – 435-781-

0404 – page 41Pierce Oil – 435-637-3211 – page

59Price Insurance Agency – 435-637-

3351 – page 57Price Mine Service – 435-637-9300

– page 32R Chapman Construction – 435-722-

3800 – page 54R-J Taylor Pipelines – 435-722-8280

– page 6Raptor Industries, Inc – 970-256-

1713 – page 5RBS Fishing and Rental Tools – 435-

828-7279 – page 57Real Property Management – 435-

781-0880 – page 24Rebel Field Service – 435-823-6567

– page 42Robison Construction – 435-823-

6591 – page 33Rocky Mountain Power – page 25RTK Trucking – 435-724-0168

– page 21Salt Lake Valley GMC – 888-686-

9482 – page 49Scamp Excavation – 435-636-8101

– page 50Select Rentals – 435-722-2881

– page 52Showalter Ford – 435-789-3818

– page 14Signsnlines.com - 435-722-5064

– page 15Skips Heating and Air – 435-722-3592

– Page 4Split Mountain Pipe and Supply – 435-

789-4510 – page 58Stanco Insulation Services – 435-

722-5033 – page 44Superior Mud and Wash – 435-790-

4555 – page 33Surefire-Controls – 505-333-2876

– page 2The Barnyard Construction – 970-

858-4123 – page 59The Environmental Company – 800-

742-0553 – page 43The Ink Spot – 435-722-4021 – page

56The Perforators – 435-725-2344

– page 44TJ’s Productions – 435-789-1555

– page 53Tony Basso GM – 435-637-0110

– page 48TPS Filters – 435-789-7001 – page

22Tri-State Trucking – 435-828-0533

– page 41UBATC – 435-725-7100 – 435-722-

6900 – page 28UBATC – 435-725-7100 or 435-722-

6900 – page 11Ute Energy – 435-722-2091 – page

50Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce

– 435-789-1352 – page 14Webb’s Rooter and Drain Service

– 435-621-7211 – page 13Western Chemical – 435-823-0797

– page 28Western Petroleum – 435-789-8624

– page 14Wheeler Cat – 800-662-8650 – page

59Winterton Suites – 435-725-1990

– page 2Zions Bank – 435-722-3614 – p 12

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Bugling elk and rumbling conveyor belts aren’t conventional companions, but both can be found in harmonious syncopation 12 miles north of Vernal. “They love us,” said John Spencer, environmental and senior mining en-gineer at Simplot Phosphates, LLC, of the elk herd which majestically strolls

Bugling elk and mining

past the two-mile long conveyer belt. Daily the huge animals cross under or over the long phosphate transfer sys-tem, “and we love them,” Spencer said. Love is not too strong a word to de-scribe the passion some of these miners have for the half-ton animals who share this spot just off Highway 191. “A lot of us are outdoors people,” manager of the Vernal mine, Mark Krall said. “We are passionate about the

elk and the habitat we create for them. I love to see the elk here in the mine setting.” Nolan Jackson, who has worked at the mine for 41 years agrees. “Everyone here enjoys them,” said Jackson, who is the maintenance man-ager at the mine. He described how years ago through the 70’s the herd was hunted. “In 1980 we had new managers,”

Jackson explained. “(They) closed the area down to elk hunting on the west side of the highway so the elk would have refuge.” He said around 300 elk came that August and they stayed through the end of October. Jackson, Krall, and Spencer all estimate that at the peak there are

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between 400 and 500 hundred animals grazing in the meadows. “If you get away from the sounds of the operation you can hear them bugling,” Jackson said. Krall also mentioned the unique resonating screeching or squealing of elk calling across the rolling landscape — one of the most distinctive sounds in nature. “Employees go out there in the morning to hear the bulls,” Krall said. “And in the evenings the last three weeks they’ve been bugling pretty good.” Besides feeling safe because hunting is forbidden, the elk know that there will be sufficient food. “We make the slope so it is suitable for plants, forbs and shrubs,” Spencer said. “We work with the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to get a seed mix that is favorable. A lot of our reclamation work is aimed toward this big game.” Besides having adequate grass for the summer, mine employees raise hay for winter feedings. “The mine is on an old homestead,” Spencer said. “Our front yard is a hay field.” The 145 employees rotate the duty of cutting the 25 acres of alfalfa. “We kind of take turns,” Jackson said. “Some of the mine operators come

down, get off their equipment and feed the elk.” Krall said the employees water it and cut it on their own time. Employees can take part of it but the other half is used for when the elk get pushed out of the High Uintas. In the winter they can feed upwards of 200 elk, he said. “It’s also good for some of our employees,” Krall said. “A lot of them are gentlemen ranchers on the week-end and this gives them a little feed for their personal livestock.” Spreading the hay over slopes not only supplies nutrition for the large animals, but helps stabilize the slopes. “The steeper slopes we mulch with the hay,” Spencer said. “The elk track over it and tromp it into the ground. The seeds are less likely to erode.” He said there are a lot of benefits in-cluding improving the habitat for small game. “We’ve had a little family of bobcats up there that stayed in the meadows,” Spencer said. “We have all kinds of varmint.” The original phosphate mine was a developed by the San Francisco Chemi-cal Company in 1960. In 2003 J.R. Simplot purchased the operation which produces phosphate fertilizer. Phos-phate ore from the mine is crushed, washed, finely ground and concentrat-ed. The ore is then mixed with water to form a slurry and shipped 96 miles through a pressurized pipeline to the manufacturing plant five miles south of

Rock Springs, Wyo. The conveyor belt that divides the mine area takes ore to the pipeline. Originally metal bridges were built over the conveyor in hopes that the elk would use these to migrate past. Even though the bridges were covered with dirt, the elk ignored this convenience. “We also have areas where they can go under,” Spencer said. “A lot of elk pass through that way, but some just climb on to the conveyor. Especially the

ones with the large racks.” Even though the elk herd is large, they are often difficult to see. “They are kind of tucked up in the canyon,” Krall said. “Unless you know exactly where to look you can drive by and never see them.” Tourist might not know about the elk, but that doesn’t matter. The min-ers are taking good care of the majestic creatures.

BUGLING ELKCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

An impressive 400 and 500 deer and elk use the meadows surrounding Simplot Phosphate during the year.


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Economic concerns as well as environmental scrutiny have forced oil shale production companies to seek innovative ways of minimizing the en-vironmental impact of these operations. Newfield claims that their new waste-water treatment facility does just that — minimizes environmental impact. As petroleum production increases, so does saline water production, creat-ing an increased need for economic and environmentally responsible disposal plans. Utah’s No. 1 producer of crude oil — Newfield Production Co. — is us-ing technology that gives gas producers the ability to reuse water generated in drilling and related processes. According to Keith Schmidt, compa-ny spokesman, Newfield began working with Environmentally Clean Systems several years ago to address waste water issues for produced, fracturing, flowback and other waters. The basis for the system is electro-coagulation. The EC process allows for the reduc-tion and elimination of reagents and equipment associated with chemical systems resulting in lower reclamation costs and greater flexibility in disposal.

Newfield technology cleans up water ECS is a joint venture of MPR Ser-vice, Inc., Dickinson, Texas and Jet Oil Solutions, Salt Lake City. They special-ize in giving the oil producer the ability to reuse the waste water generated in drill and related processes. This is ac-complished by removing the elements and compounds that can case scaling and water hardness. The technology claims that heavy metals, hydrocarbons, bacteria, and silicates can all be removed to potable standards for environmental safe reuse or disposal. Schmidt suggested that every field would have a different process depend-ing on the specific contaminates the water incurs in a specific area. In the Monument Butte field, New-field produced more than 23,000 barrels of water per day. The volume of a barrel is equivalent to 42 US Gallons.) “In our case, approximately 25 percent of the total volume of produced water required treatment prior to re-in-jection into the producing formation for enhanced oil recovery,” Schmidt said. “We are currently treating more than 5,000 bwpd which in the past would have gone to surface evaporation pits for disposal. Our treatment costs are consistent with disposal rates.”

Gov Gary Herbert’s visit to the oil field last April included a tour of the wastewater treatment facility south of the Newfield main office, and he said he approved of the venture. “The water that is utilized here becomes polluted (and) is then cleaned and recycled,” Herbert said. “What a wonderful idea.” When questioned about this new undertaking the company released the following statement: “Newfield believes environmental responsibility is an

important factor in operating a socially responsible company. The health and safety of the people and places where we operate are a priority. “We have programs in place to help enhance the safety of our people and contractors while minimizing the impact of our operations and the environment. The wastewater treatment facility is just one example where technology is help-ing us in regards to the environment,” the statement said.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert, right, stands with other dignitaries while listening to a wastewater presentation on Newfield’s reclamation process.


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By Lacey McMurryUintah Basin Standard

Oil and natural gas leasing on public lands in Utah is at a six-year low, accord-ing to data compiled by Western Energy Alliance — a non-profit trade association that represents more than 400 energy companies — and with that comes less mineral lease monies into the commu-nity. In Fiscal Year 2011, which ended on September 30, the number of Utah lease parcels offered by the BLM declined by 86.3 percent since 2008. In that same time period, acreage offered decreased by 85.9 percent and overall total sales receipts were down by 99 percent. Kathleen Sgamma, director of govern-ment and public affairs for WEA, said the hope is that leasing numbers will increase in Fiscal Year 2012 because the BLM has worked through its new leasing policies. “We hope it [the BLM] will offer suf-ficient acreage in Fiscal Year 2012 to more closely align with industry interest,” she said. “Without access to public lands, oil and natural gas companies will not be able to achieve the full job and economic

Less BLM leases = less money for countiesgrowth potential of the West.” Overall, the Rocky Mountain region as a whole — Colorado, New Mexico, Mon-tana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah — also saw a decrease in leasing. Acreage offered in the entire region was down by 80.5 percent since 2008 and total sales receipts were down by 43.7 percent. Utah and Colorado saw the sharpest decrease in available leasing opportunities in the region. Jon Haubert, manager of communications for WEA, said the BLM offered a “shockingly low” four parcels in Colorado in 2011 and Utah was close behind with just 17. “Those numbers really say something,” he said. “As you can imagine, even a single well can make a big difference in places like rural Utah.” Some local government officials say the recent, dramatic decline in available leases on public lands is negatively affect-ing county coffers. Uintah County Commissioner Mark Raymond said the county’s special service districts have been hit hard. “In 2008, when leases were pulled by Salazar [U.S. Secretary of the Interior],

almost immediately, production dimin-ished significantly,” he said. “Our special service districts are funded with mineral lease money, and the decline in production on public lands has had a huge impact on the amount of money generated for our county.”

In Duchesne County, the financial impact of the leasing slow-down hasn’t been as dramatic. County commissioner Ron Wood said that’s due to the fact Duchesne County

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7


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has never had as much revenue generated from mineral leasing as Uintah County, so the effect is less noticeable. Even without mineral lease funds in the picture, energy experts say the impact of a delayed production is probably more far-reaching than most people realize, especially in the Uintah Basin where a large percentage of the population is employed in the energy industry. According to statistics obtained from the Utah Department of Workforce Ser-vices, 21 percent of the Duchesne County population was employed in the mining industry last year — that category includes jobs in the oil and gas industry and all support services except transportation. Industry employment also accounted for 35 percent of all payroll dollars generated throughout the year. Figures are similar in Uintah County — 2010 saw 20 percent of all jobs generated by the mining industry and 35 percent of all payroll dollars. “You can probably add another 10 percent on top of all those totals when you figure most transportation jobs are also associated with the industry,” said DWS labor economist John Matthews.

When drilling slows down in a resource-driven economy like the Uintah Basin, the impact trickles down to all associ-ated support jobs, and even other area businesses, a reaction known as induced impact. Induced impact is what happens when an industry employee spends his new income on fishing and hunting gear, stimulating local sporting goods stores. And while hundreds of studies have been commissioned evaluating how many

BLM LEASESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

UTAH

parcels offered

parcels sold

acres offered

acres sold total sales receipts

FY-05 329 294 505,563 443,445 $33,840,164FY-06 653 588 999,533 886,798 $75,004,459FY-07 390 305 556,625 407,845 $27,439,344FY-08 124 110 163,391 146,453 $8,577,875FY-09 308 275 413,443 361,328 $10,684,990FY-10 38 33 44,796 39,549 $1,441,573FY-11 17 5 23,080 2,958 $86,370% change (FY08-11) 86.3 95.5 85.9 98.0 99.0

Federal leasing numbers down significantly

source Western Energy Alliance

jobs are created by a single well, or how much revenue is generated annually by the industry, studies that examine the narrower scope of the induced impacts generated by a single well are difficult to come by. However, a recent report by the Manhattan Institute and University of Wyoming professor Timothy Considine helps quantify that number.

According to the report, a typical well on the Marcellus Shale in the eastern U.S. generates some $2.8 million in direct eco-nomic benefits from natural gas company purchases; $1.2 million in indirect benefits from companies engaged along the supply chain; another $1.5 million from work-ers spending their wages, or landowners spending their royalty payments; plus $2 million in federal, state and local taxes.


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Saying there have been some signifi-cant changes since Jake Richhart first started working in the oil and gas in-dustry 15 years ago would be something of an understatement. As a young adult who had just graduated from junior college, Richhart decided to take some time off before finishing his formal education. The southern United States beckoned to him, and he headed toward the Louisi-ana coastline. “One day I was out in a boat in the Gulf of Mexico fishing and someone bet me I wouldn’t survive on an offshore drilling rig,” he said. “I took the bet and passed the physical and strength test. The company that hired me gave me a booklet to study and the next thing I knew I was working on an offshore Mal-lard rig.” Richhart said being told to read through the safety booklet was essen-tially his only official training, even though he was inexperienced and would be working in one of the most danger-ous environments in the industry.

Strides in safety:

On-the-job safety improves with specialized training “Those Mallard rigs are the cheapest rigs to operate — which means they’re the most dangerous,” he said. “Half the guys I worked with were just out of prison because no one else wanted the job, and the mentality was get it right or be gone. “This was also back in the day where a lot of operators paid lease rigs by the footage and in that environment, people did whatever it took to keep that drill bit turning to the right,” he said. Richhart survived his offshore rig ex-perience and is now the safety manager for the Uintah Basin Newfield office. He said the industry’s way of thinking about safety is different today. “Now, you find a culture of: ‘This is going to cost us more if we get it wrong,’” he said. “Today there are many different layers of protection in place to protect both people and the environment.” One crucial layer of protection that contributes to on-the-job safety is well control certification courses. On a typical crew, an average of three to five workers out of 10 are usually certified Mike Mold, instructor of the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College’s well control

training course, stands at a simulator that students use to learn how to shut down a well in emergency situations. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

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in this specialized training, which tar-gets employees like derrickhands and drillers who need to be able to recognize the warning signs that a well is out of control. “Well control is a daily obstacle drillers deal with,” HSE supervisor for pioneer drilling Kevin Ashcraft said. “If a driller is asleep at the wheel and doesn’t have control of downhole pres-sure, that can cause situations that end in catastrophe.” Usually, that catastrophe is a blow-out, which is easily the most dangerous and potentially destructive disaster in the industry. Blowouts can cause dam-age to the environment, dehabilitating shutdowns, serious injury, and death. Well control, or blowout preven-tion, encompasses anything from the precautionary methods used on rigs to prevent “kicks” — the unexpected flow of fluids into a well — from developing, to the use of Blowout Preventers, which are designed to shutdown a well if a blowout appears to be looming. In a nutshell, energy employees who take well control courses are taught exactly what they need to do to keep thousands of pounds of pressure at bay. In the past, local companies had to send their crews to places like Wyo-ming, Oklahoma or Texas for control

training. That changed when a couple of different partnerships made it pos-sible for well control training classes to be taught at the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. According to statistics obtained from the UBATC, approximately 200 people took well control courses last year alone — from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Industry workers can usually earn their certification in about forty hours. “That training keeps us out of harm’s way,” safety specialist with the local Frontier Drilling office James Lynch said. “Safety-wise, it’s a very necessary training. Without it, we’d have some major incidents and see lots of people getting injured.” Lynch and other local energy insid-ers said they feel the UBATC course has done an exceptional job of preparing their employees for emergencies. One aspect of the course that’s particularly useful is a simulator located on-site at the college, they said. People enrolled in the course have to glance at gauges on a tv screen to calculate pressure and practice shutting down the well over and over again if the pressure is out of control. The stimula-tor has wheels, valves, and gauges in the same place they would be on an actual rig. “The instructor plugs in the speak-ers and it’s loud, noisy, and chaotic just like it would be in real life,” Ashcraft said. “It’s pretty realistic.” More companies hold practice drills

to ensure employees remember their training, and the statistics prove that it pays. The OSHA Recordable Incident Rate (or incident rate) is calculated by multiplying the number of recordable cases by 200,000, and then dividing that number by the number of labor hours at the company. In 2005, the industry-wide record-able incident rate was around 20. In

2010, that had decreased to approxi-mately two. “That decrease has everything to do with safety training,” Ashcraft said. “It’s an overall industry change that you can attribute to operators who now require certain things to take place, to subcontractors who are now holding employees to a higher standard. Every-one is seeing the value of safety.”

UBATC well training course instructor, Mike Mold, sits next to well control equipment. Well control courses like the one offered locally are making a positive difference in the industry’s safety statistics.

JOB SAFETYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8


#3088_BOTVR_UBS_AD_CS4.pdf 1 10/3/11 3:52 PM

By Ranae BangerterVernal Express

Gov. Gary Herbert said that Utah is working on a $3 million effort study designed to streamline the permitting process for oil and natural gas explora-tion and production, at the 2011 Uintah County Energy Summit in September. Herbert said he hopes the process will get the backing of not just state officials and the energy industry, but also the federal government. “We do have a vision for the state. We aren’t just flying by the seat of our pants,” Herbert told attendees of the summit. A report on the governor’s 10-year strategic energy plan was published in March. Herbert held a copy of that report aloft during his speech, noting that it outlines the state’s goals for the future of energy production in Utah. “Everybody here knows about the 77 oil and gas leases,” Herbert said in a sepa-rate interview with the Vernal Express, referring to the controversial decision by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar three years ago to yank 77 federal leases that had been auctioned off by the BLM. “Well, I’m not ascribing blame to anybody but if that’s the way the process works — we spend all that time and we

Herbert: Collaboration key to success of energy planend up getting, you know, a goose egg at the end — that process needs to be improved,” Herbert said. To avoid a repeat of 2008, the governor is talking to stakeholders in the process and has pledges from the energy industry for $1 million of the $3 million for the study on the permitting process. According to a study done in Wyoming, complying with the National Environmen-tal Policy Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory permit-ting process takes an average of five years. That is too long, Herbert said, and with additional delays it’s not good for the economy, the people involved or the environment. “That’s why I have been in so many different discussions with the Sec-retary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, his deputy David Hayes and also the BLM Director, Robert Abbey,” Herbert said. “Utah is really on their radar screen because I put it there.” The governor is quick to point out that he’s not looking to “shortcut” the

permitting process. Instead he wants to make it more efficient and effective. His study has four objectives: reducing ground emissions, working with federal land management to create clear and consistent rules, being proactive with air quality issues, and giving citizens confidence in what the energy industry is doing. “We want to make sure this is a col-laborative effort, that we’re proactive in this collaboration and working together

and that it’s truly a win-win for everyone here in the Basin, and really for the state for that matter,” he said. “The fact that we have delay and we still don’t have leases back in place, and there’s cost to the industry and the people who bid on the

industry, it’s lose-lose,” Herbert said. The governor said the focus needs to change from punishment to praise when it comes to EPA regulations. He said he’s met with EPA Director Lisa Jackson on three different occasions in Washington, D.C., and said there needs to be a common

sense approach to the air quality issues. “The fact that we have industry will-ing to step up and put into place better practices to clean up the air and they get no credit for that is silly,” he said. “There’s no incentive to clean up the air now, only to clean up the air later after it gets dirty,” Herbert added. “We don’t want to wait and get it dirty, let’s clean it up along the way so it never does get dirty. And give industry credit for doing that in advance.” The governor noted that the energy industry is still making progress despite delays from the EPA, noting the approval of 4,000 wells to be drilled in the Uintah Basin. “(That) is a significant step in the right direction,” he said. Herbert also said that by 2020 he would like Utah to produce 25-percent more electricity than the state consumes so that it can export energy to other states. That’s an area that the state can expand on because Utah has the fourth lowest cost per killowatt hour in America, he said. The governor’s 10-year plan can be found online at www.utah.gov/governor/docs/10year-stragegic-energy.pdf.—This article was originally published in the Vernal Express on Oct. 5, 2011.

“Utah is really on their radar screen becaUse i pUt it there.”

- Gary herbert


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Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician • Accounting Basics • Basic Architectural and Mechanical Drafting • Business Basics • Cabinetry • Carpentry • Welding • Media Design • Accounting Technician • Business Administrative Support • Computer Applications • Medical Assisting • Medical Of-fice Administration • Medical Office Administrative Assistant • Medical Transcription • Practical Nursing • Registered Nursing • Pharmacy Technology • Nursing Assistant • Automotive Technology • Automotive Master Technician • Computer Aided Drafting • Heavy Duty Diesel • Carpentry • Electrical Apprenticeship • Farm and Ranch Business Management • Welding • Heavy Equip-ment Operator • Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician • Accounting Basics • Basic Architectural and Mechanical Drafting • Business Basics • Cabinetry • Carpentry • Welding • Media Design • Accounting Technician • Business Administrative Support • Computer Applications • Medical Assisting • Medical Of-fice Administration • Medical Office Administrative Assistant • Medical Transcription • Practical Nursing • Registered Nursing • Pharmacy Technology • Nursing Assistant • Automotive Technology • Automotive Master Technician • Computer Aided Drafting • Heavy Duty Diesel • Carpentry • Electrical Apprenticeship • Farm and Ranch Business Management • Welding • Heavy Equip-ment Operator • Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician • Accounting Basics • Basic Architectural and Mechanical Drafting • Business Basics • Cabinetry • Carpentry • Welding • Media Design • Accounting Technician • Business Administrative Support • Computer Applications • Medical Assisting • Medical Of-fice Administration • Medical Office Administrative Assistant • Medical Transcription • Practical Nursing • Registered Nursing • Pharmacy Technology • Nursing Assistant • Automotive Technology • Automotive Master Technician • Computer Aided Drafting • Heavy Duty Diesel • Carpentry • Electrical Apprenticeship • Farm and Ranch Business Management • Welding • Heavy Equip-ment Operator • Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician • Accounting Basics • Basic Architectural and Mechanical Drafting • Business Basics • Cabinetry • Carpentry • Welding • Media Design • Accounting Technician • Business Administrative Support • Computer Applications • Medical Assisting • Medical Of-fice Administration • Medical Office Administrative Assistant • Medical Transcription • Practical Nursing • Registered Nursing • Pharmacy Technology • Nursing Assistant • Automotive Technology • Automotive Master Technician • Computer Aided Drafting • Heavy Duty Diesel • Carpentry • Electrical Apprenticeship • Farm and Ranch Business Management • Welding • Heavy Equip-ment Operator • Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician • Accounting Basics • Basic Architectural and Mechanical Drafting • Business Basics • Cabinetry • Carpentry • Welding • Media Design • Accounting Technician • Business Administrative Support • Computer Applications • Medical Assisting • Medical Of-fice Administration • Medical Office Administrative Assistant • Medical Transcription • Practical Nursing • Registered Nursing • Pharmacy Technology • Nursing Assistant • Automotive Technology • Automotive Master Technician • Computer Aided Drafting • Heavy Duty Diesel • Carpentry • Electrical Apprenticeship • Farm and Ranch Business Management • Welding • Heavy Equip-ment Operator • Petroleum Technology • Energy Services Safety • Truck Driver Training • Automotive General Service Technician

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By Therena MorrillUintah Basin Standard Loren Karis was pouring wine in the tasting room of a Colorado winery just a few weeks ago; now he is one of dozens of new-hires Halliburton Service Company has sent to the new Safe-T-School training at Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. Located on the east side of the UBATC Vernal campus, the Safe-T-School outdoor training area is home to the same equipment that would be found at a productive oil rig site. At the lab, trainees become familiarized with every aspect of what their new jobs will entail, but with the advantage of being in a controlled, safe environment. “Our training site is a full replica of an oilfield location,” said UBATC instructor Val Middleton, who heads up Safe-T-School. “Trainees here learn how to safely rig up and tear down a site, sometimes in the dark, because we design the training to simulate what they are actually expected to be able to do in the oil field.” Middleton worked side by side with Halliburton Health, Safety, Environ-mental and Technical Professional Larry Moon to develop the one-week

UBATC Safe-T-School trains Halliburton hirestraining that came on line three months ago. Prior to this, Halliburton sent their new employees from the Grand Junction, Colo. or Vernal regions to Casper or Rock Springs, Wyo. for the training. UBATC’s localized training al-lows Moon to keep an eye on his new employees, get feedback about what they’re learning, and minimize the risks associated with traveling to Wyo-ming. “UBATC Safe-T-School instructors have a lot of industry knowledge to share,” Moon said. “Our employees are receiving excellent training.” According to Moon, Safe-T-School training is especially relevant for nu-merous new employees who are coming into the oilfield with limited blue collar experience. “We’re hiring former bankers, mort-gage brokers, even lawyers who have never rigged a string of iron or chained up a tire,” Moon said. “The training they get from UBATC gives them an opportunity to get hands-on experience with what they’ll actually be faced with in the oilfield. And they can do it in a controlled, safe environment.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13Halliburton Service Company employees receive safety training at UBATC’s new outdoor lab. The lab is designed to be a full replica of an actual oilfield site.


10972 Basic Energy Services(ORANGE)

“They’ll learn about all of the hazards that are typically associated with the oil and gas industry,” he said. Safe-T-School is not for the faint of heart. Middleton and assistant instructor Blaine Brokaw push students hard; 12 to 16-hour training days are typical. Students may be called at 3:30 a.m. and told to come to school. They eat three meals a day, on-site, prepared by staff members at the college. “They (students) are coming here from all walks of life and they’re coming in with no clue about oilfield life,” Middleton said. “This is real life training we give them. Getting called to come to work in the middle of the night, being told to back a trailer in the dark, that’s just how it is when you work in the oilfield.” Immediately following the week-long Safe-T-School training, Halliburton new-hires con-tinue with an additional three weeks of safety training offered at the college. They exit UBATC with an Oil and Gas certificate, Fork Lift certification and Truck Driver Training (CDL.) They also earn all of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration required certifications. Safe-T-School is currently limited to Hal-liburton employees, however UBATC plans to offer it to other companies in the near future. With that end in mind, the equipment at the mock-up rig site was donated by several of the Basin’s major oil and gas service companies.

SAFE-T-SCHOOLCONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Safe-T-School instructor Blaine Brokaw (left) explains a safety concept to Halliburton employees at UBATC’s new outdoor lab. Loren Karis (second from right) has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and is training to be a field engineer for Halliburton.

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By Therena MorrillUintah Basin Standard

The new Petroleum Technology Certificate program that came on line last month at Uintah Basin Applied Technology College is being recognized by experienced workers in the oil and gas industry as a unique opportunity to advance their careers. Newcomers to the industry are also utilizing the UBATC program to shorten their learning curve by emerg-ing themselves into the interactive curriculum which combines traditional classroom instruction with simulated oilfield experiences reproduced in a new outdoor training lab constructed on the college’s Vernal campus. Classroom studies include courses in the use of microcomputers in the oil and gas industry, engine and compres-sor operations, wellhead operations, the use of separators and dehydrators, instrumentation and controls, artificial lifts, business communications, lead-ership in the petroleum industry and various other vital courses. As students advance through the program they participate in simulated, on-site work experiences at the outdoor lab. UBATC course instructors are former industry experts and have years

UBATC starts Petro Tech Certificate programof experience to draw on as they guide students through the simulations. The opportunity to receive personal, expert training is waning in almost every profession as baby boomers are retiring in huge numbers, taking a wealth of knowledge and experience with them. In the oil and gas industry the learning curve is steep and less-ex-perienced workers rely heavily on sea-soned, experienced employees to help them become proficient in the necessary skills. In the simulation students con-front potentially dangerous events that routinely occur at rig sites. With input from instructors, students will develop and work through solutions for those events without the pressure of an au-thentic oilfield emergency. Completing the program helps bridge the gap between experienced and inexperienced workers; the program includes topics that have been “cherry-picked” by some of the most knowledge-able energy specialists in the area. Several companies from the oil and gas industry donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment for the outdoor lab and plan to use the program to train their new-hires. Some of these companies have begun sponsor-ing students by paying beginning wages

as they work their way toward the certificate. “This will give people of the Basin an avenue that they’ve never had before for a working education,” UBATC Vice President of Economic Development Jean Mold said. Jeff Duncan, Anadarko Greater Natural Buttes production superin-tendent, serves on a UBATC employer advisory committee that developed the curriculum for the new program. He understands the significance of what the 900-hour course means to the oil and gas industry in the Basin. “You can now get experience in two semesters that would take years to gain on the work-site,” Duncan said. As an added benefit, UBATC and Utah State University have developed an articulation agreement that allows students who complete the 900-hour Pet Tech certificate to receive 30 semes-ter hours of credit toward Utah State University’s new Associate of Applied Science General Technology degree. “This is a valuable training partner-ship between UBATC, USU, and the oil and gas industry to provide a high quality training specifically designed for workers in the Uintah Basin.” Mold said. For more information about the

Petroleum Technology Certificate pro-gram, call UBATC at 725-7100. Interested participants should begin the enrollment process by schedul-ing assessment testing at the UBATC career center in Roosevelt (722-6946) or Vernal (725-7103). UBATC registra-tion and application forms can be found online at www.ubatc.edu or at UBATC registrar offices. Students seeking com-pany sponsorship should also submit a resume and an application to Jean Mold.

DWS has money for employers

The Department of Workforce Services has two programs that can help employers who have employees interested in partici-pating in the Petroleum Technology training. The Back to Work program will reim-burse an employer up to $2,000 per eligible employee. To receive the reimbursement the company must hire someone who has been receiving unemployment benefits and has at least one dependent child. The On the Job program will reimburse an employer up to 50 per cent of the wages paid to the new employee while training for the job. For more information or to apply for either of these programs, call the DWS at 722-6500 in Roosevelt or 781-4100 in Vernal.


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Our services include completing a well, maintaining the well during its productive life, extending the life of the well through subsequent deepening or horizontal re-entry, and closing-”plugging” - the well at the end of its productive life. We are proud of our daily participation in the continued development and production of oil and gas resources.

In 2005 Nabors Well Services introduced the Millennium rig, a new generation workover rig designed to improve safety and efficiency. PLC controls are being used on much of the equipment being built today.

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September, 2011

January Rig Count was 25December Rig Count was 23October Rig Count was 21September Rig Count was 23.August Rig Count was 23.July Rig Count was 22.August Rig County 25.

The following information is listed in the following order: DRILLING CONTRACTOR, RIG #, Depth, County, Drilling for: Lease Operator, Lease Name

Capstar Drilling, LP, 316, 9084, UINTAH, Ute Energy Upstream Holdings, LLC, ULT #7-36-3-1E, 2011-10-01

Capstar Drilling, LP, 329, 6901, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE #3-2-9-16 H, 2011-09-26

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 138, 8424, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, BONANZA #1023-8K1CS, 2011-10-05

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 139, 9491, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #1022-7D1CS, 2011-10-03

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 146, 8192, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, BONANZA #1023-8I4BS, 2011-10-06

Frontier Drilling, LLC, 2, 11000, LINCOLN, Gary-Williams Production Company, PEARL RIDGE UNIT #33-14X, 2011-09-01

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 298, 10945, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #921-19D2DS, 2011-09-27

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 311, 10526, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #1021-29F4BS, 2011-09-29

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 318, 11952, UINTA, Anadarko E & P Company, LP, BRUFF FEDERAL #7A-18 D, 2011-09-24

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 319, 8300, DUCHESNE, Bill Barrett Corporation, 13H-13-46 #13H-13-46BTR, 2011-09-22

Nabors Drilling USA, LP, M22, 8114, CARBON, Bill Barrett Corporation, PRICKLY PEAR UNIT FEDERAL #2A-22D-12-15, 2011-10-04

Nabors Well Services Co., 1460, 10400, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, PADILLA #1-18-3-2, 2011-09-29

Nabors Well Services Co., 1608, 10803, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE #15-22-9-15 H, 2011-10-03

Newfield Drilling Company, SS1, 6507, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE UNIT #N-3-9-16, 2011-10-03

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 313, 7900, CARBON, Bill Barrett Cor-poration, PRICKLY PEAR UNIT FEDERAL #4A-20D-12-15, 2011-10-01

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 506, 8800, DUCHESNE, Bill Barrett Corporation, 14-5D-45 #14-5D-45BTR, 2011-09-28

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 779, 16000, DUCHESNE, Berry Petroleum Company, UTE TRIBAL #16-24-55, 2011-10-04

Pioneer Drilling Company, 54, 10711, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #921-18F1BS, 2011-09-25

Pioneer Drilling Company, 69, 10200, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, CONRAD #6-17-3-1, 2011-09-24

Precision Drilling Oilfield Svcs. Corp., 404, 14500, DUCHESNE, El Paso Exploration & Production Co.,LP, ROWLEY #3-16B4, 2011-09-14

Precision Drilling Oilfield Svcs. Corp., 406, 14600, DUCHESNE, El Paso Exploration & Production Co.,LP, CONOVER #3-3B3, 2011-08-22

SST Energy Corporation, 54, 10400, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, FEDERAL #920-23P, 2011-09-30

True Drilling, LLC, 34, 9321, UINTAH, EOG Resources, Inc., CHAPITA WELLS UNIT #1498-25 D, 2011-10-06

Rig Count

23

September, 2011

January Rig Count was 25December Rig Count was 23October Rig Count was 21September Rig Count was 23.August Rig Count was 23.July Rig Count was 22.August Rig County 25.

The following information is listed in the following order: DRILLING CONTRACTOR, RIG #, Depth, County, Drilling for: Lease Operator, Lease Name

Capstar Drilling, LP, 316, 9084, UINTAH, Ute Energy Upstream Holdings, LLC, ULT #7-36-3-1E, 2011-10-01

Capstar Drilling, LP, 329, 6901, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE #3-2-9-16 H, 2011-09-26

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 138, 8424, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, BONANZA #1023-8K1CS, 2011-10-05

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 139, 9491, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #1022-7D1CS, 2011-10-03

Ensign United States Drilling, Inc., 146, 8192, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, BONANZA #1023-8I4BS, 2011-10-06

Frontier Drilling, LLC, 2, 11000, LINCOLN, Gary-Williams Production Company, PEARL RIDGE UNIT #33-14X, 2011-09-01

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 298, 10945, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #921-19D2DS, 2011-09-27

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 311, 10526, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #1021-29F4BS, 2011-09-29

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 318, 11952, UINTA, Anadarko E & P Company, LP, BRUFF FEDERAL #7A-18 D, 2011-09-24

Helmerich & Payne I.D.C., 319, 8300, DUCHESNE, Bill Barrett Corporation, 13H-13-46 #13H-13-46BTR, 2011-09-22

Nabors Drilling USA, LP, M22, 8114, CARBON, Bill Barrett Corporation, PRICKLY PEAR UNIT FEDERAL #2A-22D-12-15, 2011-10-04

Nabors Well Services Co., 1460, 10400, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, PADILLA #1-18-3-2, 2011-09-29

Nabors Well Services Co., 1608, 10803, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE #15-22-9-15 H, 2011-10-03

Newfield Drilling Company, SS1, 6507, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, GREATER MONUMENT BUTTE UNIT #N-3-9-16, 2011-10-03

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 313, 7900, CARBON, Bill Barrett Cor-poration, PRICKLY PEAR UNIT FEDERAL #4A-20D-12-15, 2011-10-01

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 506, 8800, DUCHESNE, Bill Barrett Corporation, 14-5D-45 #14-5D-45BTR, 2011-09-28

Patterson-UTI Drilling Company, LLC, 779, 16000, DUCHESNE, Berry Petroleum Company, UTE TRIBAL #16-24-55, 2011-10-04

Pioneer Drilling Company, 54, 10711, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, NATURAL BUTTES UNIT #921-18F1BS, 2011-09-25

Pioneer Drilling Company, 69, 10200, DUCHESNE, Newfield Production Company, CONRAD #6-17-3-1, 2011-09-24

Precision Drilling Oilfield Svcs. Corp., 404, 14500, DUCHESNE, El Paso Exploration & Production Co.,LP, ROWLEY #3-16B4, 2011-09-14

Precision Drilling Oilfield Svcs. Corp., 406, 14600, DUCHESNE, El Paso Exploration & Production Co.,LP, CONOVER #3-3B3, 2011-08-22

SST Energy Corporation, 54, 10400, UINTAH, Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore, LP, FEDERAL #920-23P, 2011-09-30

True Drilling, LLC, 34, 9321, UINTAH, EOG Resources, Inc., CHAPITA WELLS UNIT #1498-25 D, 2011-10-06

Rig Count

23

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Providing Jobs

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Protecting Artifacts

2011: Where are the jobs?The Uinta Basin is the center of the oil and gas industry in Utah. In addition to accounting for a large portion of employment, industry also offers some of the highest paying jobs. University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research, November 2007

Oil and gas provides over 75,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Utah, generating some $4 billion in labor income.Price Waterhouse Coopers 2007

Oil and gas accounted for half of School Trust Lands’ revenues in 2006, directly benefitting Utah’s school children.

The industry accounted for roughly 50 percent of employment and 60 percent of total wages in the Basin during 2006. University of Utah

Property taxes paid on oil and gas wells were over $18.2 million in 2006 and accounted for 38.7 percent of all property taxes. Federal mineral royalties distributed by UDOT were over $30 million.University of Utah

By Therena MorrillUintah Basin Standard

A new course on leadership taught by the Uintah Basin Applied Technol-ogy College is focused on goal setting, specifically for petroleum industry employees who want to advance to su-pervisor or manager positions in their company. Course instruc-tor Walt Burfitt said most petroleum industry companies hire their manag-ers from within the ranks of their employees who are already working for them. “The purpose of this course is to help people identify and develop essential leadership skills and qualities so they can accomplish their goal of career advancement,” he said. According to Burfitt, some of those skills and qualities are: integrity, the

From setting goals to leadership roles UBATC offers leadership training course

ability to identify and find solutions for everyday problems in the workplace, and the ability to relate to and commu-nicate with co-workers. “Leadership boils down to how we get along with people, how we handle difficult situations, our ability to interact in a positive way with those

around us, and our ability to communi-cate effectively and assertively,” he said. “Natural leaders are born with many of these qualities, but we can also learn how to develop these skills if they don’t come natu-rally.” In the 15-hour course Burfitt teaches students to

define their professional ambitions and determine what they can do to fulfill them. “If you want leadership positions, you have to focus on that, and set goals of how you’re going to get there,” he

said. The course also covers topics such as anger management, self-discipline, effective communication skills, re-chan-neling our mental energy into positive pathways, and how to overcome the tendency to procrastinate. “Ninety-five per cent of our accom-plishments and failures are directly related to the attitude behind our behavior,” Burfitt said. The leadership course is part of the curriculum included in UBATC’s new 900-hour Petroleum Technology Certifi-cate program. Burfitt will begin teach-ing the class in early 2012; it will meet for two and half hours, one evening a week, for six weeks. Burfitt — whose extensive experi-ence in the petroleum industry began at the age of 24 as an oilfield worker — created his own company, Walt’s Well Service in 1975, operat-ing it for 11 years. He most recently worked as a general construction contractor before entering employment with UBATC

in 2007 teaching petroleum, energy and transportation safety courses. “The curriculum is designed around my own experiences in dealing with life’s challenges,” Burfitt said. “I’ve been developing it basically my whole life.” He believes the course can make a big difference in the lives of his stu-dents as they learn to rivet their minds and energy toward their professional goals. “When you align yourself with what you want to do, the doors of opportu-nity just start to open up,” he said. “People want this course. It brings a positive effect into your life and when you have positive influences in your life, the world is a much better place to live in.”

“ninety-five per cent of oUr accomplishments and failUres are directly related to the attitUde behind oUr behavior,”

- Walt bUrfitt


ABS AcciuntungAARP - Fred Muller

Aggie StationAgri-Service, IncTown of Altamont

American Cancer Assoc. Relay for LifeAycock, Miles & Associates

Ballard CityBasin Memorial

Basin Moving & StorageBasin Veterinary Clinic

BBS, Inc.Best Western InnBill Barrett Corp.

Black Eyed Susan’sBurdick Materials

Cafe Country @ The FortCanton City buffet

Cedar Bear NaturalesCentury 21 Country Realty

Chevron Texaco Products Co.China Star

City Park PizzaClark State Farm Insurance

Classic LubeColdwell Banker/C S West Real Estate

Country FlairW. Scott Danley D.D.S.

Dan’s Tire ServiceDDI Vantage

Defa’s Dude RanchDept. of Workforce Services

Devon EnergyDuchesne County

Duchesne Co. Children’s Justice CenterDuchesne City

Duchesne County Extension ServiceDuchesne Co. School District

Duchesne Co. Water Conservancy Dist.Ellie’s EZ Stop

Family Support CenterFarm Bureau Insurance Martha Clayburn

Frontier MotelGallagher Benefit Services

Gateway 66GT Enterprises

High Desert GardensHolly Refining

Hullinger MortuaryThe Ink Spot

James N. Lemon, DDSJiffy’s

Jones Paint and glass

Jorgenson ConstructionJust a Wee Bit Used

Kody’s Fitness CenterKNEU/KIFX Radio

Kohl’s Inc.KVEL/KLCY Radio

KXRQ-Uintah BroadcastingL & L Motor Company

Larry K Farnsworth Trucking, Inc.LC Ranch

Longs Plumbing and HeatingMail Box Express

Marion’sMcDonald’s of Roosevelt

Mama Lia’s PizzaMarion’s Variety

McMullin heating and PlumbingMonsen Farm and Maze

Moon Lake ElectricMoon Lake Water Users Association

Bart Morrell, CPAMountainland Supply Co.

Holly Refining & MarketingHullinger Mortuary

The Ink SpotJiffy Enterprises Inc.Jones Paint & Glass

Jorgensen ConstructionJust A Wee Bit Used

Kody’s CaféKNEU/KIFX Radio

Kohl’sKVEL/KLCY

Larry K Farnsworth Trucking, Inc.L & L Motor Co., Inc.

LC RanchJames N. Lemon D.D.S.

Local Pages, TheLong’s Plumbing Inc.

Marion’sMobile Notary - Lourie McBride

McDonald’s of RooseveltMcKenna Land Surveying, LLC

McMullin Htg., Cooling & Refrig.Monsen Farm

Moon Lake ElectricBart Morrill, CPA,PC

Mt. America Credit UnionMyton City

Myrin Family Canyon Meadows RanchNielsen’s Furniture

Northeastern Counseling Center

Northeastern Utah Office SupplyOilfield Class Transport Inc.

Old Mill RV Park & Gift ShopOld West Antiques and Upholstery

O’Reilly Auto PartsOur Town Directories

Palmer’s TirePDC/Ziplocal Pages

Pepsi of VernalPetroglyph Operating Co., Inc.

Ponderosa YogaQuestar Gas Company

Republic Mort. Home Loans, LLCR. Chapman Construction

Rio Damian Bed & BreakfastRN Industries TruckingRock Creek Store B/B

Roosevelt CityRoosevelt City Police Dept.

Roosevelt Theatres, LLCSecond Nature

Sentry West InsuranceService Insurance Agency

Shar’s RealtySkip’s Refrigeration

Stewart’s Investment, Inc.Strata Networks

THC Comnpany, LLCTown of Tabiona

Tomboy ToolsJ. Flint Tomlinson, DDSTri County Health Dept.Tuck-It-Away StorageUBATC Custom Fit

U.B. Applied Tech. CollegeUintah Basin Assoc. of Gov.Uintah Basin Medical Center

Uintah Basin StandardUinta Veterinary Services

United Way of Eastern UtahUT State University Bookstore

USU ExtensionUtah State University

VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post 9275V-TV

Walsh & Weathers, Inc.Wind River Wireless

Wood -N- DesignWorld of Beauty

Yesterday’s TreasuresZion’s Bank, DuchesneZion’s Bank, Roosevelt

DUCHESNE COUNTY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE NEW MEMBERSHIP 2011/2012

Best Fire and SafetyD & K Plumbing

Mid Kiff Health and LifeMyton Produce

Rhino Lining of Roosevelt

Signs and LinesJerry Sleight Insurance Inc.

Western Land RealtyWinterton Suites

Crazy DaisyNapa - T Thacker Inc.

Thacker RepairePayzone Directional Services

DUCHESNE COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBERSHIP


Providing Water & Drilling Fluids

823-5714 ♠ 724-2289Roosevelt Utah

Kevin AshbyVernal Express

Energy supply and service compa-nies are expecting future growth in the area and some are starting right now with expansion projects. Wilson announced a second office and warehouse in the Uintah Basin ac-cording to manager Bob Alexander. Ground is being prepared along Highway 40 in Roosevelt near the Ioka turnoff where a 9,000 square-foot heated warehouse will be constructed with eight acres of fenced and improved yard space. “We need this space to accommodate our growing inventory of drilling rig supplies, line pipe, valves and fittings, and oil country tubular goods,” Alexan-der said. The second warehouse in the Basin allows them to better serve their cus-tomers in Duchesne and Carbon coun-ties, he said. “We are definitely expecting growth in the Basin and we are gearing up to position ourselves so that we can take care of that growth,” said operations manager Trent Richens.

Wilson to expand warehouse to Roosevelt area Richens stated that they already have a strong base of customers they serve in the area and lately they have been awarded contracts from other companies that facilitate the second warehouse. He also stated that companies are refining their budgets for next year and most are plan-ning on more drilling activity in 2012 than in 2011 which impacted their expansion schedule. “A lot of it is the political atmosphere,” Richens said. “It is definitely more com-fortable right now, not that it is great, but maybe not so shaky, to be involved in the extraction business.” He explained that if companies know they are not going to be impacted negatively by government restrictions for whatever reason, they are not going to be hesitant in setting budgets and

expectations in future plans. Richens stated that Wilson is unique in the area because they supply materi-als for both drilling and production applications. These include pipe valves and fittings along with mill supplies and safety products.

They also stock fluid end expendables for pumps that are used on a drilling rig. The new store will eventu-ally have a pump shop and will offer service and repair on down-hole pumps. “We will also be able to

analyze and track wear on pumps and components with the help of computers that will analyze test results and print out a detailed report to let the com-pany know repeated patterns of wear and tear and to make suggestions for improvements,” Richens said. Alexander agreed. “This area continues to provide op-

portunities for long term, sustainable growth for our company,” Alexander said. “We are very confident in contin-ued activity in this area.” He stated that with the new store they can put the material resources and services closer to their customer base on the west side of the Uintah Basin “which will benefit our customers and ourselves in cost savings for logistics, material costs and time.” The Vernal branch will continue to service all of our customer base East of the Ouray turn-off and the new Roos-evelt branch will service all of our cus-tomers on the west side. The combined resources of both of these branches will allow us to provide excellent service to the entire Uintah Basin. This expansion has always been part of our original business plan for growth since we entered the Uintah Basin in 2003.

“We are definitely expectinG GroWth in the basin and We are GearinG Up to position oUrselves so that We can take care of that GroWth,”

- trent richens.


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By Richard ShawSun Advocate Publisher

It’s often hard to tell just by driving down a dirt road that has been devel-oped for energy exploration how that road could affect the ecology of an area, but some scientists think it can. Studies in recent years have shown that improved or unimproved roads can change everything from vegetation growth to the patterns of travel that wild animals might take for their sur-vival. The fact is that the rate of lineal disturbance on the whole face of the earth is changing a lot of things, and that disturbance is getter greater as the number of people on earth increases, and their activities to find resources expands. There are a lot of reasons for the increase in the number of “roads” on the planet. Included are tradtional and non-traditional energy development, logging, off-highway use by vehicles and urban development. In the western United States this growth in miles of roads has been sig-nificant. In the Powder River Basin in Wyoming almost 18,000 more miles of roads have been made since 2004. While no exact figures are available for Utah’s energy regions the growth of road sys-tems due to oil, gas and other mineral extraction has certainly grown a great deal too. While most of the research stud-ies done on the impact of roads have concentrated on direct effects on some kinds of lands, lately some researchers have turned their attention to arid and semi-arid areas and the indirect effects such passages may pose to the ecosys-tem. In a paper, released in March, by Michael C. Duniway and Jeffrey E. Her-rick (both soil research scientists at the USDA Agricultural Research Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, N.M.) the pair point out that the chang-es roads can bring to an ecosystem are

Energy exploration and road impacts studiedfairly substantial. The piece titled: “Disentangling road network impacts: The need for a holistic approach,” was published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. In their paper they list a number of concerns about road construction in arid and semi-arid areas. • There are direct effects on the area in question. First an earth mover scrapes off the earths natural horizon, alters the topography and compacts the soils both on the road and even on the sides of the road. Later vehicle traffic compacts, churns and ruts the road soils surface. The changes can result in slower infiltration of water into the surface, runoff that increases in some areas and decreases in others, which leads to a lack of water for some areas that previously had more water from rain or melt off, and other areas that get a great deal more than it previ-ously had. Roads can also lead to higher erosion. Because of these changes the road can change the vegetation imme-diately around the road and even some distance away where water flows are al-tered considerably. Animals can also be affected by the change in plant growth and the difficulty some may have in crossing roads. • Road networks can also fragment habitat and can increase or decrease animal traffic through some areas. They can also alter other processes that are natural. For instance a road cutting across a slope can capture water sheet flow during a storm, reducing down slope water flow, and depending on how the road is cut, can increase water content on the above slope. This water can also build up above and create more erosion. •Once roads are constructed, they become conduits for wildlife travel. Just as similarly they also tend to attract domestic cattle movement which brings a different impact to soils and plants along the roads than would occur if the area remained roadless. Roads also tend

to attract more people for recreational purposes as well. Drought can inten-sify the changes in plant growth even more when roads are present because of altered water flows, both with increases in water and with decreases in water in various areas. •The magnitude of impact that roads have on an area vary greatly and from plant species to plant species. The kinds of soil (clay, loam, sandy) reaction to various kinds of processes vary great-ly. The same force of removal or traffic will change compact sandy soils less than it will clay, which would have less

of an impact on surrounding vegetation. Also some types of roads (depending on the condition of ecology of the area) can be very resilient. The pair suggest that while roads are necessary for energy and other kinds of development, planning is important and taking a holistic ap-proach to building roads can be very helpful to the landscape, the vegetation and the animals that live in an area. Proper planning and prediction could be used to avoid critical areas that lead to strong impacts on the ecosystem.

This photo shows a number of problems described in the paper entitled: “Disen-tangling road network impacts: The need for a holistic approach.” First of all the two main roads and a smaller one have broken the landscape left of the stream into chunks of land somewhat isolated from each other. Also the road closest to the stream shows erosion into the stream. Finally the road on the left divides a higher piece of ground from a lower piece of ground and less vegetation on the lower part may be an example of a road that diverts water away from a previously vegetated area.


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By Mary BernardVernal Express

Uintah County’s 2011 Energy Sum-mit: Fueling Utah’s Economy could have been subtitled Finding the Way Forward. The path to economic opportunity and job creation according to the speak-ers at the summit runs through indus-trial development on federal lands. Those same speakers at the summit, held on Sept. 28 and 29, noted, however, the path forward is laden with burden-some regulatory oversight. “We need to make the (non-western-ers) understand what the public lands mean to us,” said Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT). Bishop said westerners need to take the lead, asserting greater control over public lands and therefore their eco-nomic destiny. “We need to change some of the pa-rameters of law, so more and more deci-sions can be made at the local level,” he said. Bishop argued the top down regula-tory climate of the Administration’s oversight of the energy industry has hurt rural Utah counties. Not everyone agrees with the prem-

Energy development fueling the state’s economy ise that regulations kill jobs. Several speakers cited a memo dated Sept. 21 from Utah Department of Natural Resources says more than 10,000 producing oil and gas wells are now operating in Utah. That’s more wells in operation than any time in the state’s history all of which have had to meet regulatory requirements to operate. Saying regulation kills jobs is “simply a replay of the industry’s tired lament that they can’t drill and be respectful of the environment at the same time,” said Vernal resident and advocate of responsible public lands use Sandy Hansen. Hansen said these allegedly burden-some regulations were in effect when Utah passed the milestone of 10,000 ac-tive oil and gas wells and 4,000 permits in Uintah County that are waiting to be drilled. Rather than argue over regulatory hurtles, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who spoke briefly at the sum-mit, suggested working together would get things done quicker. “My message to you, is to look beyond the finger pointing, and help us figure out a way of doing things better,”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

US Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at the 2011 Uintah County Energy Summit in Vernal at Western Park in Vernal, Utah on Sept. 28.


he said. He pointed to the Kerr McGee-Anadarko, Bureau of Land Man-agement and the Environmental Protection Agency agreement as evidence of productive collabora-tion. The Greater Natural Buttes agreement for air quality protec-tion will permit “3,600 gas well to be developed and 1,000 jobs for this part of the state,” Salazar said. Anadarko, a subsidiary of Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP will employ existing air-pollution control technologies on the project in collaboration with the BLM and EPA to drill new gas wells potentially producing more than 6 trillion cubic feet of gas over 10 years. The agreement closes five years of environmental impact and air quality studies with the goal of bringing a balance to environment protection and economic develop-ment. It has been a creative approach rarely seen among the lawsuit driven process that typifies public lands regulations. Collaboration is a step forward according to Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) who openly favors the

stakeholder’s bottom-up approach to public lands development. “The (government) is promul-gating rules without looking at the economic impact,” Matheson said. He suggested that conflicting rules cost more jobs than environmental regulations. The ideal practice according to the congressman would reduce impacts while, at the same time, growing investments. Steve Bloch, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance attorney, con-curs saying federal regulation has not harmed the health of the oil and gas industry — particularly in the Uintah Basin. “Utah’s energy sector has surged back to life under the Obama administration,” Bloch said. “That surge, however, has come with serious impacts to things like air quality which has real impacts to human health and the environment.” The attorney added that EPA and other federal and state agen-cies should continue to look into these issues for the protection of all Utahns. —This article was originally published in the Vernal Express and Uintah Basin Standard.

ENERGY DEVELOPMENTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

Gov. Gary Herbert holds up a copy of his 10-year strategic energy plan during his speech Sept. 28 to attendees of the 2011 Energy Summit in Vernal.


~ Water Wells~ Surface Holes

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Office: 435.722.4469 Fax: 435.722.3619Leon’s Cell: 435.722.7842 Doug’s Cell: 435.724.0215 Teri’s Cell: 435.722.7132 Sheri’s Cell: 435.722.7699

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Blue Castle Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Aaron Tilton speaks to those attending the Grand County Council meeting Oct. 4. (PHOTO: Moab Times-In-dependent)

Editor’s note: This story was devel-oped through the efforts of Patsy Stod-dard, Emery County Progress editor, John Surfustini, Sun Advocate editor and Richard Shaw, the publisher of both papers.

Some don’t like the idea, while oth-ers totally embrace it. Some don’t want a potential nuclear accident set right in the middle of some of the most beauti-ful lands of the west, while others say that it is the future of the area, a future with good paying jobs. Some say it will take too much water, while others point out that the water that will be used was appropriated by the state engineer years ago for power production. The project is the Blue Castle Nuclear Power Plant that is planned near Green River and it is still on track to become a reality between 2015 and 2020. The fact is that each step taken by Blue Castle Holdings brings the project closer. The plant, a proposed 3000 mega-watt plant will basically double the amount of power produced in the state. In comparison, the five PacifiCorp coal-fired units in Emery County now gener-ate roughly 2,500 megawatts of power. In late August Blue Castle Holdings hosted a tour of the proposed site and

Nuclear plant in Utah could become realityinvited media and local officials to the site. Since the announcement several years ago that Green River was being considered for a nuclear power plant there have been mixed reactions among the locals as well as environmental groups and the public in general. With the nuclear power disaster in Japan last winter, sentiments have wavered over the safety of nuclear power. Nuclear proponents are quick to assure people that what happened in Japan could not happen in Green River because the disaster was caused by the tidal wave after an earthquake and not by the earthquake itself. The process to get to the point where construction could begin is filled with the licensing procedures. To date prelicensing requirements are being fulfilled. Probably the most important factor as to whether the project gets the green light or the red light depends on the point of diversion change for the water that will be needed to run the plant. Blue Castle already leases the water shares, but the question lies in whether the point of diversion can be changed to accommodate the water the power plant



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A 3D rendering of the site configuration for a proposed Blue Castle Holdings, Inc nuclear power plant near Green River, 40 miles northwest of Moab.

needs to operate. This question is in the hands of the Utah State water engineer. Blue Castle has answered the ques-tions involved concerning the water as protests were filed against their request for a point of diversion change. The engineers answer is expected to come soon. Sources say if this water change is approved there is a 90 percent chance of the plant development proceeding. Blue Castle feels they are close now to filing their licensing application. They are progressing rapidly toward completing site characterization activi-ties needed for the filing of a licensing application with the US Nuclear Regu-latory Commission and for State and local permitting. Blue Castle has been conducting on-site and off-site investi-gations during the last six months to prepare an Early Site Permit applica-tion to the NRC. These investigations include: collecting meteorological data on-site, using a 60 meter collection tower, hydrological investigations em-ploying multiple monitoring wells for groundwater characterization, and site response analysis using geotechnical core boring activities. Complementary off-site activities are focused on collec-tion of terrestrial and aquatic ecology data for environmental stewardship purposes and demographic/socioeco-nomic data for characterization of the

population and economic parameters important to the region. The results to-date confirm the extensive work done during previous years to find and select the most suit-able site for the placement of a two-unit nuclear power plant in Utah, and sup-port the proposed application schedule discussed with the NRC. “We are very satisfied with the recent site results and the quality work of our licensing contractors. The data obtained provides important measure-ments that support the original site suitability for deploying a nuclear power station near Green River,” noted Tom Retson, the Chief Operating Of-ficer for Blue Castle Holdings Inc. When operating, the Blue Castle Project nuclear plant would provide up to 50 percent additional electrical capacity in Utah. “I have witnessed significant and encouraging progress as well as strong evidence of good people following a comprehensive process. The possible 1,000 new jobs associated with the new project certainly improve the economic outlook of our community,” concluded Mike McCandless, Emery County Eco-nomic Development Director. Retson believes Blue Castle has done all the right things in regards to getting the water approved. They have responded to all the protests which were raised during the public hearing

NUCLEARCONTINUED FROM PAGE 24



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and the comment period. They are in possession of the water leases and are requesting the take out location for the water be changed. Retson said they are six years along now in the process since the idea began, “But these last six months things have been moving more quickly.” Rick Ortiz and Eddie Floyd are the site bosses and have been overseeing the work on site. They are core people to the project. Road improvements are underway at the site. Drilling rigs are on site and their work will be finished soon. All licensing must be done before any construction could begin at the site. A five year process for licensing is expected and that clock began ticking in January. We took water samples early in the process. This sampling and moni-toring process will last from January of 2011 to April of 2013. They will submit their application to the NRC and then there will be hearings after that. The licensing procedure is lengthy. Site suitability is still being determined. No decisions will be made until all data has been collected and submitted. The Green River location has looked good so far because of the availability of water, rail, and interstate nearby and transmission lines in the area and more transmission lines scheduled to be built in the near future. Current transmis-

sion lines aren’t adequate now, but will be expanded. A pipeline will be built to bring the water from the Green River to the site. The rail will be used to bring heavy equipment to the site as well as using the interstate. At some point a railroad spur will be constructed. Retson showed the visitors to the site maps of the area and a drawing of the site as it will appear. He said new technologies are being developed all the time so the final plant design changes as new developments in technology are made. The Green River site is two 1,000 megawatt units. The design certifica-tion goes through a different review process. Retson said the drilling is taking place now to learn the subsurface and understand the geological make-up of the area. Meteorological data is also be-ing recorded including wind frequency, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, temperature readings and other data is being compiled. The soil samples are being stored on site and some are being sent for testing to a lab in Houston. The core is being sampled at a depth of one mile. Water for the plant will be stored in a reservoir. After the water has been used it will be placed in evaporation ponds where it will evaporate, no water will be returned to the Green River. Retson explained how the Palo Verde nuclear facility uses waste water from Phoenix. McCandless said nuclear power has

looked at Green River several times in the past because of its prime loca-tion. Fifty items are factored into a site selection process. He also said any item, one fatal flaw can eliminate a site from consideration during the initial analysis. There is not a fatal flaw at the Green River site. Retson explained the reliability of nuclear power saying it has 92 percent capacity; which means the plant oper-ates at full capac-ity 92 percent of the time. This capacity is actual production of electricity. This is extremely high when compared to other sources such as wind which typically operates at only 17-20 percent efficiency. Retson said the capac-ity is extremely important as this is actual power delivered to the grid. He said one problem coal fired plants are having is regulating the gaps left in the grid by wind power because of the fluctuations in power produced. This wind chasing leads to the coal fired plants having to adapt to the up and down factors involved with wind power and this also applies to solar power as well because no power is produced at

night. Retson pointed out many simi-larities between a nuclear power plant and a coal fired plant saying the only big difference is in how the water is heated. He likes the Emery County area because of the experienced workers in the area who he believes have the skill sets to work in nuclear power. Retson, speaking in Price last spring explained that only about 25 percent of the permanent jobs at the plant will re-

quire special-ized nuclear training. The majority of workers will be employed in the trades and crafts necessary for running a coal-fired plant. Blue Castle CEO Aaron Tilton also said the number of workers already em-

ployed at power plants in this area was one of the factors in site selection. Tilton also explained that as Blue Castle examined all of the options for power generation, the economic and environmental situation indicated that there are slim odds for new coal plant generation. Nuclear power appears to



nUclear fUel is cheaper to prodUce. With a coal plant the cost of the coal adds Up to 70 percent of the expenses and With nUclear fUel the cost is 10 percent of the cost of operation.

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be the most economical route and for one major reason: unlike a coal plant, where trucks, trains and conveyor must deliver about a million tons of coal per year per generating unit, fuel for a nuclear plant will require one truckload every two years. The spent fuel can be recycled. At the end of the plant’s 60-year life span, the low level radioactive material left over could be stored on 1.5 acres. McCandless said nuclear fuel is cheaper to produce too. With a coal plant the cost of the coal adds up to 70 percent of the expenses and with nuclear fuel the cost is 10 percent of the cost of operation. Retson believes nuclear power can co-exist nicely with the coal fired plants in the area. Utah is expanding demand for power at such a high rate that energy from all sources needs to be looked at and utilized. Ret-son said they want to share information about what is going on at the proposed nuclear power site and they still have a lot of work to do. “We are involved in a long process, but we are getting to the point where we can talk about it,” said Retson. He said after the test holes were completed at the site they have been abandoned according to protocol. They began sam-pling the end of June and finished this

past week. There are 12 borings. There is another side to the nuclear power plant project as well. That subject is how prepared Green River, the closest town only being four miles away, would be to handle the number of people that would be involved in the construction as well as the opera-tion phase of the project. The towns mayor, Pat Brady, said Green River has recently completed projects involving infrastructure with new water lines and sewer lines. He said around town he has heard both negative and positive comments.

“I’ve heard from both sides, but the majority are in favor of the project,” he stated. “The economic benefits and the opportunities to keep our kids here is really attractive. Up until now, the kids have had to look for economic opportunities outside of Green River for jobs and education. This is a great opportunity to improve our economy and establish a new tax base. Our planning and zoning commis-sion is looking for places Green River can grow. We are waiting to see if the water is approved and then we’ll know

for sure. There have been three or four FEMA trainings here in Green River. We will look at housing for workers and permanent employees. We hope with the additional workers coming in there will be other support businesses move in. We hope to revitalize our Main Street.” Tilton told a Price group last spring that his company will be working with local officials across the region to help

communities adjust to the influx of workers during construc-tion and after. Another play-er in the game is Reed Searle, who was the general manager for the Intermountain Power Project in Delta. He went through the pro-cess of construc-tion and start up

there and knows what’s involved when there is an influx of people into an area. He will be involved in public meetings. Brady will be involved in meetings to help plan the preliminary work which will need to take place. The earliest construction could begin would be 2016 so Brady feels Green River is well

positioned to act when the time comes. During the building phase of the project approximately 4,000 people could be involved. The operation phase the plant would employ between 800-1,000 workers. And the impact will be felt well beyond Green River too. Price would be heav-ily impacted in a number of ways and some of those impacts will be because training for workers will become ever more important. At an address at USU Eastern in the spring Searle said that the college could become key to the plants development in the region and he noted that it would be a “beautiful opportunity” for the college to become involved because training will start two years before operations begin. Brady said he looks forward to new people coming to see what Green River has to offer. New school teachers would have to be hired, possibly even a new school or school expansion for have to be done for the school children who may move in. It is estimated if the project does go through the revenue to the Emery School District would likely double. These increased revenues would allow the school district to properly handle an influx of students into the district. McCandless said as well as the



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Like cars and lawn mowers, power plants are machines with moving parts. The difference is that when a car or mower needs a tune-up, there’s no need to bring in 1,400 skilled workers for more than a month. That’s what happened to the small towns of western Emery County in March when PacifiCorp overhauled its Hunter No. Unit and conducted a major upgrade in the plant’s emission control system. Late winter is usually a show season for Gilly’s motel, cabins and restaurant in Ferron. This year was different. “All our rooms and cabins are booked. Gaso-line sales are up. We’re selling an awful lot of fuel,” said Gilly’s owner Tina Benson, adding that her restaurant operation was also selling a lot more meals. The towns around the big units at Hunter and Huntington are small, each with populations of less than 2,000. So when their lodging capacity hit the

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limit, the demand for rooms spread outward like ripples in a pond. The Village Inn Motel in Huntington had the neon red “No” lit beside the “Vacancy” sign out front. And moving even further north to Price, Holiday Inn general manager David Zwahlen said his business was “definitely feel-ing the effect” of the massive influx of workers. “There are lots of folks staying in Green River,” added Mike McCandless, Emery County economic development director. McCandless also said area campgrounds were also getting full. “It’s amazing how many of these guys camp. They move around a lot and they’re very good with logistics.” An even bigger impact than lodging was in retail sales, he continued. Fuel and tobacco sales were up by “tens of thousands of dollars a week.” Restau-rants extended hours to accommodate the long shifts of the visiting workers, with some eateries opening at 4 a.m. The exact dollar amount of the in-creased spending is tough to calculate, but McCandless suggested that even if

HUNTERCONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

CONTINUED ON PAGE 33 The Hunter Power Plant has been a skyline icon of the Emery County Landscape since the 1980s and economic impacts continue to impact the area.



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the average overhaul worker spent only $30 a day, you can multiply it out to get a rough idea. Here’s the equation: 1,400 workers x $30/day x 60 days = $2,520,000, give or take a few bucks. If the average worker spent like a tourist, staying in a motel, eating all meals in restaurants and buying gas for the commute, that $30 per day figure would have been much higher. This overhaul population was big-ger than usual because the company was retrofitting some major pollution control equipment in addition to the routine tear-down and reassembly of working parts. It replaced its smoke-removing elec-trostatic precipitators with a baghouse. Precipitators put an electric charge on smoke particles, then collect them on oppositely-charged metal plates. When the plates get full of smoke particles, mechanical hammers bang on them to shake the dust loose. It’s then collected and removed. A baghouse, on the other had, works like a building full of vacuum cleaner bags. It is more energy efficient and removes much more ash than the pre-cipitators.

HUNTERCONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

This overhaul population was bigger than usual because the company was retrofitting some major pollution control equip-ment in addition to the routine tear-down and reassembly of working parts.


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By Charli Englehorn Moab Times-Independent

When the Grand County Council met on Oct. 4 it was a contentious scene, with more than 50 residents in attendance to hear a presentation from Blue Castle Holdings, Inc., the com-pany that hopes to develop a two-unit nuclear power plant near Green River, 40 miles northwest of Moab. Aaron Tilton, chief executive officer, Tom Retson, chief operating officer, and Reed Searle, senior vice president of business development for Blue Castle were at the meeting. During the presen-tation, Tilton explained some of the needs for nuclear power in the state and aspects of the project and facilities. “The model is to develop new electri-cal capacity needed for Utah. Utah will be short on electricity over the next 20 years,” Tilton said. “We believe the current resource portfolio of the state [coal] is not the resource that should be developed.” Tilton explained water use issues on the site, with water being the biggest criteria needed to cool the thermal process to make the electricity. He compared the current state use of water for electricity production — 2.2 percent

Opposition to nuke plant raised at Moab meeting— to the projected nuclear plant’s less than 1 percent use of water to create 50 percent more power in the state. That 50 percent is equal to approximately 3,000 megawatts of electricity pro-duced, he said. Tilton also addressed the proposed plant’s affects on the Green River, saying that the river depth would only change one inch during low flow condi-tions. “Water proposed for this use is currently being sent downstream as an unused portion of Colorado River Compact allocations,” Tilton said. “But that water was previously approved and allocated … for use in coal-fire projects that never happened.” Council chairman Chris Baird expressed concerns about the expected 50,000-acre feet of water the plant would use annually. He said that water has a “100 percent depletion rate,” meaning none of it will go back into the river system. Removing that volume of water from the Green River could have significant impacts on Grand County’s future industrial water needs, among other concerns, Baird said. The company’s plan to store spent fuel on site for future use was also criti-cized by many in attendance. Used fuel

is first held in water-cooled pools for two to three years and then contained in rods, which are clustered and stored in dry cask cylinders above ground. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission deems it safe to store used fuel for 100 years, Tilton said. Many local residents voiced opposi-tion to the proposed nuclear plant. Sarah Fields of Moab said high-level nuclear waste such as spent fuel, would have negative impacts on the environ-ment. She also questioned the reuse of the fuel, claiming it was a problem that would most likely be left to future generations to deal with. Many residents called the idea of building a nuclear plant off of Inter-state 70 “crazy” and said it would be a detriment to tourism. Others referred to the project as a “dinosaur solution,” saying that other trends in energy pro-duction would be more desirable. “This all needs to be looked at holis-tically. There is already insufficient wa-ter … other needs will suffer,” said Bob Lipman, who also spoke about “cancer clusters” in communities located near nuclear plants. “There is no compensa-tion for a loss of community. There are no guarantees that these plants will run smoothly.”

Moab resident Helene Rohr agreed. “Things can happen you can’t plan for,” Rohr said. “What happens when the money runs out and corners are cut?” She accused Blue Castle of using technological jargon to blindside people and pushing jobs as an incentive. “Germany has decided to completely shift gears, and the largest labor organi-zation in Japan is pushing for different forms of energy,” Rohr said. Several people raised concerns about the burden and danger to future gen-erations. And most questioned whether their views on the issue would have any effect on Blue Castle’s plans. “You will still have a tremendous amount of say in what we do and how we do it, but we are committed to go forward with the project,” Tilton said. “We have spent a lot of time research-ing this … we feel gives us justification to move forward.” The licensing process will take a minimum of five years, during which time a number of public hearings will take place. If Blue Castle is successful in getting the project licensed, con-struction will take a minimum of seven years, Tilton said.



By C.J. McManusSun Advocate

More than $7 billion has been pro-vided by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act since 1977 for rehabilitation and beautification of land impacted by both surface and under-ground coal mining, but the battle for who should foot the bill and to what amount, continues to rage in the country’s highest courts. As mining operations cease, bulldoz-ers and scrapers are used to reshape the disturbed area, according to informa-tion from the World Coal Institute. Reclamation should allow for the area to be resistant to soil erosion and, based on the soil requirements, fertilized and re-vegetated. At this point, reclaimed land is intended to be used for agriculture, forestry, wildlife habitation, and rec-reation. The cost of the rehabilitation of the mined land is factored into the mine’s operating costs. Other forms of disturbance typically caused by mining can include: •Top soil removal, causing negative effects on native vegetation and wild-life.

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•Mine subsistence, which refers to the destabilization of land that can occur with underground coal mining, as the ground level lowers as a result of coal having been mined beneath. •Water pollution, wherein acid mine drainage takes place due to metal-rich water formed from the chemical reac-tion between water and rocks contain-ing sulfur-bearing minerals. The acid run-off created dissolves heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury into ground and surface water. According to the WCI, there is also danger from coal sludge also known as slurry, wherein

the liquid coal waste produced by min-ing activities causes additional contami-nation. •Denigration of surface and under-ground aquifers. While coal has been mined in the United States since the 1740s, surface mining did not catch hold until the 1940s, exploding in the 1970s, when over 60 percent of mines in the country were open-pit operations. And while several states did pass early laws calling for land reclamation following the huge need for coal during World War II, a federal mandate governing reclamation was not adopted until President Jimmy Carter signed the SMCRA in the late

RECLAIMINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 36


This land in Price Canyon has been rehabilitated after being used for mining.


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1970s. Along with the passage of a fed-eral act, Carter also created an enforce-ment arm within the Department of the Interior. To assist with federal implemen-tation of the law, state agencies all throughout the country have taken the lead in monitoring and assessing reclamation projects for the mining in-dustry. In Utah, the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining oversees the responsible reclamation and development of both state and federal lands. The division also conducts reclamation of abandoned mine sites under Title IV of SMCRA. Funds for this program come totally from appropriations of federal fees paid by the coal industry, based on a per-ton produced rate, according to DOGM. However, a 2010 Associated Press report demonstrates that while federal funds do account for abandoned proj-ects, those federal monies often come from places other than coal mine fees. In January 2010, the AP reported that $395 million was available for abandoned-mine reclamation funds provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Recipients can apply to the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for funding for specific projects. Part of the money — $150 million — does indeed come from fees based on U.S.

coal production. The remaining $245 million comes from the U.S. Treasury, or taxpayers. Several industry sources report that fees assessed for reclamation projects often make it difficult for the coal industry to expand as profits margins are narrowed due to the massive cost of some reclamation projects. While underground mining in the west typi-cally leads to thick coal seams with a relatively small amount of disturbance, open pit mines can have a large impact on a given area’s topography, leading to a hefty reclamation cost. In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a bid by several coal companies including Consol Energy, Massey Energy, Patriot Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, BP, TECO Energy and Peabody En-ergy. The companies were asking for a refund for some of the fees placed in the government’s coal mine reclamation fund. The companies reportedly argued that the fees were being applied to coal destined for shipment abroad, violating the constitutional prohibition on export tax. According to information from the WCI, the courts rejected the company’s proposal, holding that the fees were being imposed when the coal was extracted, not when it was exported. In the case, the companies were seeking both a halt to the current fees as well as a refund on payments already made. It is important to note that while

several of the country’s largest coal companies participated in the June court case, they also comply with cur-rent reclamation standards and refer to those standards as part of their responsibility as energy producers. For example, Arch Coal broadly discusses their reclamation efforts within the company’s website. “Arch Coal’s subsidiaries include land reclamation in every phase of our mine plans, which are closely regulated by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA),” according to archcoal.com. “We carefully include a range of environmental plans through-out the life of each mine and treat each reclamation project uniquely.

RECLAIMINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

“Oftentimes, land that we’ve reclaimed is indistinguishable from surrounding terrain within just a few growing seasons,” as written in the website’s statement. “We have imple-mented and continued programs that help support indigenous wildlife and habitat. We received final bond releases for more than 4,800 restored or pro-tected acres in 2009 and 2010.” As worldwide energy producers work to find the balance between their responsibility to the planet and their responsibility to their shareholders, enforcement and oversight officials also look for the right amount of taxation verses monetary incentive for the com-panies they oversee.

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By Ranae BangerterVernal Express

What looked like a crop circle in an acre of farmland next to Utah State University’s Vernal campus is now a “floating pond,” in a body of water east of the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center, and is set to grow algae for biofuel production. The “floating pond,” made of high-density polyethylene — a material similar to garbage bags, was assembled by a research team in about seven weeks, and is hoped to be the new home of thousands of gallons of microalgae. “Algae grows exponentially,” said Curtis Carrigan, Energy Dynamic Laboratory researcher with the Algae Energy systems Demonstration Pond. “It can double per-day under the right conditions.” The goal is to grow enough algae per acre to produce one barrel of biofuel per day, the 28-year-old researcher from Logan said. All the pond needs for algae to bloom is four ingredients: the sun, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and phosphorus. “It’s low maintenance; that’s the hope,” Carrigan said. Funding for the project came from

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the Utah Science Technology and Re-search initiative and the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy. An additional grant was awarded from the Impact Mitiga-tion Special Service District, because the plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and also uses nitrogen and phosphorus from the run-off water, said Kevin Shurtleff, lead researcher for Algae Energy Systems with EDL. “We’re really (in Vernal) to demon-strate that we can capture CO2 from the air and we can clean up nitrogen

and phosphorus from the water and at the same time create an additional en-ergy source,” Shurtleff said. “The Uin-tah Basin is really the center of energy production in the state of Utah and we thought that’s why it would be a good place we could capture CO2, clean the air and produce additional energy.” The “floating pond” is only six inches deep for a reason, the group has to add costly nutrients to the pond for

Energy Dynamics Laboratory Researchers Matthew Bush, Curtis Carrigan and Devin Bascom, pose for a photo while working on the “floating pond” behind the Utah State University Vernal campus.



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ALGAECONTINUED FROM PAGE 40

the algae to grow. For now, the research team will be adding fertilizers — nitrogen and phos-phorus — into the water because those elements are lacking in this particular pond. Ideally, the plan is to place thou-sands of the one-acre ponds into waters that are naturally full of nitrogen and phosphorus, and in areas near carbon dioxide. This is the first one-acre “floating al-gae pond” ever constructed, and it took some careful planning and building. “We had the idea of how we wanted to assemble it,” Carrigan said, adding that it was difficult to find a parking lot — or flat surface — with an unobstruct-ed one-acre area. The group then ended up construct-ing the “floating pond” in a cow field behind the Bingham Center. The project that was expected to take only two to three weeks ended up taking seven, and that pushed the project behind schedule. Four large sections of the “floating pond” had to be carefully glued and welded together and then transported to the nearby pond. “It’s been kind of a big deal,” Car-rigan said. A second one-acre “floating pond” is being built, with some modifications

after design problems and delays in the construction of the first one. The “floating pond” will be in Vernal for the month of October as research-ers see if it produces enough algae, then it will be taken to a milder climate in southern Utah for the winter and brought back to Vernal in the spring. “The goal is to grow as much as

we can, to demonstrate what we can accomplish in the month we have, and then stop for the winter,” Carrigan said. Positive results from the project all depend on the weather, Shurtleff said. “The goal was to deploy the pond earlier so that we’d have a longer growth season,” he said. The most difficult part of the process

will be harvesting the microalgae, Car-rigan said. Harvesting takes careful research because of the different strains of algae and there’s no right way to harvest mi-croalgae. Some strains float, some sink and some swim around, he said.


A circular “floating pond” rests above a one acre pond east of the Utah State University Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center. Researchers hope to grow algae in the pond as an alternative form of biofuel.


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Wow! Thirty minutes of rain and hours and hours of cleanup. That was the scene on a day in mid July when I followed a huge black thunder-head cloud forma-tion into the oil patch south of Ouray in Uintah County. It was wet and muddy. In fact, water was running every-where and it didn’t take me long to see that road side ditches filled and then it was the washes along side the road that collected enough rain water to become raging torrents. Everything stood still for a time, as oilfield workers seemed to quit moving around on the roads during the storm. But when the sun broke out and shed light on the area, I started seeing move-

Flash floods in the oil fieldOne man’s beauty is only another man’s misery

CONTINUED ON PAGE 43On this afternoon, a big black storm cloud darkened the landscape and less than an hour later washes and gullies were full to overflowing with excess rain water. The oilfield sometimes shuts down for days while the mud dries.

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ment along the roads. I’ll admit that it was slow-moving to begin with as everything was slick and muddy. And there were places that were submerged in the runoff liquid that kept traffic slow. It only took minutes

for rocks and other debris to line the sides of the roads. And not too much longer to watch roads being washed out as stream beds that meandered town a canyon criss-crossing the road soon carried enough water to wash out the roadways and leave even bigger rocks and debris along the way. No matter how far you went in the

hills south of Vernal, you were stopped by a stream of water that you were unwilling to second guess that your vehicle would make it through. Some raging rivers were just that, way too much water going very fast down what used to be a dry stream bed only hours before. But there are other streams that were very tempting as the dirty water

hid the depth as well as the softness of the dirt underneath. Even with the temptation, most oil field workers already know the perils of entering a stream that they might not be able to get all the way through and they wait it out. I was impressed with the number of

FLOODINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 42


Chaining up is never fun, especially when the only time you need to chain up is when it is wet and very muddy.


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road graders that seemed to appear out of nowhere and started moving depos-ited piles of mud from stream and river crossings. I was also intrigued with how quick-ly truck drivers got out of their vehicles and chained up. They do it with enough regularity that they are practiced hands at it, but it did not take long for big trucks to stop, get the chains on and adjusted and then proceed down the road. Despite the mosquitoes, crowds seemed to appear at every raging inter-section to watch the daring go through the mess or to watch the graders fix the problems. Trucks are on schedules and no where is the phrase “time is money” more appropriate than in the oil patch and it was amazing how quickly things got back to normal after the storm that will have road crews busy for days clearing the mess. Next time you see the dark thunder-head clouds flowing over the southern part of Duchesne and Uintah counties, and you see the phenomenal lighten-ing show and think “wow! That is sure beautiful!” I invite you to remember those who are working down there and will have to stop, check their chains

FLOODINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 43

CONTINUED ON PAGE 45 I sat at this crossing for about an hour trying to decide if it were really that deep. It was. I was glad I waited.


FLOODINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 44and tires and then proceed with caution until they can’t go any more and have to wait for a grader. One mans beauty is only another man’s misery.

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Roddie Bird’s oilfield job in-volves many unusual tools, some of which he’s invented himself. Through his company, R&B Slickline and Field Service, he instals well heads and plunger lifts, and cleans up wells. One of the more interesting challenges met by R&B involves “fishing” where they are tasked to retrieve various items from the well. To go “fishing” they use a rare earth magnet, which when low-ered into the well can latch onto most anything metallic. “I’ve pulled out nuts and bolts, pieces of springs, all kinds of tools, and various pieces of drill-ing equipment,” Bird said. Bird, who started the company with wife Barbara, now has two additional employees and sounds optimistic as he assesses the future. “There may not be another boom coming, but it is getting better.”

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As our country strives for greater energy indepen-dence, Utah has an important role to play. Energy independence is both a critical economic and national security issue and to succeed, we have to pull all the levers available to us, starting with producing as much oil and natural gas in this country as possible. Increased domestic oil production and increased use of natural gas as a transportation fuel are key steps we can take to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. has enough natural gas reserves to last at least 100 years as well as environmentally responsible methods to develop this resource. I support a bipar-tisan bill called the NAT GAS Act of 2011. The bill paves the way to change how we power our vehicles by encouraging private investment in natural gas refueling stations and by providing incentives for the production and purchase of natural gas vehicles. The on-the-shelf technology has already produced more than 12.5 million NGVs in use worldwide. Along with cost benefits to consumers and a boost for jobs and the economy, natural gas burns cleaner than gasoline, improving air quality. Oil and natural gas production are two bright spots in Utah’s economic picture, with 800 new jobs coming from these industries in the past year alone. Along with oil, natural gas and coal, Utah has the potential to provide jet and diesel fuels from oil shale. My efforts resulted in lifting the moratorium on com-mercial oil shale leasing in Utah, allowing pilot proj-ects to proceed in the Uintah Basin, which has rich oil

shale deposits. When it comes to new technologies, the federal government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, but should instead support poli-cies that create a level-playing field for all to compete. I have also written a bill — the FUEL Act — to encourage not only traditional energy production but also research and development of renewable and al-ternative energy. The FUEL Act establishes an energy development task force composed of federal agencies who oversee permitting. My bill requires them to issue a plan within a year outlining steps for streamlining oil and gas applica-tions. It also promotes oil and gas drilling offshore and divides the royalties between the states and the federal government. America’s independent oil and natural gas produc-ers, which develop over 80 percent of U.S. natural gas and nearly 70 percent of U.S oil, are small busi-nesses. Historically, they have invested more than 150 percent of their cash flows back into American projects, strengthening the economy and increas-ing jobs. I’ve joined a bipartisan group opposing the Administration’s proposal to raise taxes on domestic energy producers. America needs an energy policy that recognizes the roles that all forms of energy can play to rebuild our economy, increase U.S. energy supplies and move towards a better energy future.—Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, serves the residents of the Second Congressional District.

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President Obama has spent weeks telling Congress to pass his flawed sec-ond stimulus bill, which he erroneously believes will put Americans back to work with another round of wasteful govern-ment spending on bloated programs and failed investments. Noticeably absent from the president’s agenda, however, is a significant push to tap more of our vast natural resources in order to expand domestic energy produc-tion and achieve energy independence for the first time in decades. To simply ignore the potential that lies beneath American soil is to handicap the nation’s economic future. An aggressive domestic energy plan would create hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new jobs at a time when they are desperately needed. A recent study by consulting firm Wood Mackenzie found that over 1.4 million jobs would be created in the United States — 50,000 in Utah by 2020 — by adopting a variety of pro-energy policies, including re-open-ing the outer continental shelf to oil and natural gas exploration and production, approving the Keystone XL pipeline that will deliver oil from Canada, and easing excessive restrictions on hydraulic frac-turing or “fracking.” The study supports the notion that federal bureaucracy is strangling job growth, and that the best

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Tapping into America’s energy futurejob creation program Washington can adopt is getting the government out of the way. Unlike President Obama’s plan, which borrows close to $500 billion from China and increases our national debt, cutting red tape doesn’t cost a dime. In fact, mak-ing the described changes in policy could produce hundreds of billions of dollars in additional government revenue over the next 20 years. If we give businesses the freedom to move the country towards energy inde-pendence, the effects will be enormous. Wood Mackenzie estimates the equiva-lent of nearly 60 billion barrels of oil in combined oil and natural gas would be made available. By 2030, those additional reserves would increase total U.S. oil and gas energy production by nearly 50percent over current policy projections. The American Gas Association esti-mates that the amount of recoverable natural gas that exists in the United States would be enough to last for more than a century. We can power a renewed American economy for decades by merely taking advantage of what’s sitting right under our feet.Congress is already considering legislation that would move the country towards that goal. The American Energy and Western Jobs Act would streamline the oil and nat-ural gas leasing process while encouraging

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Table 4.5 Natural Gas Gross Production in Utah by County, 1993-2010Thousand Cubic Feet

2010Rank County 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

1 Uintah 73,518,068 67,275,895 57,143,899 60,051,360 60,599,426 70,603,801 72,190,796 83,100,193 93,909,207 104,385,7052 Carbon 1,067,921 4,932,277 12,379,993 17,124,314 22,760,216 31,903,361 50,175,216 72,586,085 86,532,946 90,700,8833 Duchesne 17,640,155 16,750,850 17,582,965 19,332,426 20,631,221 19,204,848 15,352,521 13,934,444 13,933,698 12,476,1594 Emery 1,210,380 873,199 703,166 778,051 926,911 1,344,955 2,317,451 4,042,810 7,718,744 13,901,5695 San Juan 19,508,219 22,493,251 24,088,983 25,363,081 23,834,821 24,995,874 24,789,152 23,965,074 24,159,731 21,395,5616 Summit 215,551,149 225,435,809 189,373,184 149,296,517 134,841,492 141,757,578 104,948,668 76,290,493 67,952,108 43,374,8997 Grand 8,249,625 8,523,892 6,404,169 7,077,875 7,321,799 6,397,327 6,305,630 5,287,347 5,600,641 5,538,2888 Daggett 1,530,491 1,854,631 1,018,292 1,415,327 1,637,463 1,293,202 1,405,755 1,955,920 1,159,278 1,250,9659 Sanpete 0 0 0 0 425 0 0 0 100 0

10 Garfield 0 0 0 0 0 2,300 9,123 7,650 9,125 6,050-- Rich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-- Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

State Total 338,276,008 348,139,804 308,694,651 280,438,951 272,553,774 297,503,246 277,494,312 281,170,016 300,975,578 293,030,079

2010Rank County 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

PercentChange

2009-2010

CumulativeProduction

Through 20101 Uintah 111,242,334 132,682,346 164,069,895 203,511,421 218,560,736 273,700,835 283,378,235 283,002,476 -0.1% 3,232,369,5742 Carbon 85,179,739 79,239,057 74,823,151 82,384,767 93,817,532 94,546,489 96,592,822 83,618,904 -13.4% 1,160,507,6673 Duchesne 11,954,655 14,642,364 20,072,860 22,530,227 25,334,571 26,575,078 28,805,053 33,035,337 14.7% 710,110,5994 Emery 17,213,152 17,443,464 16,608,650 16,198,923 16,930,093 16,703,288 16,581,995 14,389,603 -13.2% 225,217,5605 San Juan 20,637,369 17,386,451 13,425,654 12,452,938 12,572,548 13,377,282 10,268,266 9,845,954 -4.1% 1,398,911,4686 Summit 33,943,295 23,769,095 16,526,002 11,211,675 11,189,237 10,311,263 8,221,128 7,219,035 -12.2% 3,210,714,4687 Grand 5,623,912 7,225,855 6,581,997 6,857,367 6,547,472 6,243,909 5,069,217 4,487,035 -11.5% 381,107,5528 Daggett 1,340,657 1,434,913 1,377,766 1,168,574 539,401 1,081,225 588,648 1,026,185 74.3% 181,935,8849 Sanpete 0 9 10 3 1 19,116 66,297 373,280 463.0% 3,486,424

10 Garfield 6,125 7,600 9,125 9,125 9,125 9,150 9,125 9,125 0.0% 102,748-- Rich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 5,497,846-- Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 65,552

State Total 287,141,238 293,831,154 313,495,110 356,325,020 385,500,716 442,567,635 449,580,786 437,006,934 -2.8% 10,510,027,342

Source:

Note: Data are a snapshot in time and may not match more up-to-date totals.

Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining - Annual production data

Figure 4.5 - Natural Gas Gross Production in Utah by County, 2010

Uintah64.8%

Carbon19.1%

Duchesne7.6%

Emery3.3%

San Juan2.3% Summit

1.7%Other0.3%

Grand1.0%

Table 4.5 Natural Gas Gross Production in Utah by County, 1993-2010Thousand Cubic Feet

2010Rank County 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

1 Uintah 73,518,068 67,275,895 57,143,899 60,051,360 60,599,426 70,603,801 72,190,796 83,100,193 93,909,207 104,385,7052 Carbon 1,067,921 4,932,277 12,379,993 17,124,314 22,760,216 31,903,361 50,175,216 72,586,085 86,532,946 90,700,8833 Duchesne 17,640,155 16,750,850 17,582,965 19,332,426 20,631,221 19,204,848 15,352,521 13,934,444 13,933,698 12,476,1594 Emery 1,210,380 873,199 703,166 778,051 926,911 1,344,955 2,317,451 4,042,810 7,718,744 13,901,5695 San Juan 19,508,219 22,493,251 24,088,983 25,363,081 23,834,821 24,995,874 24,789,152 23,965,074 24,159,731 21,395,5616 Summit 215,551,149 225,435,809 189,373,184 149,296,517 134,841,492 141,757,578 104,948,668 76,290,493 67,952,108 43,374,8997 Grand 8,249,625 8,523,892 6,404,169 7,077,875 7,321,799 6,397,327 6,305,630 5,287,347 5,600,641 5,538,2888 Daggett 1,530,491 1,854,631 1,018,292 1,415,327 1,637,463 1,293,202 1,405,755 1,955,920 1,159,278 1,250,9659 Sanpete 0 0 0 0 425 0 0 0 100 0

10 Garfield 0 0 0 0 0 2,300 9,123 7,650 9,125 6,050-- Rich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-- Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

State Total 338,276,008 348,139,804 308,694,651 280,438,951 272,553,774 297,503,246 277,494,312 281,170,016 300,975,578 293,030,079

2010Rank County 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

PercentChange

2009-2010

CumulativeProduction

Through 20101 Uintah 111,242,334 132,682,346 164,069,895 203,511,421 218,560,736 273,700,835 283,378,235 283,002,476 -0.1% 3,232,369,5742 Carbon 85,179,739 79,239,057 74,823,151 82,384,767 93,817,532 94,546,489 96,592,822 83,618,904 -13.4% 1,160,507,6673 Duchesne 11,954,655 14,642,364 20,072,860 22,530,227 25,334,571 26,575,078 28,805,053 33,035,337 14.7% 710,110,5994 Emery 17,213,152 17,443,464 16,608,650 16,198,923 16,930,093 16,703,288 16,581,995 14,389,603 -13.2% 225,217,5605 San Juan 20,637,369 17,386,451 13,425,654 12,452,938 12,572,548 13,377,282 10,268,266 9,845,954 -4.1% 1,398,911,4686 Summit 33,943,295 23,769,095 16,526,002 11,211,675 11,189,237 10,311,263 8,221,128 7,219,035 -12.2% 3,210,714,4687 Grand 5,623,912 7,225,855 6,581,997 6,857,367 6,547,472 6,243,909 5,069,217 4,487,035 -11.5% 381,107,5528 Daggett 1,340,657 1,434,913 1,377,766 1,168,574 539,401 1,081,225 588,648 1,026,185 74.3% 181,935,8849 Sanpete 0 9 10 3 1 19,116 66,297 373,280 463.0% 3,486,424

10 Garfield 6,125 7,600 9,125 9,125 9,125 9,150 9,125 9,125 0.0% 102,748-- Rich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 5,497,846-- Washington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 65,552

State Total 287,141,238 293,831,154 313,495,110 356,325,020 385,500,716 442,567,635 449,580,786 437,006,934 -2.8% 10,510,027,342

Source:

Note: Data are a snapshot in time and may not match more up-to-date totals.

Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining - Annual production data

Figure 4.5 - Natural Gas Gross Production in Utah by County, 2010

Uintah64.8%

Carbon19.1%

Duchesne7.6%

Emery3.3%

San Juan2.3% Summit

1.7%Other0.3%

Grand1.0%

Natural Gas Gross Production in Utah by County - 1993-2010

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ALGAECONTINUED FROM PAGE 41

Carrigan compared it to catching dif-ferent insects. “If it’s a butterfly, you use a butterfly net, if it’s a cockroach you use a paper cup,” he said. “So it’s different.” He said ideally they’d like to have the algae sink to the bottom of the “floating pond” and then use something similar to a swimming pool vacuum which runs along the bottom of the pool to harvest it. As for biofuel production long-term goals, researchers hope the “floating

ponds” will produce 1,300 gallons of biofuel per-acre, per-year, on the low end; and on the high-end 5,000 gallons per-acre, per-year. That compares with palm oil that produces about 600 gallons per-acre, per-year, Carrigan said. “It’s twice as good as anything so far,” he said, “but it’s almost 30 times as good as any other crop that we have a chance at growing.” Additional researchers for the EDL project include Matthew Bush, 31, of Vernal and Devin Bascom, 24, of Orem. —This article was originally pub-lished in the Vernal Express and the Uintah Basin Standard.

By Ross StevensUintah Basin Standard

At 17, Steve Wall thought he was starting a job not a career. He looked at his new job on a workover rig as a way to earn some decent money right away. Now, more than 30 years later, he looks back on the wealth of work experience in the oil industry that started in his teens. “I just needed to make some real-good money and working on a rig was the best way to do it,” Wall said with a smile. That simple start led to similar work and took him around the world. For five years he worked in both Yemen and Oman working 35 days straight and then having 35 days off. “The money was certainly good, but I was a long way from home,” Wall said. Today, he owns D&S Wellsite Su-pervision, a company he started three years ago offering his services as an oilfield consultant. Wall currently works on a rig near Ouray with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

As a consultant his company super-vises all aspects of the well’s production process based on the guidelines set out by the industry. “Our role starts right after the hole is drilled and continues until the well goes dry,” Wall said about consulting. “We watch how the work is done, order equipment, provide daily reports, help train company employees and monitor all well activities.” He said a lot has changed since he first began work in the industry, for one, the equipment is more high tech. “I think Nintendo must have de-signed a lot of today’s controls,” Wall said. “A lot of stuff is operated by joy sticks. They must have watched the kids playing those video games and decided this way would be the easiest for them to learn to operate things.” He said another big focus now is on safety, with specific guidelines to keep everyone safe. “I’m very proud of our safety record,” he said of his employees. “No accidents at all in the three years at the current site.”

Changes in oilfield work apparent after 30 years

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Environmental accidents in the energy industry make headlines, but not so much attention is paid to what is by far the larger story taking place on a day-to-day basis in Utah’s energy-pro-ducing regions. That is the trend that sees energy producers taking a place at the table with regulators, environmental and recreational interests, preservationists

Fossil fuels development and environmentand local governments. It’s a trend that is taking companies beyond compliance and into collaboration when it comes to preservation and enhancement of the natural environment. A case in point is the projects around Nine Mile Canyon Road. This old dirt thoroughfare used to be a link between the Uintah Basin and Carbon County in horse-and-buggy days, and centuries before Columbus it was home to ancient Native Americans. The ancient ones left behind “the world’s longest art gallery”

on the cliff sides in the form of petro-glyphs and pictographs. But now the road through this gallery serves as an access for heavy trucks hauling equip-ment for Bill Barrett Corporation’s massive West Tavaputs gas field. The road is being resurfaced at the same time. That means the earth-mov-ing equipment of con-tractor W. W. Clyde is sharing the same strip with the drilling and production equipment of Bill Barrett. Pam Miller, rep-resenting the Nine Mile Coalition, an organization dedi-cated to protecting the natural and archaeo-logical treasures of the canyon, addressed the issue recently at the Canyon Road Cooperative Board in Carbon County’s Event Center. “Anyone who hasn’t driven through it doesn’t understand the scale of the operation,” said Miller, who is also an archaeology instructor at Utah State University in Price. Attendees at the meeting she address included a repre-

sentative from Bill Barrett, commis-sioners from Carbon and Duchesne counties, the Bureau of Land Manage-ment, civil engineers from Jones & DeMille Engineering also attended, as did support staff for the agencies at the table.

The group exists solely to define and solve problems associated with the Nine Mile project. “We’ve been committed from the start to keep every-body in the loop,” Carbon County Commissioner Mike Milovich said. As the large project moves along, they try to follow up

with issues as they come Milovich said, but it’s tough to predict or resolve prob-lems at the start, “but if you want to sit down and talk it out, it can be done.” While the rules and regulations have by and large been laid down by the BLM during the permitting process for the gas field, the committee serves as a way of smoothing out the minor prob-

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lems before they become major one. Such things as fugitive dust monitoring and mitigation come to the table. Dust could harm the artwork that has lasted for centuries before industry entered the picture. Miller noted that W. W. Clyde has responded quickly when dust trouble spots have been reported. In addition to dust control, certified archaeological surveyors and monitors are on hand to spot and advise of sensi-tive areas. “The things we’ve learned are trans-ferable,” Miller said of the committee’s work. “It’s knowledge that we should be able to share with other counties or states.” Big as it is, the Nine Mile project is only small part of what’s going on in the region. On the west side of Carbon County, gas producer Conoco-Phillips is join-ing forces with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to fund projects for habitat enhancement for elk and deer. One such project involved clearing some 290 acres of pinyon and juniper and replanting with small flowering plants suitable for browsing. “Winter range is the limiting factor for deer and elk populations,” explained

DWR oil and gas biologist Nicole Nielson, who designed the project. By removing the trees, the flat land is open to sunlight, while water and soil nutri-ents are freed for the new plants. The work was done with a machine called a bullhog. This is a small track-hoe whose front end holds a whirling drum armed with steel teeth. It takes only a few minutes for a bullhog to shred a pinyon or juniper into mulch. The mulch held moisture for seeds that were dropped earlier by plane, while the

dirt stirred up pro-vided a light cover. Conoco-Phil-lips joined a consor-tium of sportsmen’s groups and DWR to fund the bullhog project. Anadarko Petroleum fully fund-ed a similar project on the eastern side of the county. Another project funded by

Conoco-Phillips is a test-seeding on Carbon County’s west side. This one involves sending a customized track-hoe seed planter along paths between widely separated pinyon and juniper, dispersing a variety of native plants that should good browse for deer. “The companies are saying they just want to do what’s right for the land,” Nielson said of the firms that have

helped with the habitat projects. Some animals potentially affected by energy development, however, don’t spend much time on the land. These are the birds, and specifically birds of prey. Energy companies must survey the areas around their turf for nests of eagles, hawks, owls and the like. In the rugged country of cliffs and canyons, helicopter surveys have proven to be the most time and cost efficient mode. Helicopter time is not cheap, but it beats paying a large crew for several weeks or longer to trek through the back country to spot and log each nest. Environmental Industrial Services, an environmental consulting firm based in Helper, has sent its biologists out in

“the companies are sayinG they jUst Want to do What’s riGht for the land,”

- nicole nielson

contracted helicopters for two natu-ral gas companies and four area coal mines. The surveyors follow GIS maps of known nesting sites and note new ones they find on sophisticated map-ping programs. They must record every nest according to bird species and note whether it is active or inactive. Derris Jones, a former regional manager for the Division of Wildlife Resources who is now a consultant for EIS, said the companies often go beyond simple compliance with regula-tions. “They’ll hire us to survey a whole area to help out DWR even if they only plan on developing a small part for now,” he said.


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school district benefiting, other tax entities in the county would also see an increase in revenues. Retson stated Blue Castle is looking ahead to the future should the plant be built, but everything must be done in the right order. Every site and commu-nity is unique. Blue Castle feels it has the right people working on this project and they bring experience to the table. Every project has its challenges, but the team members feel they are up to cop-ing with conflicts as they move along. “We really like the base of people here in the area that are familiar with power generation,” he stated. “The pro-cesses of nuclear are almost identical to the coal fired power plants. The only difference is in how you boil the water. In other words it’s almost an identical process. With coal you burn it to heat the water and with nuclear power you split an atom; both processes create heat. If you know the valves on a coal fired plant, you will know the valves in a nuclear plant. That’s why we like Emery County. It pays to diversify, in regards to energy; our country is at risk because of what happens in foreign countries. We offer greater stability in a power source that’s less prone to out-side forces. Coal reserves offer stability and very little risk also. We will be us-ing coal far into the future to supply the energy needs of this country.” As with every project the nuclear power plant has generated some opposition as well. Matt Paqcenza, policy director from Heal Utah said their organization has a whole host of reasons why the project should never be completed. He feels the greatest issue is the water. “Utah is the second driest state in the nation and the population is ex-pected to double in the next 40 years,” he stated. “The plant would utilize large volumes of water for the next 40-60 years as water becomes more precious and scarce. Money is another issue. Nuclear power is a costly way to produce power. There are better alter-natives including natural gas, wind and solar. There is the risk and safety issue. The risk is relatively low, but if some-

thing happened there are concerns. Even something small could affect the river and what about the agriculture there? Who would buy the produce? We realize the economic impacts for the area would be great. But we feel there are other ways to generate power and create jobs.” Several environmental groups have banded together to send a letter to the state water engineer who is deciding whether the change of the point of diversion will be accepted or not. These organizations said that awarding that much water seems a poor choice for the already over subscribed Colorado River system. They were also concerned about the water and surrounding areas in the event of an accident. “We also recognize that the likeli-hood of an accident for the Green River reactors is small. However, we urge you to carefully consider that possibil-ity, given the critical location of the proposed reactors upstream from not just the water supply for millions of Southwestern residents, but for a host of fragile ecosystems, flora and fauna,” said the groups signing the letter. McCandless feels the opposition to the water needs to be put in perspec-tive. The 53,000 acre feet used in a year by the plant is less water than Joe’s Valley Reservoir holds. More than 55,000 acre feet of water were flowing past Green River every day this summer during high water. More water overflowed Joe’s Valley, Millsite, and Electric Lake this year, than the nuclear power plant would use. As for the safety of the plant former Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Nils Diaz, who is now Blue Castle’s chief strategic officer spoke in Price and said that state-of-the-art design today differs from that of the Fukushima complex in Japan. That was a 40 year old plant built on a 50 year old design. However, Diaz noted, the buildings and reactors still survived a catastrophic earthquake and subse-quent tsunami. “Look at the pictures and you’ll see they are the only buildings left standing,” he stated. “What killed the Fukushima plant was flooding that knocked out the diesel generators that were supposed to power the pumps for cooling water in the reactor cores and

spent fuel.” Diaz, who was the NRC chairman after 9-11, said that engineers have learned lessons from that tragedy. Where once they considered natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes in design, they now have to consider what would happen to a plant if it were hit by a 767 jet or some other terrorist attack. The Green River plant will not have to worry about loss of power to cooling water pumps because the plant will probably not use circulating pumps at all. Water flow will depend on simple gravity for normal operation. Water still would be pumped into overhead tanks, which have a three-day capacity. Redun-dant equipment on-site and in Green

River could be used if those pumps fail. Other structures, such as containers to hold radioactive gas in case of emer-gency, will be far stronger than those a Fukushima. As for concerns some have about nuclear replacing the coal indus-try, Searle considers that idea kind of a red herring. “A nuclear power plant will probably not eliminate coal from the energy mix, Searle declared. “The reason is that utilities love diversity in their energy sources. A good mix assures that any factor interrupting one source will not affect the others.” As a result of nuclear development, those coal-fired plants now in service could become more valuable to their owners.


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Emergency rescue personnel are not thrilled when they arrive on scene to find a vehicle has careened out of control and is tittering in a hazardous and unstable position. However, the first responders at the Roosevelt Fire Department are more prepared for such a situation thanks to money from Devon Energy Corporation. For the past several years Devon has shown their commitment to community relations by giving a yearly donation to local emergency responders. The Altamont Fire Department, Duchesne County Fire Department, Neola Fire Department, Roosevelt Fire Depart-ment and Uintah Basin Medical Center have each received a $1000. “We used our money for some struts for our extraction truck,” Roosevelt Fire Chief Lee Rockwood said. “We had some training on how to use them (struts) and how important these stabilizing units are. We were trying to decide how to get money for them. The money from Devon paid for part of what we needed.” Devon’s public relations consultant Kimberly Mazza explained the com-pany believes emergency responders

Devon Energy recently recognized the efforts of five Duchesne County emergency response organizations with donations totaling $5,000. Local emergency respond-ers including Nathan Goodrich (center) of the Roosevelt Fire Department joined Devon employees for breakfast before receiving the donations. Also pictured L-R are Devon lease operators Larry Davis and Barry Thompson.

Devon gives money to emergency respondersare “huge players in keeping our folks safe.” “We understand the role they play not only for Devon Energy, but also for the community. These people are trained to help us all,” Mazza said. “They make a sacrifice to keep our area safe, and we have a strong respect for them.” This “strong respect” has trans-lated into several thousand dollars as the company has been making these donations since acquiring the oil field in 1999. “We want to make sure that they (emergency personnel) have what they need to operate safely and effectively,” Mazza said. “We appreciate them.” Locally located north of Neola, Dev-on Energy is a leading independent oil and natural gas exploration and produc-tion company who puts its energy into oil and gas exploration and production assets in Oklahoma, Texas, the Rocky Mountains, and western Canada. Devon Production Foreman George Gurr has spent 32 years in the oil field. He recognizes that the money from Devon allows local groups an opportu-nity to purchase equipment they might need but didn’t have the resources for. “Their top priority has always been the first responders,” Gurr said. “This

is a good thing.” Neola Fire Chief Rod Olsen ex-plained that his department also used the money for new equipment. “Any money we get helps,” Olsen said. “It is appreciated. This contribu-tion says to us that ‘We recognize what you guys are and what you do for us. “Obviously what they donate doesn’t just help Devon, it helps the commu-

nity,” he said. Mazza agreed that helping the com-munity is what Devon Energy is all about. “We take these steps because we un-derstand that the people who live and work near our drilling activities are our neighbors,” Mazza said. “Being a good neighbor is one of our core values.”


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