HR: 1340h
AN: H33D-0490    [Abstracts]
TI: Using a Watershed-Based Effluent Trading Approach to Manage Coalbed Methane Produced Water in a Cost-Effective and Environmentally Sound Manner
AU: * Wang, X
EM: xwang@undeerc.org
AF: EERC, University of North Dakota, 15 North 23rd Street PO Box 9018, Grand Forks, ND 58202 United States
AU: Harju, J A
EM: jharju@undeerc.org
AF: EERC, University of North Dakota, 15 North 23rd Street PO Box 9018, Grand Forks, ND 58202 United States
AU: Bolles, B A
EM: bbolles@undeerc.org
AF: EERC, University of North Dakota, 15 North 23rd Street PO Box 9018, Grand Forks, ND 58202 United States
AB: Coalbed methane (CBM) is expected to supply much of the incremental U.S. natural gas demand in the coming decades. Extraction of methane from coal seams necessitates reduction of the hydrostatic pressure in the coalbed by removal of water, called produced water. The large volume of produced water not only raises concerns about its impact on surface water quality but also negatively affects producers' profitability because of costs associated with handling the water in a manner consistent with environmental regulatory requirements imposed by the Clean Water Act. Alternatively, watershed-based effluent trading could provide a market mechanism for managing CBM produced water and more quickly improving the overall water quality in a watershed at a lower cost. However, the complexity of appraising the potential trading options in accordance with the prerequisites of implementation feasibility and the effects on environment, economy, and equity dictates an easy-to-be-implemented tool. This paper presents a decision support tool that can be used by both water resources managers and other stakeholders to evaluate various trading options. The tool consists of a database on water quality and discharge baseline determined in terms of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Total Maximum Daily Loads, algorithms to define trading types and trading and transferability rules, a SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) watershed model, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic water quality model, and a simplified economic model. These components are seamlessly integrated with ArcView GIS to facilitate use of this tool. In addition to the prototype developed for the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana, this study formulates a general framework upon which similar tools can be created for other watersheds.
DE: 1806 Chemistry of fresh water
DE: 1842 Irrigation
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 1871 Surface water quality
DE: 1884 Water supply
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting