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Eureka Resources to build wastewater facility in Bradford County
WILLIAMSPORT — Eureka Resources, LLC, announced today that it will construct a world-class centralized wastewater treatment facility in Standing Stone Township, Bradford County, to treat wastewater generated during development of oil and gas wells in the Marcellus and Utica Shale.
Plans for the facility include installation of Eureka’s industry-leading treatment process that allows for recycling of Marcellus and Utica shale water for use at future well sites as well as a concentrated brine crystallizer to allow for beneficial reuse of valuable byproducts that can be extracted from the water.
“Bradford County saw more drilling activity than any other Pennsylvania county last year,” said Eureka’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Ertel. “This facility will provide gas producers in this area with a treatment option that is closer to home and helps reduce the number of trucks needed for off-site disposal and their associated costs, noise and pollution.”
The facility will be constructed in two phases. Phase 1, expected to be completed by year-end 2012, will include pretreatment and bulk storage tank systems capable of pretreatment of 10,000 barrels per day of multiple fluids, including drilling muds, flow back water and produced water. The treated water will be trucked offsite for reuse by gas well developers, temporarily stored onsite for reuse later, or disposed of through Eureka’s existing Williamsport facility.
Phase 2 will include construction of a concentrated brine crystallizer that will allow Eureka to provide advanced treatment of the pretreated effluent. The first such facility to process highly concentrated brine for reuse from Marcellus wastewater in Pennsylvania, the crystallizer unit will generate solid-phase crystallized salt cake, concentrated liquid brine purge stream and distilled water, depending on the needs of the oil and gas operator. Completion of Phase 2 is expected in the third quarter of 2013.
“Not only will this facility provide another reuse option for Marcellus wastewater, it will also reduce the need for the disposal of concentrated brine, which typically has been trucked to injection wells in Ohio,” Ertel said. “The highly concentrated brine will be reusable in the natural gas and hydro fracturing industry, and the remaining waste after the crystallization process may be disposed of in landfills as solid waste.”
The proposed facility will operate 24-hours per day, seven days per week and will employ approximately 16 full-time employees.
Eureka is obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and permits to construct the facility. The company already holds a WMGR123 permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Waste Management to treat oil and gas wastewater.
The company’s Williamsport wastewater treatment plant has been operating since 2008 and has undergone multiple upgrades to add more capabilities. It is the only facility treating Marcellus wastewater that meets the Pennsylvania DEP’s stringent standards for discharge into the state’s rivers or streams.
“Eureka continues to lead the industry in wastewater treatment,” Ertel said. “Our first centralized treatment plant in Williamsport is a truly world-class facility and is the only plant that meets Pennsylvania DEP’s latest upgraded standards that enable Eureka’s ultra clean effluent to be stored and transported again as fresh water. In fact, Eureka is the only company that can treat and return water to the customer that is considered dewasted and can be stored and handled as such. We plan to bring those same high standards to the Standing Stone facility.”
Category: Economic Development, Energy, Jobs, Marcellus Shale News, PA Business Central, Small Business /
Local scientist named SBA exporter of the year
JOHNSTOWN – This month, people across the country will participate in charitable events for a breast cancer cure. Each day Dr. Richard Somiari, president and chief scientific officer of Integrated Technologies & Services International in Johnstown, works with his 11-member scientific team analyzing blood for biomarkers to help develop a blood test that can screen for breast cancer.
“Our research may help to create a blood test that will lead to early detection of breast cancer as it sometimes can take 15 years for a lump to appear,” said Somiari. “The test will be of great service to women in rural areas as well as men – who can also contract breast cancer.”
Recently named SBA Region III and Western Pennsylvania Exporter of the Year, Somiari decided after one year as an intern to study applied science, subsequently completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry and started working as a scientist, then formed a research facility to share his biotechnology and genetic profiling expertise with the worldwide medical community.
Somiari will be lauded on May 25 at the Western Pennsylvania SBA Awards Luncheon at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel Pittsburgh. The luncheon is held in conjunction with the 49th annual celebration of National Small Business Week.
Like the other 68 district winners, his nomination was forwarded to their respective regional office – in this case Region 3, which spans Delaware, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia – where he became the regional winner.
The breast cancer screening effort is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health. The grant is a rarity for the seven-year-old firm, which relies on exporting its technological services in order to succeed.
Growing up in Nigeria, Somiari spent time at hospitals with his widowed mother, a nurse and the family provider. Witnessing both joyous and sorrowful medical outcomes, he realized he wanted to join the medical research community. Recruited to the area in 2000 to launch the Windber Research Institute, Somiari said he believes the daily research and analysis his team conducts will help meet tomorrow’s medical needs.
“My main motivation in forming ITSI was to accelerate discovery and the validation of basic research results without going through many bureaucratic layers,” he said. “We offer analytical services on tissue samples, produce analytical testing kits and offer consulting services.”
Somiari, once a fellow at the University of Maryland School Of Medicine, began with virtually no clients in the United States. Instead, his testing kits have been sent to Nigeria and Europe, where he has research contacts.
“The Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission came to me about opportunities to export to Europe and beyond, as everyone wants to export to the United States,” he said. “In the bioscience world, everything that comes out of the U.S. is of the highest standard.”
His company, which utilized three SBA loans for equipment, working capital and construction, has at various times been awarded consulting contracts in South Africa and Nigeria. In Nigeria, ITSI was contracted to design, equip, train and support the Nigerian Defense Headquarters military DNA banking and analysis center. The reference DNA bank will allow identification of fallen military personnel and support biomedical research of national significance. Somiari also began creating analytical kits that ensure accuracy in the biomedical research field.
“This service started by accident as people want to do what we are doing, but in their own laboratory to validate their research. Because samples often arrived in different conditions due to packaging, pre-processing and temperature and this can make the results obtained different,” he explained. “We make kits that are standardized, contain the necessary and appropriate chemicals and even exact protocol on how to perform the analysis.”
ITSI also provides analytical services to help universities and drug manufacturers unlock the mysteries of cancer, often by analyzing proteins and DNA.
“Every human being has a unique order of molecules that make up their DNA, and machines can determine the order of the ATCG molecules that make up DNA,” he said. “Certain diseases, like cancer, arise because of sequential errors in DNA.”
He added that the human body has molecules that act as a proofreader and altered sequences detected can be repaired. But problems arise when errors go unrepaired and multiple errors accumulate over time.
“Our research effort is not used to treat patients today, but to gain more insight as today’s medical treatments are the results of studies performed 10-15 years ago.”
According to Somiari, ITSI finally is receiving attention from United States scientists who pore over scientific journals and find out that other scientists have used ITSI’s kits or services. “Scientists have to cite the source of any chemicals used and where they were purchased,” he said. “Therefore, scientists who want to do the same research will naturally purchase the same product, which often is our product.”
PGP closes on purchase of Clearfield grain processing facility
CLEARFIELD — Pennsylvania Grain Processing, LLC has closed upon the purchase of a grain processing facility in Clearfield.
The facility can process up to 40 million bushels of grain per year into 110 million gallons of ethanol and 330,000 tons of dry distiller’s grain with solubles. Ethanol is a renewable, cleaner burning, high-octane, domestic source of fuel that today meets 10 percent of U.S. gasoline demand. DDGS is a high-value animal feed.
PGP plans to have the facility back into production sometime during late June or early July. PGP expects to make a positive impact on the community while bringing new business opportunities to the region. The company has hired all of the plant’s previous employees and plans to hire additional employees for new positions.
Apart from direct employment at the facility, some of those opportunities include supplying grain and services to the plant, rail and truck transportation, and a new source of ethanol and distiller’s grain for the marketplace.
“We are optimistic about PGP’s future and look forward to commencing production at the plant. As with any production facility, Pennsylvania Grain Processing will face challenges but also has many strengths and opportunities,” said Dan Meeuwsen, company manager. “We are committed to developing those strengths and opportunities to soundly position the facility for long term success.”
PGP is an affiliate of Zeeland Farm Services, Inc.®, a 60-year-old, diversified agricultural and transportation company headquartered in West Michigan. ZFS comprises four separate divisions: Zeeland Farm Services, Inc., Zeeland Farm Soya, Inc.®, Zeeland Freight Services, Inc.®, and Zeeland Food Services, Inc.® ZFS’ wide array of specialty products and services include soybean processing, feed ingredients, grain marketing, a full-service elevator, ZFSelect® soybean seeds, Zoye® soybean oils, transportation and maintenance. Another affiliate of ZFS, Nebraska Corn Processing, LLC (NCP), owns and operates a facility that processes grain into ethanol and distiller’s grain in southwest Nebraska.
ZFS has taken innovative measures to be environmentally friendly, including running its soybean processing facility on renewable energy from a local landfill, co-generating renewable power and steam and building a LEED silver certified administration building.
Winners to be announced in shale gas innovation competition
HARRISBURG – Winners of the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation Competition will be announced from 2 to 4 p.m. May 22 in the Leland Board Room on the second floor of the Harrisburg Hilton, located at One North Second Street.
Each finalist will present to the judges a brief power point presentation starting at 2 p.m. At the conclusion of the day’s events, two winners will be awarded $25,000 by C. Alan Walker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development.
The finalists and an overview of their projects were announced in April:
- Aither Chemicals, LLC — Conversion of ethane to petrochemicals
- EMS Energy Institute — Converting natural gas to DME as a transportation fuel
- Greenways, Inc. — Mobile filter press treatment of shale wastewater
- HydroConfidence, Inc. — Hydrocarbon and cement integrity detection for groundwater and the freshwater casing
- J&J Truck Bodies & Trailers — Dust control to eliminate emissions during fracking
- Larson Transportation Institute — Optimizing dual fuel diesel/natural gas engines
- MicroEnergies, LLC — Microchannel Fischer Tropsh natural gas to liquid fuel well head application
- OsComp Ltd — Rotary compressor that allows natural gas & NGL to be piped together from the well head
- Polymics Ltd — Lightweight, durable, reusable leak proof mats for pad construction
- ProChem Tech International, Inc. — Sequential precipitation and fractional crystallization treatment of shale wastewater
- Seraph Energy, LLC — Engine conversion system from diesel to all natural gas
- S4 Worldwide, LLC — Mobile real-time site monitoring and security.
Category: Energy, Marcellus Shale News /
Crowdfunding Seminar hosted by the TechCelerator@StateCollege
STATE COLLEGE — Crowdfunding allows entrepreneurs to use online communities to solicit pledges for small amounts of money from individuals who are typically not professional financiers. With the passage of the JOBS Act, securities-backed crowdfunding for small companies is now an option.
Do you know the legal requirements for seeking crowdfunding? What about the type of disclosures that you need to make to potential investors? Do you know the circumstances in which there is a potential for personal liability if your company gets sued? Do you know when you can start crowdfunding?
To learn how to legally take advantage of crowdfunding, sign up to hear Sara Hanks, the CEO of CrowdCheck and a former senior SEC lawyer with over 30 years of securities law experience, and Brian Knight, CrowdCheck director of Entrepreneur Services, talk about your rights and responsibilities when seeking crowdfunding.
The presentation will cover how the law has changed to allow crowdfunding, which companies are eligible, how much money you can raise, where you can raise it, and the legal requirements and pitfalls facing companies that use crowdfunding.
This is a free session. Seating is limited to the first 50 registrants.
For more information, contact Don McCandless, Ben Franklin Transformation Business Services Network, at 814-865-2040 or dlm74@psu.edu. To register: http://www.sbdc.psu.edu/seminar-registration.asp
Chamber celebrates 13 business milestones in two months
SHAMOKIN DAM — By May 19, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce will have helped cut a ribbon or break ground on projects for 13 different members, all in less than eight weeks.
Jennifer Daddario, the Chamber’s director of membership development, has helped cut more than 500 ribbons in her 15-year tenure. Add groundbreakings to that and she is up to 600.
She says this eight-week period contains more of the ceremonies for businesses and non-profits than she has ever seen. The ribbon cuttings celebrate the openings of new businesses, anniversaries, relocations and the reopening of expanded or remodeled business locations.
“This is surely an encouraging sign,” GSVCC President Charlie Ross said, “not only that our trying economic times may be coming to an end, but also of the enduring nature of our regional economy. This boom in business milestones is a proud testament to the hardworking men and women of our Valley.”
The majority of the recent ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings are occurring in Northumberland and Union counties.
The public is invited to attend the upcoming ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies:
Med Express Urgent Care, Shamokin Dam – 1 p.m., May 9
Pik Rite, Lewisburg – 1 p.m., May 11
Zimmerman’s Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Sunbury – 4 p.m., May 15
Mountain Aviation, Riverside – 1 p.m., May 17
Decorating Center, Mifflinburg – 11 a.m., May 19
RTC Home Improvements, Mifflinburg – 1 p.m., May 19
Category: Chamber news, Economic Development, General News, Jobs, PA Business Central, Small Business /
Local collection of state taxes rises in Marcellus Shale counties
From PSU Ag Sciences
UNIVERSITY PARK — Natural-gas development appears to be having a positive effect on the local collection of state taxes in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region, according to an analysis by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
“Because it’s still early in the development of Marcellus Shale, there’s a lot we can’t know yet about its long-term economic impact,” said Timothy Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics. “However, state tax collection information gathered by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue can provide insight into the short-run economic and tax implications of gas development.”
Kelsey is co-author of “Marcellus Shale and Local Collection of State Taxes: What the 2011 Pennsylvania Tax Data Say,” a white paper published by the Penn State Center for Economic and Community Development.
The report — which updates a similar analysis done last year using 2010 data — looks at county-level state tax collections from 2007 to 2011 and analyzes that information in the context of local natural-gas activity. “The data continue to show distinct differences between counties with Marcellus Shale gas drilling and those without,” Kelsey said.
Using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the researchers categorized Pennsylvania counties based on the number of Marcellus Shale gas wells drilled during the study years. Changes in state tax collections within each county were calculated, and the average change within each category also was calculated.
The report suggests that significant effects are seen in state sales tax collections, which reflect the level of retail activity in a county. The data indicate sales tax collections in counties with significant Marcellus development continued to outperform collections in counties with less or no Marcellus activity.
“For example, sales tax collections in counties with 150 or more Marcellus wells drilled between 2007 and 2011 rose an average of nearly 24 percent during those years, compared to an average decrease of about 5 percent in counties with no Marcellus activity,” Kelsey said. “Sales tax collections dropped in only three of the 23 counties with more than 10 Marcellus wells, compared to decreases in 22 of the 32 counties with no Marcellus Shale drilling.”
The increases were particularly dramatic in Bradford County (50.8 percent), Greene County (31.4 percent) and Susquehanna County (27.4 percent), three of the top six counties in the number of Marcellus gas wells. “The data support anecdotes we hear about Marcellus development increasing local retail activity,” he said.
The report also addresses the state realty transfer tax, which is a 1 percent levy on the sale of real estate. Changes in this revenue can result from changes in the average value of properties sold, changes in the number of transactions, or a combination of both factors.
Collection of this tax from 2007 to 2011 suffered across the state due to the national collapse of the housing bubble. But the researchers found that Marcellus counties appeared to be somewhat buffered from the housing downturn, generally exceeding the statewide average.
Counties with 150 or more Marcellus gas wells, on average, saw state realty transfer tax collections rise an average of 4.3 percent, compared to an average 33.4 percent decline in counties with no Marcellus drilling. “The data suggest that collections in the counties without Marcellus Shale drilling on average continued to decline over these years, while the collections in high-activity Marcellus counties were trending in the opposite direction,” Kelsey said.
Finally, the researchers looked at state personal income tax collections covering 2007 to 2009, which was the last year for which data were available. The Department of Revenue reports the data by taxpayers’ county of residence, so the filings do not reflect workers commuting into a county or whose legal residence is out of state. Nevertheless, a similar trend emerged, according to the report.
Total taxable income in the counties with the most Marcellus activity — 90 or more wells — rose by an average of 6.3 percent during the period, compared to an average county-level decline of 5.5 percent statewide. The average rise in income in high-activity Marcellus counties was fueled by increases in salaries and wages (3.3 percent); rights, royalties and patents (441.5 percent), which reflects gas lease and royalty payments; and net profits (1.4 percent).
However, counties with fewer than 90 Marcellus wells through 2009 saw decreases in both personal income and in the amount of state income tax collected.
Despite the increased income in counties with significant natural-gas development, the impact of Marcellus activity on the total amount of state personal income tax collected by the commonwealth appears relatively small, the researchers report. For instance, the counties with 90 or more wells accounted for only 2.8 percent of total personal income tax collection in 2009.
“The total combined increase in state income tax collections in these counties was about $533,000 in 2009, which is a good thing, especially during tight economic times,” Kelsey said. “But these county-level changes are relatively small compared to the $9.1 billion in personal income taxes collected statewide that same year.”
The report pointed out that economic activity in these counties is affected by a variety of factors besides natural-gas development and that drilling by itself cannot fully explain the changes and the differences between counties. The researchers also said that, in some cases, there was a wide variation between counties within the same levels of drilling activity, so what occurred in any given county may be different than the averages.
“It’s important to note that this analysis does not include impacts on other state revenues — such as permit fees and the liquid-fuels tax — nor does it address the costs of Marcellus development, such as the demands on state agencies, public services or the environment,” Kelsey said.
“In addition, the report does not shed light on the impact of Marcellus development on local government and school district tax collections, since royalty and leasing income is exempt from the local earned income tax, and local municipalities can’t impose sales taxes.”
The full report, which was co-authored by Charles Costanzo, an undergraduate student in the Community, Environment and Development major, is available online in PDF format at http://psu.ag/J7qIiA.
Workers train for natural gas careers at Penn State DuBois
DuBOIS – Penn State DuBois has partnered with several organizations connected to the natural gas industry to offer training that will prepare individuals for careers in the Marcellus Shale boom, at very little cost.
The Floor Hand Training Program currently running at the campus will provide all of the training and certifications the students in the program need to enter the workforce on a gas well drilling site as a floor hand. Tuition for the program is covered by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Floor hands operate and maintain drilling systems and pumps by connecting and disconnecting pipes, inspecting derricks, cleaning and oiling derricks and performing other general maintenance tasks around the rig.
In launching the program’s initial class, the partners focused on offering the opportunity to military veterans returning from active service and dislocated workers.
“We have turned attention to those people who want to work, but need some assistance getting the proper training,” said John Blasdell, assistant director of Continuing Education at Penn State DuBois. “This strengthens our region’s workforce in two ways; it puts people in jobs, and it provides quality employees for companies who need them.”
The training program is a product of the collaboration between the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology, ShaleNET, the North Central Workforce Investment Board, Superior Energy Resources, Pennsylvania CareerLink and Penn State DuBois.
Once the training program is completed, the graduates will also have the opportunity to attend a job fair organized by the training providers that will help them land a job right away.
“It’s an intense program that spans three weeks,” said Blasdell, noting that those who complete the course can have advantages over workers who try to enter the industry with no prior training.
“It prepares floor hand workers for gainful employment in the shale gas industry by giving them a head start. We know what credentials are needed in the industry and we offer those credentials, plus job placement. This program demonstrates Continuing Education’s ability to serve the various needs of the of our region, from adult students interested in baccalaureate and associate degrees, to providing short-term training opportunities for quick entry into the workforce.”
Blasdell added that trained employees who have developed the proper skill sets can also quickly advance in this rapidly growing industry.
“The jobs we help to place people in are front-line, entry level jobs, but with training and a good work record, they have tremendous opportunity for promotion,” he said.
Blasdell said the jobs in the gas industry are also going to be around for a long time.
According to ShaleNET, the Marcellus Shale deposit will yield decades of gas production. The drilling of a single well requires 400 people working in nearly 150 occupations.
Blair Chamber to present Marcellus Shale workshop
ALTOONA — Workplace safety and environmental issues are hot topics in the Marcellus Shale industry. Experts in the field will take an in-depth look into the lasting impact and what it means to your business at a workshop presented by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Safety Committee.
“Marcellus Shale: Frack or Fiction”, will be held from 7:30 to 11 a.m. May 18 at the Ramada Altoona Conference Center. Keynote speaker Jim Rose, director of drilling engineering at EQT Production, will discuss the drilling process, fracking, workers’ safety and precautions.
Rose has worked for and consulted to numerous major oil and gas companies including Mobil, Chevron and others as a drilling, production or operations engineer. He has experience in many U.S. land and offshore operations.
He has also worked in numerous international locations such as Siberia, Tunisia, Gabon, Qatar and Azerbaijan. He holds several U.S. patents on environmentally focused drilling equipment.
Joining Rose for the workshop will be Stephen Brokenshire, mineral resources program specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Heidi Shelter from New Pig Corporation.
The cost to attend is $25 for chamber members and $35 for non-members. The cost includes a breakfast buffet. To register, contact the chamber at 943-8151 or online at www.blairchamber.com.
Category: Chamber news, Economic Development, Education, Energy, Marcellus Shale News, PA Business Central /
Larson Design Group appoints two new board members
WILLIAMSPORT — Larson Design Group has announced two new members are joining its board of directors. Charles “Skip” Homan and Marshall Welch, III formally joined LDG on April 24.
Welch graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in economics and German, then pursued his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He also holds an MSE in management of technology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Welch is the former CEO of Jersey Shore Steel and currently holds positions on the Lycoming College Board of Trustees and the Pennsylvania College of Technology Board of Directors. He has experience in international business, having served on boards for companies based in Hungary and Germany.
Keith Kuzio, CEO of LDG, said he sees Welch as a strong corporate advisor.
“The fact that Welch has worked with mergers and acquisitions of companies, both in the U.S. and internationally, certainly gives him a broad perspective. He’s also from Williamsport, so I think he has a good sense of the context that our organization was founded on and grew up in,” Kuzio said.
Homan obtained his B.S. in civil engineering from West Virginia University, then attended management programs at both Penn State and Harvard University. He is the former president and CEO of Michael Baker Corporation and acted as chairman at PBS&J. He has held directorships at several notable institutions, including Robert Morris University, Huntington Insurance and Sky Financial Corporation.
“He has experience with both large, publicly-traded engineering companies, as well as privately-held ESOP engineering firms,” Kuzio said. “He’s worked with companies that are larger than us that have a strong track record for growth. And he has experience in taking a firm from one level to another.”
