Spring 2007                                                                                                                                  Volume 1, Number 2

 

 

The National Ground Water Association’s 2007 Ground Water Summit will spotlight the latest issues and developments in ground water science, technology and policy on April 29-May 3 in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

President Bush recently signed into law the Rural Water Supply Act. The legislation will authorize $15 million a year for planning new water delivery infrastructure, and will establish a loan-guarantee program within the Bureau of Reclamation to help communities finance new water projects and pay for maintenance on existing water systems.

 

The bill states a rural or small community of no more than 50,000 inhabitants must have an urgent and compelling need for a rural water supply project that would help improve the health and aesthetic quality of water. This includes Indian tribes and tribal organizations, dispersed home sites or rural areas with domestic, industrial, municipal and residential water.

 

The project must result in continuous, measurable and significant water quality benefits, or address current and future water supply needs.

 

Source: nationaldriller.com

 

 

 

 

I heard a comment earlier this week that “men used to be allowed to be men.”  He was alluding to the host of regulations and training that we, as contractors, now must follow. Not only must we provide or employee’s silly hard hats and safety glasses, we are required to teach them how they are to be used, the hazards of not using them and the repercussions that we, as employers, can face for non-compliance.

 

Workers today are afforded a great deal more protection on the job than years ago. As employers, we constantly juggle directives from OSHA, the EPA, DOT, and now even the Department of Homeland Security. If there is one identifiable workplace hazard, you must train, medically monitor, or otherwise protect your workers. Everything from the chemicals in the supply cabinet, to the open excavations and dust in the warehouse require regulatory training. It wasn’t that long ago when I was training office workers on the safest way to open and sort mail for fear contracting anthrax. Yes, the times have changed.

 

B.L. Myers Health & Safety department strives to stay one step ahead of the curve. We can assist you with developing the programs you need and provide training to your employees to give you the confidence that you are staying in compliance. If your not sure what you need, or just don’t have the manpower to get it done, contact us for assistance. We provide training at our facility or yours depending on your needs.

 

For more information, contact Michael Cassella, Health & Safety Manager at mcassella@blmyers.com  or 610-942-2030 ext. 233.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bathroom sink faucets accoutn for more than 15 percent of indoor household water use -- that's more than 1 trillion gallons across the United States each year.

 

Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information see Geothermal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each week, the U.S. Department of Energy releases average gasoline and diesel prices for the United States. For the week of March 6-12, the West Coast had the highest average prices for gasoline and on-highway diesel fuel. All pries have increased this month. The average increase for gasoline was $0.26 per gallon, and the average increase for diesel fuel was $0.18 per gallon.

 

 

The Vibration Dilemma

 

Drillstring dynamic dysfunctions currently limit the use of advanced technology drill bits and related tools for drilling hard rock formations. The bit, formation, hydraulics and bottom hole assembly can interact in a complex way, resulting in a range of vibration modes. Among these are bit bounce, stick-slip and whirl. In harder formations, these

 

vibrations typically cause bit failure that is often accompanied by significant economic losses.

 

Future Benefits

 

The drilling dynamics simulator will provide a platform for developing a wide range of drilling tool technologies under representative downhole environments that are encountered in today’s hard rock drilling conditions. This capability will result in improved well construction methods and reduced production costs. It will allow development of vibration theories, hardened drill bit materials, stable bit designs, reliable passive and active dampers and other downhole tools, and improved operational methodologies.

 

Edited from: nationaldriller.com