OSEC’s Commitment to the Environment
OSEC’s Commitment to the Environment
OSEC’s commitment to the environment will ensure full compliance to all applicable laws and regulations. OSEC’s policy reflects its deep respect for the environment and surroundings. The company will use best practices as it moves forward with developing the White River Mine.
Ken Berlin, partner at the worldwide firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, leads the firm’s Environmental Practice. He is a leading expert on energy issues, including preparing environmental assessments, reviewing environmental issues raised by energy projects, developing approaches to address global warming, analyzing the impact of greenhouse gasses on project development, and utility and manufacturing companies.
Ken Berlin observes,“OSEC is fully committed to addressing and studying all environmental issues of the facility. Again, the BLM’s direction to us was to do a very comprehensive environmental assessment, which we did. OSEC is committed to taking every measure needed to make sure the facility has no significant environmental impact going forward.”
Spent Shale
“Spent shale” is the remaining residual rock that is produced once the oil shale has been processed within the retort and the hydrocarbon mineral, known as kerogen, has been processed into shale oil. Spent shale is an inert, inorganic material that has been classified as non hazardous by the EPA. OSEC has submitted a plan to the BLM that includes storing this product within the 160-acre White River Mine site during the RD&D project. OSEC is also researching other potential applications for the spent shale that could create an additional revenue source. Applications could include uses in cement manufacturing, construction materials and road base. OSEC will also explore using the spent shale to backfill many of the dangerous, abandoned, open gilsonite veins in the region.
Mining oil shale at the White River Mine will have minimal surface impact during the RD&D phase because all mining will occur underground utilizing room and pillar mining methods.
Clean Air
Cutting edge technologies to capture and contain greenhouse gases are being developed in many different energy sectors. OSEC is researching many of these processes. Ken Berlin states, “We are looking at technologies to capture carbon dioxide, put it in a pipeline, and sequester it underground in safe locations where it can’t escape into the atmosphere, so this process does not result in greenhouse gas emissions going forward.”
Water Use
Water is as precious as gold in the West. Many community leaders express concern about additional needs for already limited water sources.
The largest needs for water are to cool the spent shale for handling, to control dust during the mining and crushing operation, and to control dust as the shale is placed in the disposal facility. Potable water is also required for the workers on the site.
It is estimated that water consumption related to the project will be in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 barrels of water for each barrel of shale oil produced. OSEC will be working with local, state and federal governments, along with other industrial users, to forecast needs in the Uinta Basin in order to develop long-term programs to assure adequate water supplies.
OSEC is committed to responsible land and water use as well as low emissions for clean air. As OSEC moves from the RD&D phases into the commercial stages, it will continue to follow all state and federal regulations to promote environmental quality.
No water is used in the retort itself to process oil shale into shale oil. Actually, the retorting process produces water from the connate water in the rock and also from the sour water in the product stream. OSEC has submitted a detailed plan to the BLM that safely deals with refuse water from the retort process.
