Chairman’s Letter 8/25/2010
Podcast Series: “Tom McMillen’s One on One” Tom speaks with Ernie Grunfeld, President of the Washington Wizards Basketball Team
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Podcast Series: “Tom McMillen’s One on One”
Tom speaks with Spencer Abraham, US Secretary of Energy (2001-2005) and former US Senator of Michigan.
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To view the transcript, click here. 7-13-2010 Transcript
Podcast Series: “Tom McMillen’s One on One”
Tom speaks with Gary Williams, Head Coach of University of Maryland’s Men’s College Basketball Team.
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Marcellus Shale Drilling for Natural Gas: A Promising New Source of Energy
I grew up in Mansfield, Pa. and never could have dreamed that my hometown area would become a hot spot for energy production. The natural gas now discovered in the black shale around the Appalachian Basin has the potential to generate over $1 trillion dollars of clean natural gas production. In light of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it is reassuring to see our country seek clean sources of energy for its future.
A few years ago every geologist involved in Appalachian Basin oil and gas knew about the Devonian black shale called the Marcellus. Its black color made it easy to spot in the field and its slightly radioactive signature made it a very easy pick on a geophysical well log. However, very few of these geologists were excited about the Marcellus Shale as a major source of natural gas. Wells drilled through it produced some gas but rarely in enormous quantity. Few if any in the natural gas industry suspected that the Marcellus might soon be a major contributor to the natural gas supply of the United States – large enough to be spoken of as a “super giant” gas field.
The Marcellus Shale, also referred to as the Marcellus Formation, is a Middle Devonian-age black, low density, carbonaceous (organic rich) shale that occurs in the subsurface beneath much of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Small areas of Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia are also underlain by the Marcellus Shale.
A local utility company may have started the Marcellus Shale gas play. In 2003 they drilled a Marcellus well in Washington County, Pennsylvania and found a promising flow of natural gas. They experimented with drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods that worked in the Barnett Shale of Texas. Their first Marcellus gas production from the well began in 2005. Between then and the end of 2007 more than 375 gas wells with suspected Marcellus intent had been permitted in Pennsylvania.
I am proud that our subsidiary, Safety and Ecology, is playing a role in this exploration. Because of its radioactive signature, it has been necessary to provide remediation services to the exploration companies to insure the safe handling and disposition of any radioactive waste streams. Naturally occurring radioactive material is encountered in all drilling activities and Marcellus Shale drilling is no different. The minerals commonly found in the process or flowback water used in the drills includes barium, magnesium, calcium and radium. Radium is naturally radioactive and when found in activity concentrations above a few pico-Curies per liter of water require appropriate treatment prior to discharge. SEC is actively involved in this remediation effort.
With estimates that the Marcellus might contain more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas drilling has become a business boom in Pennsylvania. Using some of the same horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods that had previously been applied in the Barnett Shale of Texas, perhaps 10% of that gas (50 trillion cubic feet) might be recoverable. That volume of natural gas would be enough to supply the entire United States for about two years.
Several companies are actively drilling or leasing Marcellus Shale properties. Range Resources, North Coast Energy, Chesapeake Energy, Chief Oil & Gas, East Resources, Fortuna Energy, Equitable Production Company, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, Southwestern Energy Production Company, and Atlas Energy Resources are some of the companies involved. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says that drilling permits are up strongly since 2005 and much of the activity increase can be attributed to wells targeting the Marcellus shale. Some of the new wells appear capable of yielding millions of cubic feet per day and that has companies working hard to acquire leases on desirable properties and complete new wells.
In light of BP’s disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, public scrutiny of all new drilling projects has naturally increased. Concerns about water pollution, loss of forests and animal habitats, damage to roads, and the need for treatment plants to deal with the water used in the drilling are some of the issues that come with a growing industry. We need to learn the lesson that good planning and proper safety measures can avoid problems before they happen especially concerning public health, safety and environmental concerns. We need to find alternatives to offshore drilling and Marcellus Shale may be a good option for accessing natural gas and providing badly needed jobs to people in my home state. Let’s show that we understand and are prepared for potential hazards and are capable and committed to doing what is required to insure safety and environmental responsibility.
I’m hosting a new online podcast series, entitled “Tom McMillen’s One on One” to discuss sports, politics and business combining my life long passions. Having enjoyed a professional career as a basketball player, congressman and businessman, I want to bring to online talk radio my own unique perspective on important issues and invite my friends and colleagues to join in the discussion. I selected Brit Kirwan as my first guest so that we could discuss money and college sports and graduation rates among athletes, which is especially relevant during graduation season. We also talk about the rise in demand for workers in the nuclear field and the need for colleges to offer courses and advanced training. The Knight Commission, which Brit Kirwan is co-chairing, is expected to make its recommendations in June about changes to the college sports system.
Check out the podcast below and let me know what you think in the comments section. I want to make this a forum for many different perspectives, including those of my listeners.
Tom McMillen
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Never Ignore the American People
The American people are increasingly worried and with good reasons. Day after day they read about the fiscal crisis in Greece and the potential for this crisis to spill over to our country. There is great angst about our growing national debt and our ability to pay the enormous sums back. This fear has been accentuated by the passage of TARP and the health care bill.
Personally, I am optimistic that we will weather this debt storm and get our fiscal house in order. We as a nation have an amazing ability to self-correct—with the ballot box serving as our primary tool. As Alexis de Tocqueville, the great 19th French historian and noted observer of America once commented “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
Bearing de Tocqueville’s thinking in mind, it is no surprise that a former Democratic Congressional colleague of mine who served ably for 27 years, Representative Alan Mollohan, lost his primary yesterday in West Virginia. Clearly, there is an anti-incumbent mood prevailing with the electorate. And, Mollohan’s race was made more difficult by the fact that his fund-raising was not strong, and ethical issues lingered. However, the real key to this race was that Cong. Mollohan’s opponent, Mike Oliverio, a West Virginia state senator, was able to define the incumbent as a big spending Washington insider. Mollohan’s votes in favor of the Wall Street bailouts and health care reform gave Oliverio all the ammunition he needed to make that label stick.
This is not an isolated occurrence. Mollohan’s loss comes on the heels of Republican Senator Robert Bennett being forced out in Utah in the Republican primary. Even as Republicans are looking to oust Democrats for their spending ways, Republicans face a similar, if not even greater challenge from the energized Tea Party movement.
The message being sent by the American people to this Congress is very clear: “We don’t care if you are Democrat or a Republican, please get our fiscal house in order!” Those who do not heed that message will be defeated at the polls. De Tocqueville was right about Americans, that we have an amazing ability to self-repair—just watch the primary election results in May, September, and the general election in November.
Tom McMillen
The Attempted Times Square Bombing
Like all Americans, I’ve watched with growing interest and concern the events that have unfolded before our eyes beginning on Saturday with the mysterious car parked in Times Square and leading up to the arrest of an American citizen on Monday night at JFK airport. Luckily for all of us, no one was hurt and I commend the policemen and pedestrians who acted quickly and appropriately. As Lance Orton, the street vendor who first reported the vehicle to the police rightly said about his actions, “It was simple: if you see something, say something.”
This incident underscores the need for all Americans to be vigilant in reporting suspicious activity. Although the event reminds once again how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks, it is also demonstrates how every one of us plays a role in maintaining our security.
As I watched the media cover this event, I couldn’t help but think of that fateful day in Munich, Germany in 1972 when I was a member of the US Olympic Committee and woke up in the Olympic Village to see that terrorists had stormed the Village and taken the Israeli athletes hostage. Who would have ever thought that a platform built for sport would turn into a platform for terrorism? We can never predict when the next terrorist incident will occur. All we can do is try to be prepared, be watchful, and not hesitate to notify authorities if irregularities are observed. We may not stop all future attacks but if we are vigilant, we will deter many as we did in Times Square.
Tom McMillen
Oil Spill: A Wake Up Call on Energy
The oil spill now jeopardizing the fragile Louisiana coast is yet another example of the risks that carbon-based energy exploration and production present to our communities and the environment. The slick, which is now the size of the nation of Jamaica, will hit the Gulf Coast as early as today. Five thousand barrels of oil a day continue to pump into the Gulf of Mexico with no clear end in sight. Efforts to contain the spill are being undermined by high winds and seas. This could easily end up being the largest environmental disaster in our nation’s history.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries the spill is jeopardizing over 600 species of animals, a number of which are already at risk—whales, manatees. Soon the news will be filled with heart-wrenching photos of oil–drenched birds and dolphin. Miles and miles of beautiful beaches and coastline will be damaged.
At the same time, the spill threatens Gulf Coast communities. Especially at risk is the local Louisiana seafood industry, made up mostly of family-run businesses—fishermen and oystermen—which are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. This spill could be the death not just of an industry but of a way of life along the Coast.
If this spill isn’t enough of a wake up call of the risks of carbon-based energy, don’t forget that just over two weeks ago a mine disaster cost the lives of 29 coal miners. As we face this massive slick on our Gulf Coast, they are still grieving in the small hamlet of Montcoal and across the Mountain State of West Virginia.
Moreover, this is to say nothing of the potential for widespread environmental harm from the long-term effects of global climate change from carbon-based fuels. While clean coal and oil, despite these tragedies, are important to assuring America’s energy independence in the future, we must not ignore the potential for nuclear power.
Environmentally sustainable nuclear energy needs to be a critical, driving component of our national energy strategy. Nuclear power produces no greenhouse gases or air pollutants. We don’t need to despoil our lands, seas or shores to explore for and produce nuclear power. And, the amount of nuclear power we generate is limited solely by the number of plants in operation. It is for these reasons that I voted in favor of expanding nuclear power generation during my time in Congress.
To be sure, we need to make our nuclear plants secure and safe—and the industry has shown a strong commitment to doing just that. Additionally, we need to ensure that the wastes produced from past and future nuclear programs are properly secured and disposed. Homeland Security Capital’s subsidiary, Safety and Ecology Corporation (SEC), is a leader in nuclear material security and disposal. SEC’s track record in nuclear material management and waste disposal demonstrates that we can ensure that the entire lifecycle of nuclear power generation can be done in an environmentally safe and sound manner.
America needs energy—we need it to power our lives, drive our economy, and light our future. However, powering our country doesn’t have to destroy our nation’s lands, seas and shores. It doesn’t mean that we have to put local communities and local jobs—ways of life that stretch back across our history—at risk. We can have a brighter future for our country, while preserving our natural riches for Americans, now and for tomorrow.
Tom McMillen
Homeland Security Capital Corporation Chairman and former Congressman Tom McMillen recently authored an op-ed in The Hill, where he took on the critical issue of childhood obesity and inactivity in the United States.
“Over 25 million American children over the age of six are obese or overweight. Among children ages six to eleven this represents a five-fold increase in just the last 30 years. This youth obesity epidemic is estimated to result in a 300 percent increase in national healthcare costs.”
McMillen, a former Chair of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under President Clinton, noted that the United States needs an strong Council to be effective in the fight against childhood obesity and inactivity. The Council has suffered from a lack of resources in recent years and McMillen has worked with Congressmen Sarbanes and Warner to develop legislation that would form a foundation, similar to the National Park Foundation, that would assist the Council through private-sector funding.
“No federal dollars would be required. This legislation, H.R. 4322 in the House and S. 1275 in the Senate, is currently pending in Congress. Its passage would go a long way to funding a national commitment for youth sports and fitness and would bring much needed resources to fighting this epidemic. ”
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Securing Our World
As the Nuclear Security Summit proceeds in Washington this week, I applaud President Obama’s commitment to taking the right steps towards making America and the world a safer place by reducing the threat of nuclear weapons. Over 40 world leaders are attending the summit for the purpose of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists.
The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) outlines the Obama Administration’s approach to promoting the President’s agenda for reducing nuclear dangers, while also advancing broader U.S. security interests. Here’s the link to the full report:
http://www.defense.gov/npr/docs/2010 Nuclear Posture Review Report.pdf
Already, our subsidiary, SEC, is actively engaged in the effort to reduce the threat of nuclear waste and has recently been awarded significant contracts for clean up at the Oak Ridge facilities. Our experience gives me confidence that the strategy that Obama has laid out in the report can actually be accomplished in upcoming years. I expect SEC will actively contribute to efforts by this Administration to ’secure all vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide.’ In fact, while a relatively small company, SEC can be viewed as a case study for what the procedures are for securing U.S. nuclear waste and thereby making Obama’s vision of a safer environment a reality.
Tom McMillen