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Westminster College to Host Shale Waste Disposal Workshop

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Posted on Friday, September 23, 2016

Westminster College will host “Shale Waste Disposal Workshop: Community Concerns” Thursday, Sept. 29, from 5:30-7:45 p.m. in the Witherspoon Lakeview Room of the McKelvey Campus Center. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are appreciated.

The evening’s agenda includes a networking dinner, panelist presentations and community and teacher action discussion. Participants will understand the techniques of shale gas extraction and how waste is generated; be aware of the environmental, health and social concerns associated with the process; learn about the role of civic participation in addressing how the waste is handled and processed; and, for educators, consider ways to implement the topic into their classes.

Presenters include:

* Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster professor of chemistry: “The Science of Shale Gas Extraction”

* Rachel Huff, Westminster junior computer science major: the Lawrence and Mercer ALLARM website

* Dr. Jay Parrish, former Pennsylvania state geologist: “Shale Waste Disposal, Geology and Seismicity”

* Dr. Ted Auch, FracTracker Great Lakes program coordinator: “Injection Wells, Water Use and Produced Brine in Ohio”

* Chad Nicholson, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund: “Injection Wells, Laws and Community Rights”

* Stacy Wanchisn Long, Grant Township supervisor: “Local Government, Laws and Regulations”

* Photographs of shale gas extraction from the local region by the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project

The workshop can offer two Act 48 hours to educators.

Co-sponsored by the Lawrence and Mercer Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring Program (ALLARM), the workshop is presented as part of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s “Straight Scoop on Shale” initiative, supported by a Colcom Foundation grant to the League’s Citizen Education Fund.

Contact Boylan at 724-946-6293 or email lawmerallarm@gmail.com for additional information or to make reservations.