Colorado State University Team, Including Former Gov. Bill Ritter, Led Hydraulic Fracturing Discussion at California Seminar

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, now director of the Center for the New Energy Economy, on Monday led a team of Colorado State University researchers to talk with regulators from the California Department of Conservation about research related to oil and gas production including hydraulic fracturing and policy issues.

A webcast of the panel discussion is available at http://www.calepa.ca.gov/Broadcast/.

Increasingly, industry leaders, environmental groups and communities are looking to Colorado State University to provide credible, non-partisan solutions to the complexities facing the oil and natural gas industry and the general public including issues related to water, land use, production, air, policy and cultural/social changes.

As part of that effort, Colorado State will host its second annual Natural Gas Conference on its Fort Collins campus Oct. 1-3.

The meeting in Sacramento Monday included government officials, regulatory agencies, community members, business leaders, environmental community and others. The panelists from CSU:

• Bill Ritter, founding director of the Center for the New Energy Economy, a privately funded initiative that supports the growth of a clean energy economy across the United States and assists policymakers and regulators with energy policy.
• Ken Carlson, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an expert on wastewater handling and environmental engineering
• Tom Sale, associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an expert on groundwater contamination and the development of groundwater resources
• Sally Sutton, chair of the Department of Geosciences and an expert on energy production from shale
• Bryan Willson, founder and director of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, one of the largest independent testing laboratories of its kind in the country and a world leader in the study of internal combustion engines, natural gas technology, and other technologies.

Colorado State is known nationally for its work with natural gas beginning with the earliest elements of the exploration process – from training geologists and controlling emissions to land reclamation. CSU is committed to working with industry to tackle environmental problems and to serve as good environmental stewards at the local, national, and international scale.

In particular, researchers at the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory have done more than any group in the world to address impacts of natural gas production, helping industry partners reduce environmental effects of natural gas compression as well as improve efficiency. Much of the research originated with new requirements for industry created through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 1990 Clean Air Act. Research is primarily focused on advanced ignition systems (laser, micropilot, pre-combustion chamber) fuel injection systems, and after-treatment systems (SCR, NSCR, oxidation catalysts).

For more information on the Center for the New Energy Economy, go to http://www.cnee.colostate.edu. For more information on the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, go to http://www.eecl.colostate.edu/ .

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