The lower Frio Formation in eastern Brazoria County, upper Texas Gulf Coast, was deposited in a high constructive deltaic environment in the Houston delta system. Constructive elements of the stacked, elongate to lobate deltas that were intersected in core are storm induced delta front splays, delta front slump deposits, and distributary mouth bar, distributary channel and delta plain assemblages. Reworked and winnowed abandonment facies that are volumetrically insignificant relative to constructive elements are subdivided into a crossbedded shoreface-foreshore subfacies and a fine grained cyclic sequence of storm deposits on the lower shoreface that represent a distal abandonment subfacies. Micropaleontological evidence indicates that deposition of constructive and abandonment facies took place in water depths of less than 120 feet.

The system plans, construction, integration and test, and performance evaluation are discussed for the photovoltaic power supply at the Newman Power Station in El Paso, Texas. The system consists of 64 parallel-connected panels, each panel containing nine series-connected photovoltaic modules. The system is connected, through power monitoring equipment, to an existing DC bus that supplies uninterruptible power to a computer that controls the power generating equipment. The site is described and possible environmental hazards are assessed. Site preparation and the installation of the photovoltaic panels, electrical cabling, and instrumentation subsystems are described. System testing includes initial system checkout, module performance test, control system test. A training program for operators and maintenance personnel is briefly described, including visual aids. Performance data collection and analysis are described, and actual data are compared with a computer simulation. System drawings are included. (LEW)

The potential for solr process heat applications for federal buildings in Texas is assessed. The three sites considered are Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock; Fort Bliss, El Paso; and Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene. The application at Lubbock is an electroplating and descaling facility for aircraft maintenance. The one at El Paso is a laundry facility. The Abilene system would use solar heat to preheat boiler feedwater makeup for the base hospital boiler plant. The Lubbock site is found to be the most appropriate one for a demonstration plant, with the Abilene site as an alternate. The processes at each site are described. A preliminary evaluation of the potential contribution by solar energy to the electroplating facility at Reese AFB is included. (LEW)

The Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a site characterization plan for the candidate site in Deaf Smith County, Texas. The DOE has provided, for information and review, a consultation draft of the plan to the State of Texas and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The site characterization plan is a lengthy document that describes in considerable detail the program that will be conducted to characterize the geologic, hydrologic, and other conditions relevant to the suitability of the site for a repository. The overview presented here consists of brief summaries of important topics covered in the consultation draft of the site characterization plan; it is not a substitute for the site characterization plan. The arrangement of the overview is similar to that of the plan itself, with brief descriptions of the repository system - the site, the repository, and the waste package - preceding the discussion of the characterization program to be carried out at the Deaf Smith County site. It is intended primarily for the management staff of organizations involved in the DOE's repository program or other persons who might wish to understand the general scope of the site-characterization program, the activities to be conducted, and the facilities to …

Twenty-three shale samples ranging in depth from 5194 ft to 13,246 ft from Gulf Oil Corporation No. 2 Texas State Lease 53034 well and 33 shale samples ranging in depth from 2185 ft to 15,592 ft from General Crude Oil Company/Department of Energy No. 1 Pleasant Bayou well were examined by x-ray techniques to determine the mineralogy of the geopressured zone in the Brazoria Fairway. Both wells have similar weight-percent trends with depth for a portion of the mineralogy. Calcite decreases, and plagioclase, quartz and total clay increase slightly. Within the clays, illite in mixed-layer illite/smectite (I/S) increases and smectite in mixed-layer I/S decreases. Four minerals have distinctly different trends with depth for each well. In the No. 2 Texas State Lease 53034 well, potassium feldspar and mixed-layer I/S decrease, kaolinite increases, and discrete illite is constant. In the No. 1 Pleasant Bayou well, potassium feldspar and kaolinite are constant, mixed-layer I/S increases, and discrete illite decreases.

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and the eight other potentially sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Deaf Smith County site as one of the five sites suitable for characterization. 591 refs., 147 figs., 173 tabs.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 USC sections 10101-10226) requires the environmental assessment of a proposed site to include a statement of the basis for nominating a site as suitable for characterization. Volume 2 provides a detailed statement evaluating the site suitability of the Deaf Smith County Site under DOE siting guidelines, as well as a comparison of the Deaf Smith County Site to the other sites under consideration. The evaluation of the Deaf Smith County Site is based on the impacts associated with the reference repository design, but the evaluation will not change if based on the Mission Plan repository concept. The second part of this document compares the Deaf Smith County Site to Davis Canyon, Hanford, Richton Dome and Yucca Mountain. This comparison is required under DOE guidelines and is not intended to directly support subsequent recommendation of three sites for characterization as candidate sites. 259 refs., 29 figs., 66 refs. (MHB)

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of the nine potentially acceptable sites for mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines.

In February 1983, the US Department of Energy (DOE) identified a location in Deaf Smith County, Texas, as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. To determine their suitability, the Deaf Smith County site and eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE's General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. The Deaf Smith County site is in the Permian Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. On the basis of the evaluations reported in this EA, the DOE has found that the Deaf Smith County site is not disqualified under the guidelines. On the basis of these findings, the DOE is nominating the Deaf Smith County site as one of five sites suitable for characterization. 3 figs.

As part of a small scale sequestration test (about 1500 tonsof CO2) in a saline aquifer, time-lapse borehole seismic surveys wereconducted to aid in characterization of subsurface CO2 distribution andmaterial property changes induced by the injected CO2. A VSP surveydemonstrated a large increase (about 75 percent) in seismic reflectivitydue to CO2 injection and allowed estimation of the spatial extent of CO2induced changes. A crosswell survey imaged a large seismic velocitydecrease (up to 500 m/s) within the injection interval and provided ahigh resolution image of this velocity change which maps the subsurfacedistribution of CO2 between two wells. Numerical modeling of the seismicresponse uses the crosswell measurements to show that this small CO2volume causes a large response in the seismic reflectivity. This resultdemonstrates that seismic detection of small CO2 volumes in salineaquifers is feasible and realistic.

First order leveling to be conducted as part of an environmental monitoring program for a geopressured test well was reported. 39.43 kilometers of first order levels were run to NGS specifications. Twelve Class B type bench marks were set to NGS specifications. The adjusted elevation of bench mark C-1209 was used as a starting elevation and is based on a supplementary adjustment of April 6, 1979 by NGS. The closure for the loop around the well site is -0.65 millimeters. The distance around the loop is 1.29 kilometers, the allowable error of closure was 4.54 millimeters. The initial leveling of this well was performed in 1977. A thorough search for their monumentation was conducted. No monuments were found due to the lack of adequate monument descriptions. Therefore, an elevation comparison summary for this report is only available along the NGS lines outside the well area. The first order level tie to line No. 101 (BMA-1208) was +3.37 millimeters in 17.21 kilometers. The allowable error of closure was 12.44 millimeters.

Comparisons between leveling surveys of different epochs are used to determine vertical displacement of permanent bench marks. Displacement of bench marks usually represents the movement of the surrounding area. In this report, the 1978 Houston-Galveston and Texas Gulf Coast releveling surveys are compared to the 1963, 1973, and 1976 releveling results. The changes in elevations of bench marks common to two or more epochs are tabulated and plotted in Appendix A. From these differences, contour maps were prepared for the 1963 to 1978 and 1973 to 1978 epochs in the 2/sup 0/ x 2/sup 0/ area of maximum subsidence. Annual subsidence rates computed for the 1973 to 1978 period are about 25% less in the maximum subsidence area than the rates computed for the 1963 to 1973 period.

This compilation identities all locations of potential source of geothermal fluids in Texas available as of December 1981. 7 refs. (ACR)

The Saldana Well No. 2, approximately 35 miles Southeast of the city of Laredo, Texas, was the sixth successful test of a geopressured-geothermal aquifer under the DOE Wells of Opportunity Program. The well was tested through the annulus between 7-inch casing and 2-3/8 inch tubing. The interval tested was from 9745 to 9820 feet. The geological section was the 1st Hinnant Sand, an upper member of the Wilcox Group. Produced water was injected into the Saldana Well No. 1, which was also acquired from Riddle Oil Company and converted to a disposal well. A Miocene salt water sand was perforated from 3005 to 3100 feet for disposal. One pressure drawdown flow test and one pressure buildup test were conducted during a 10-day period. A total of 9328 barrels of water was produced. The highest sustained flow rate was 1950 BWPD.

On March 25, 1986, the ICE spacecraft came within 28 x 10/sup 6/ km of the nucleus of comet Halley. For several days around this time, bursts of heavy ions were observed by the ICE energetic ion experiment. These bursts were observed only during periods when the solar wind velocity was considerably higher than its nominal value. We examine the characteristics of these ions, in particular their anisotropies. Using the well known formulae for transformation of distributions from the solar wind frame of reference to the spacecraft frame, we examine the angular distributions expected from either protons, or heavy ions from the water group, and show that the measurements are consistent with heavy ions, and not with protons. We discuss other sources of heavy ions and conclude that the most likely source of these ions is comet Halley. 9 refs., 5 figs.

The Pauline Kraft Well No. 1 was originally drilled to a depth of 13,001 feet and abandoned as a dry hole. The well was re-entered in an effort to obtain a source of GEO/sup 2/ energy for a proposed gasohol manufacturing plant. The well was tested through a 5-inch by 2-3/8 inch annulus. The geological section tested was the Frio-Anderson sand of Mid-Oligocene age. The interval tested was from 12,750 to 12,860 feet. A saltwater disposal well was drilled on the site and completed in a Micocene sand section. The disposal interval was perforated from 4710 to 4770 feet and from 4500 to 4542 feet. The test well failed to produce water at substantial rates. Initial production was 34 BWPD. A large acid stimulation treatment increased productivity to 132 BWPD, which was still far from an acceptable rate. During the acid treatment, a failure of the 5-inch production casing occurred. The poor production rates are attributed to a reservoir with very low permeability and possible formation damage. The casing failure is related to increased tensile strain resulting from cooling of the casing by acid and from the high surface injection pressure. The location of the casing failure is now known …

The Nevada Operations Office of the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) has contracted with Petroleum Technology Corporation (PTC) to perform a gas stimulation program by chemical explosive fracturing (CEF) in the Canyon sands of the Val Verde - Kerr Basin of Sutton County, Texas. This lenticular tight sand deposit, underlying much of southwestern Texas, contains large volumes of natural gas. To date this formation has yielded only marginal amounts of gas because of its low porosity and permeability. The semi-arid environment of the Aldwell/Sawyer field is characterized by dry arroyos and xeric vegetation. Population is sparse and sheep ranching is the primary occupation. Because of the existence of previously drilled oil and gas wells, road and pipeline construction will be minimal. Impacts from this two well project are expected to be minimal and be confined to temporary surface disruption and increased erosion at the well site.

An aerial radiological survey was conducted over the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory (SSCL) site from July 22 through August 20,1991. Parallel lines were flown at intervals of 305 meters over a 1,036-square-kilometer (400-square-mile) area surrounding Waxahachie, Texas. The 70,000 terrestrial gamma energy spectra obtained were reduced to an exposure rate contour map overlaid on a United States Geological Survey (USGS) map of the area. The mean terrestrial exposure rate measured was 5.4 {mu}R/h at 1 meter above ground level. Comparison to ground-based measurements shows good agreement. No anomalous or man-made isotopes were detected.

Meteorologic data from the Pantex Plant and from the nearby National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Amarillo, Texas, International Airport were evaluated to determine if the NWS data adequately represented meteorologic conditions at the Pantex Plant. Annual site environmental dose calculations for the Pantex Plant have previously used the NWS data; information from this data comparison helped determine if future environmental dose calculations should use site-specific Pantex meteorologic data. The meteorologic data evaluated were wind speed, wind direction, and atmospheric stability class. Atmospheric stability class data were compared for years 1990 and 1991 and found to be very similar. Stability class designations were identical and one class different in 63% and 30%, respectively, of the paired hourly data. An unexpected finding was the preponderance of Class D stability, which occurred approximately 62% of the time in both data sets. The overall effect of meteorological differences between the two locations was evaluated by performing environmental dose assessments using the GENII dose assessment computer code. Acute and chronic releases of {sup 3}H and {sup 239}Pu were evaluated. Results using the NWS Amarillo meteorologic data were approximately one-half of those generated using Pantex meteorologic data. The two-fold difference in dose results is …

For a variety of reasons, thousands of oil and gas wells have been abandoned in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States. Many of these wells penetrated geopressured zones whose resource potential for power generation was undervalued or ignored. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geopressured-Geothermal Research Program was chartered to improve geothermal technology to the point where electricity could be commercially produced from a substantial number of geopressured resource sites. This research program focused on relatively narrow technical issues that are unique to geopressured resources such as the ability to predict reservoir production capacity based on preliminary flow tests. Three well sites were selected for the research program. These are the Willis Hulin and Gladys McCall sites in Louisiana, and the Pleasant Bayou site in Texas. The final phase of this research project consists of plug and abandonment (P&A) of the wells and site restoration.

Remote sensing images provide useful physical information, revealing such features as geological structure, vegetation, drainage patterns, and variations in consolidated and unconsolidated lithologies. That technology has been applied to the failed Sierra Blanca (Faskin Ranch) shallow burial low-level radioactive waste disposal site selected by the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority. It has been re-examined using data from LANDSAT satellite series. The comparison of the earlier LANDSAT V (5/20/86) (30-m resolution) with the later new, higher resolution ETM imagery (10/23/99) LANDSAT VII data (15-m resolution) clearly shows the superiority of the LANDSAT VII data. The search for surficial indications of evidence of fatal flaws at the Sierra Blanca site utilizing was not successful, as it had been in the case of the earlier remote sensing analysis of the failed Fort Hancock site utilizing LANDSAT V data. The authors conclude that the tectonic activity at the Sierra Blanca site is much less recent and active than in the previously studied Fort Hancock site. The Sierra Blanca site failed primarily on the further needed documentation concerning a subsurface fault underneath the site and environmental justice issues. The presence of this fault was not revealed using the newer LANDSAT VII data. Despite this …

Commercial and centralized drilling-fluid disposal (CCDD) sites receive a portion of spent drilling fluids for disposal from oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) operations. Many older and some abandoned sites may have operated under less stringent regulations than are currently enforced. This study provides a census, compilation, and summary of information on active, inactive, and abandoned CCDD sites in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, intended as a basis for supporting State-funded assessment and remediation of abandoned sites. Closure of abandoned CCDD sites is within the jurisdiction of State regulatory agencies. Sources of data used in this study on abandoned CCDD sites mainly are permit files at State regulatory agencies. Active and inactive sites were included because data on abandoned sites are sparse. Onsite reserve pits at individual wells for disposal of spent drilling fluid are not part of this study. Of 287 CCDD sites in the four States for which we compiled data, 34 had been abandoned whereas 54 were active and 199 were inactive as of January 2002. Most were disposal-pit facilities; five percent were land treatment facilities. A typical disposal-pit facility has fewer than 3 disposal pits or cells, which have a median size of approximately …

The San Andres Formation is one of the major hydrocarbon-producing units in the Permian Basin, with multiple reservoirs contained within the dolomitized subtidal portions of upward shoaling carbonate shelf cycles. The test well is located in Tedbit (San Andres) Field in northeastern Gaines County, Texas, in an area of scattered San Andres production associated with local structural highs. Selected on the basis of geological and historical data, the Oil and Gas Properties Wood No. 1 well is considered to be typical of a large number of San Andres stripper wells in the Permian Basin. Thus, successful completion of horizontal drain holes in this well would demonstrate a widely applicable enhanced recovery technology. Water-jet horizontal drilling is an emerging technology with the potential to provide significant economic benefits in marginal wells. Forecast benefits include lower recompletion costs and improved hydrocarbon recoveries. The technology utilizes water under high pressure, conveyed through small-diameter coiled tubing, to jet horizontal drain holes into producing formations. Testing of this technology was conducted with inconclusive results. Paraffin sludge and mechanical problems were encountered in the wellbore, initially preventing the water-jet tool from reaching the kick-off point. After correcting these problems and attempting to cut a casing window …

The objectives of this project are to evaluate the feasibility of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) sequestration in Texas low-rank coals and to determine the potential for enhanced coalbed methane (CBM) recovery as an added benefit of sequestration. The main tasks for this reporting period were to correlate well logs and refine coal property maps, evaluate methane content and gas composition of Wilcox Group coals, and initiate discussions concerning collection of additional, essential data with Anadarko. To assess the volume of CO{sub 2} that may be sequestered and volume of methane that can be produced in the vicinity of the proposed Sam Seymour sequestration site, we used approximately 200 additional wells logs from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to correlate and map coal properties of the 3 coal-bearing intervals of Wilcox group. Among the maps we are making are maps of the number of coal beds, number of coal beds greater than 5 ft thick, and cumulative coal thickness for each coal interval. This stratigraphic analysis validates the presence of abundant coal for CO{sub 2} sequestration in the Wilcox Group in the vicinity of Sam Seymour power plant. A typical wellbore in this region may penetrate 20 to 40 coal beds with cumulative …