The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) and the Federal Power Act (FPA) were enacted to eliminate unfair practices and other abuses by electricity and gas holding companies by requiring federal control and regulation of interstate public utility holding companies. Comprehensive energy legislation has passed the House and Senate. The House passed H.R. 6 on April 11, 2003. On July 31, 2003, the Senate suspended debate on S. 14, inserted the text of H.R. 4 (107th Congress) as a substitute, and passed H.R. 6. A conference agreement was reached November 17, 2003, and passed by the House the next day. H.R. 6 includes an electricity title that would, in part, repeal PUHCA, would prospectively repeal the mandatory purchase requirement under PURPA, and would create an electric reliability organization. On June 15, 2004, H.R. 4503, a comprehensive energy policy bill, passed the House.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Power generators are concerned with the maintenance costs associated with the advanced turbines that they are purchasing. Since these machines do not have fully established operation and maintenance (O&M) track records, power generators face financial risk due to uncertain future maintenance costs. This risk is of particular concern, as the electricity industry transitions to a competitive business environment in which unexpected O&M costs cannot be passed through to consumers. These concerns have accelerated the need for intelligent software-based diagnostic systems that can monitor the health of a combustion turbine in real time and provide valuable information on the machine's performance to its owner/operators. Such systems would interpret sensor and instrument outputs, correlate them to the machine's condition, provide interpretative analyses, forward projections of servicing intervals, estimate remaining component life, and identify faults. EPRI, Impact Technologies, Boyce Engineering, and Progress Energy have teamed to develop a suite of intelligent software tools integrated with a diagnostic monitoring platform that will, in real time, interpret data to assess the ''total health'' of combustion turbines. The Combustion Turbine Health Management System (CTHM) will consist of a series of dynamic link library (DLL) programs residing on a diagnostic monitoring platform that accepts turbine health data …

Activities to remove spent fuel, sludge and debris from K East Basin have begun. Once all the radioactive hazards (i.e., fuel, sludge and debris) are removed from the basin, the basin water will be removed and the basin will be turned over to a deactivation and decommission contractor. However, the specific approach to achieving this end state is dependent on knowledge of contamination levels in the concrete walls and floor once the water is removed. PNNL researchers have developed a one-of-a-kind technology for performing non-destructive evaluation of the highly contaminated K East fuel storage basin for the purpose of determining concrete contamination levels from selected wall and floor locations below the basin waterline.

The purpose of this trip to LECO Corporation was to test the non-matrix matched calibration method and the principal component analysis (PCA) method on a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-time of flight mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-TOFMS) system. An LA-ICP-TOFMS system allows for multielement single-shot analysis as well as spatial analysis on small samples, because the TOFMS acquires an entire mass spectrum for all ions extracted simultaneously from the ICP. The TOFMS system differs from the double-focusing mass spectrometer, on which the above methods were developed, by having lower sensitivity and lower mass resolution.

Spectroscopy of Mo{sub 6}Cl{sub 12} immobilized in a sol-gel matrix and heated to 200 C has been performed. Oxygen quenching of the luminescence was observed. Aging Mo{sub 6}Cl{sub 12} to temperatures above 250 C converts the canary yellow Mo{sub 6}Cl{sub 12} to a non-luminescent gray solid. Preliminary experiments point to oxidation of the clusters as the likely cause of thermally induced changes in the physical and optical properties of the clusters.

Enhanced bioremediation is quickly developing into an economical and viable technology for the remediation of contaminated soils. Until recently, chlorinated organic compounds have proven difficult to bioremediate. This article reviews the ongoing remediation occurring at the Chemicals, Metals, and Pesticides (CMP) Pits using windrow turners to facilitate microbial degradation of certain pesticides and PCBs.

Burnable poisons are used in nuclear reactors to produce a more level distribution of power in the reactor core and to reduce to necessity for a large control system. An ideal burnable poison would burn at the same rate as the fuel. In this study, separation of neutron-absorbing isotopes was investigated in order to eliminate isotopes that remain as absorbers at the end of fuel life, thus reducing useful fuel life. The isotopes Gd-157, Dy-164, and Er-167 were found to have desirable properties. These isotopes were separated from naturally occurring elements by means of plasma separation to evaluate feasibility and cost. It was found that pure Gd-157 could save approximately $6 million at the end of four years. However, the cost of separation, using the existing facility, made separation cost- ineffective. Using a magnet with three times the field strength is expected to reduce the cost by a factor of ten, making isotopically separated burnable poisons a favorable method of increasing fuel life in commercial reactors, in particular Generation-IV reactors. The project also investigated various burnable poison configurations, and studied incorporation of metallic burnable poisons into fuel cladding.

Most commercial buildings in the U.S. are required by State or local jurisdiction to meet energy standards. The enforcement of these standards is not well known and building practice without them on a national scale is also little understood. To provide an understanding of these issues, a database has been developed at PNNL that includes detailed energy related building characteristics of 162 commercial buildings from across the country. For this analysis, the COMcheck? compliance software (developed at PNNL) was used to assess compliance with energy codes among these buildings. Data from the database for each building provided the program input with percentage energy compliance to the ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999 energy as the output. During the data input process it was discovered that some essential data for showing compliance of the building envelope was missed and defaults had to be developed to provide complete compliance information. This need for defaults for some data inputs raised the question of what the effect on documenting compliance could be due to missing data. To help answer this question a data collection effort was completed to assess potential differences. Using the program Dodge View, as much of the missing envelope data as possible was collected …

Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) and Western Research Institute (WRI) have been developing flowable fill materials formulated using ash from the Montana-Dakota Utilities R. M. Heskett Station in Mandan, North Dakota. MDU and WRI have partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) to further the development of these materials for lignite-fired fluidized-bed combustion (FBC) facilities. The MDU controlled density fill (CDF) appears to be a viable engineering material and environmentally safe. WRI is pursuing the commercialization of the technology under the trademark Ready-Fill{trademark}. The project objectives were to: (1) assess the market in the Bismarck-Mandan area; (2) evaluate the geotechnical properties and environmental compatibility; and (3) construct and monitor demonstrations of the various grades of flowable fill products in full-scale demonstrations. The scope of initial phase of work entailed the following: Task I--Assess Market for MDU Flowable Fill Products; Task II--Assess Geotechnical and Environmental Properties of MDU Flowable Fill Products; and Task III--Demonstrate and Monitor MDU Flowable Fill Products in Field-Scale Demonstrations. The results of these testing and demonstration activities proved the following: (1) The market assessment indicated that a market exists in the Bismarck-Mandan area for structural construction applications, such as sub-bases for …

This is the thirteenth Quarterly Technical Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No: DEFC26-00NT40753. The goal of the project is to develop cost effective analysis tools and techniques for demonstrating and evaluating low NO{sub x} control strategies and their possible impact on boiler performance for boilers firing US coals. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is providing co-funding for this program. This program contains multiple tasks and good progress is being made on all fronts. The corrosion probe task is proceeding: Two plant visits were made to prepare for field testing and shakedown tests for the probes were conducted at the University of Utah''s L1500 furnace. Corrosion probes will be installed at the Gavin Plant site in the next quarter. Laboratory studies of SCR catalyst continued this quarter. FTIR studies of catalyst sulfation and of adsorption of NH3 and NO were continued at BYU. NO activities have been measured for a number of samples of BYU catalyst and insights have been gained from the results. Plans are being detailed to test monolith and plate catalysts exposed in the field. In this quarter, the catalysts in the slipstream reactor at AEP's Rockport plant were exposed to the dusty flue gas for 1695 …

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The debate about consular identification cards in the United States has centered around the matrícula consular, the consular identification card issued by Mexican consulates to Mexican citizens in the United States. In May 2003, the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing acceptance of the cards as proof of identity for the purpose of opening a bank account, and the cards are accepted for other purposes as well, including issuance of drivers’ licenses.

During the current quarter, pilot-scale testing with the modified air nozzle version of the PC burner was completed with PRB coal at the Riley Power Inc. (RPI) test facility. A total of 8 different burner configurations were tested utilizing various burner air nozzle arrangements in place of the burner air channels. It was found that with the arrangements tested, a stable flame could not be maintained at coal feed rates above 100 lb/h. While it is felt that the air nozzle approach can ultimately be used effectively, in the interest of holding to the current project schedule it was decided to proceed with the balance of the project using the air channel design. The pilot-scale PC burner was therefore restored to the air-channel configuration and benchmark testing with PRB coal to confirmed previous operating results. A series of tests was then conducted with PRB and West Virginia caking coal to evaluate modifications to the gas combustor configuration and operation for improved performance with caking coal. Continuous operation was achieved with caking coal up to 50 lb/h vs. the full load target of 150 lb/h. Impingement and deposition of partially devolatilized coal occurred at various points within the combustor when the …

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The 108th Congress has resumed efforts to pass tax incentives for private giving (S. 476, passed by the Senate on April 9, and H.R. 7, introduced May 7, 2003). However, these bills do not contain provisions intended to promote religious organizations as providers of federally funded social services – charitable choice provisions.. The House voted in 2001 to extend charitable choice rules, which now apply to a limited set of programs, to numerous new programs (H.R. 7 in the 107th Congress), as the President urged, but the Senate refused. However, in an Executive Order, President Bush on December 12, 2002, directed six cabinet-level departments and the Agency for International Development (AID) to bring policies concerning social service programs into line with charitable choice principles set forth in the Order.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Progress is reported for the period from July 1, 2003 to September 30, 2003. Conductivity testing between the CO{sub 2}I No.1 and CO{sub 2} No.13 was performed over the period 08/20/03 through 09/05/03. Observed response in CO{sub 2} 13 production rates to changes in CO{sub 2}I No.1 injection rates are consistent with sufficient permeability between CO{sub 2}I No.1 and CO{sub 2} No.13 for a viable CO{sub 2} flood with a sufficient Process Pore Volume Rate (PPV). Based on the permeabilities near the CO{sub 2} No.16, a 2-producing well pattern has been determined to be optimal but may be changed during the flood depending on the response observed in the CO{sub 2} No.16. Present inter-well test results indicate there is greater permeability architecture complexity than originally predicted and that a low-permeability region or barrier that restricts but does stop flow may exist between the CO{sub 2}I No.1 and the CO{sub 2} No.13. Pilot area repressurization began on 09/05/03, immediately after CO{sub 2}I No.1-CO{sub 2} No.13 conductivity testing was complete, by increasing injection in the CO{sub 2}I No.1, CO{sub 2} No.10, and CO{sub 2} No.18. Adequate reservoir pressure in the portion of the pilot area needed to be above minimum miscibility pressure …

The work performed during this quarter by SRD scientists and engineers focused on a number of tasks. The initial acquisition of some hardware needed and the actual construction of the sampling system have begun. This sampling system will contain the pyrolysis oven to atomize the sample gas stream needed for total gaseous mercury measurements, the CRD cavity to acquire the ring-down signal needed to obtain the mercury concentration, various tubing, and temperature and pressure measurement equipment. The amount of tubing and valves have been cut to a minimum to try and reduce the resident time the sample flue gas stream is in the sampling system and minimize the possibility that the gases in the sample gas stream will react with the elements of the sampling system and change the component mixture contained in the flue gas. In an effort to minimize the equipment that needs to be close to the actual sampling port, SRD scientists decided to fiber optically couple the laser to the CRD cavity. However, the ultra-violet (UV) light needed for the mercury transition presents a problem as fiber optics can be solarized by the UV radiation thereby changing the transmission characteristics. SRD has obtained a solarization-resistant fiber. …

Semiweekly newspaper from Boerne, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. has completed pilot scale testing of the new Alden/Concepts NREC turbine that was designed to minimize fish injury at hydropower projects. The test program was part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Hydropower Turbine Systems Program. The prototype turbine operating point was 1,000 cfs at 80ft head and 100 rpm. The turbine was design to: (1) limit peripheral runner speed; (2) have a high minimum pressure; (3) limit pressure change rates; (4) limit the maximum flow shear; (5) minimize the number and total length of leading blade edges; (6) maximize the distance between the runner inlet and the wicket gates and minimize clearances (i.e., gaps) between other components; and (7) maximize the size of flow passages.