The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), signed into law on April 4, for the first time grants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) broad-based authority to establish national generic promotion ("check-off") programs for virtually any agricultural commodity. Formerly, individual programs first had to be authorized expressly by Congress. The new law also explicitly authorizes the establishment of new check-off programs for rapeseed and canola, kiwifruit, and popcorn. Other provisions require USDA to establish a new meat and poultry inspection advisory committee; deal with the collection of user fees for the inspection of agricultural imports; and authorize new guidelines to protect horses being transported to slaughter facilities, among other things.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a school district must comply with the competitive bidding procedures specified in Local Government Code chapter 271, subchapter B when seeking to bid a construction contract valued at $25,000 or more in the aggregate for a twelve-month period and related question (RQ-861)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether, without being licensed as an athletic trainer under article 4512d, V.T.C.S., a coach may have as his or her primary job responsibility working with or on injured athletes and a related question (RQ-845)

This is the final report for the Analytical Laboratory and Mobile Sampling Platform project. This report contains only major findings and conclusions resulting from this project. Detailed reports of all activities performed for this project were provided to the Project Office every quarter since the beginning of the project. This report contains water chemistry data for samples collected in the Nevada section of Death Valley National Park (Triangle Area Springs), Nevada Test Site springs, Pahranagat Valley springs, Nevada Test Site wells, Spring Mountain springs and Crater Flat and Amargosa Valley wells.

Geochemical investigations of groundwater sources and mixing have relied heavily on the major solutes (Na{sup +}, K{sup +}, Ca{sup 2+}, Mg{sup 2+}, Cl{sup -}, SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}, HCO{sub 3}{sup -}, CO{sub 3}{sup 2-}, {plus_minus}F{sup -}, Br{sup -} , PO{sub 4}{sup 3-}), stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen ({delta}D and {delta}{sup 18}O), and, occasionally, radionuclides such as tritium ({sup 3}H) and carbon-14 ({sup 14}C). Problems with geochemical interpretations of such analyses arise from the low number of major solutes (typically between 7 and 8 are reported) which results in insufficient information for definitive interpretations. Moreover, isotopic analyses can be very costly. We present an alternative approach using numerous trace elements that occur naturally in all ground waters and that can now be measured rapidly and routinely using the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) at the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (HRC) at a fraction of the cost of isotopic analysis. The tremendous number of solutes that can be measured by ICP-MS necessitates the examination of each data set by multivariate statistical techniques that help to reduce the data and illuminate correlations between trace elements and, therefore, ground waters of similar and/or different origins.

The principal objective of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility and economics success of producing oil from abandoned or nearly abandoned fields in the Dundee Formation of Central Michigan using horizontal drilling technology. The project is a cooperative venture between Michigan Technological University (MTU), Western Michigan University (WMU), and Terra Energy (now Cronus Development Co.). During the fall of 1995, the demonstration well for this project, the TOW No. 1-3 well in Crystal Field, Montcalm County, Michigan, was completed in the Dundee Formation and for the first three months of operation produced 50 bbl/day oil with no water cut. Because surface facilities were inadequate to handle full production, the well was produced for 12 hrs/day and shut in for 12 hrs/day. In January, 1996, new surface Facilities were completed and production was raised to 100 bbl/day. Daily production has varied from about 75 to 100 BOPD since that time. To date, the well has produced over 10, 000 bbls. The water cut remains at 0% and pressure has been maintained at 1445 psi by an active water drive. If expectations are met, the well will pay out in less than 1 year and continue on production for at least …

The objective of this project is to investigate styles of reservoir heterogeneity found in low-permeability pelleted wackestone/packstone facies and mixed carbonate/clastic facies found in Permian Basin reservoirs by studying similar facies exposed in the Guadalupe Mountains. Specific objectives for the outcrop study include construction of a stratigraphic framework, petrophysical quantification of the framework, and testing the outcrop reservoir model for effects of reservoir heterogeneity on production performance. Specific objectives for the subsurface study parallel objectives for the outcrop study.

The principal objective of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility and economic success of producing oil from abandoned or nearly abandoned fields in the Dundee Formation of Central Michigan using horizontal drilling technology. A site for a horizontal well was selected in Crystal Field, a nearly-abandoned Dundee oil field in Michigan. This field had produced over 8 million barrels of oil, mostly in the 1930`s and 1940`s. At the height of development, Crystal Field produced from 193 wells, but by 1995, only seven producing wells remained, each producing less than 10 bbls/day. A horizontal well was drilled as a field demonstration pilot, funded through this DOE project, and was immensely successful. Core and logs from the Dundee interval were recovered from a vertical borehole at the same surface location. The horizontal well was brought on production at a rate of 100 bbls/day and is probably capable of producing at a higher rate. `The addition of several horizontal wells, similar to the demonstration well, will likely add another 2 million bbls (or more) to the cumulative production of the field over the next few years. The presence of untapped oil in this Dundee field was dramatically demonstrated and the favorable …

This report documents objectives and conceptual and methodological approach used in the development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Coal Market Module (CMM) used to develop the Annual Energy Outlook 1996 (AEO96). This report catalogues and describes the assumptions, methodology, estimation techniques, and source code of CMM`s three submodules: Coal Production Submodule, Coal Export Submodule, and Coal Distribution Submodule.

The primary objective of this project is to enhance domestic petroleum production by demonstration and technology transfer of an advanced oil recovery technology in the Paradox basin, southeastern Utah. If this project can demonstrate technical and economic feasibility, the technique can be applied to approximately 100 additional small fields in the Paradox basin alone, and result in increased recovery of 150 to 200 million barrels of oil. This project is designed to characterize five shallow-shelf carbonate reservoirs in the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Paradox Formation and choose the best candidate for a pilot demonstration project for either a waterflood or carbon dioxide-(CO{sub 2}-)flood project. The field demonstration, monitoring of field performance, and associated validation activities will take place in the Paradox basin within the Navajo Nation. The results of this project will be transferred to industry and other researchers through a petroleum extension service, creation of digital databases for distribution, technical workshops and seminars, field trips, technical presentations at national and regional professional meetings, and publication in newsletters and various technical or trade journals.

Today some scientists are concerned that present budget considerations in Washington will make it impossible for the US to maintain its preeminence in important areas of science and technology. In the private sector there has been a demise of substantive R & D efforts through most of the major industries. For DOE a lack of future support for science and technology would be an important issue because this could impact DOE`s abilities to solve problems in its major areas of concern, national security, energy, environment. In fact some scientists maintain that were the present trend to continue unabated it could lead to a national security issue. Preeminence in science and technology plays a critical role in our nation`s position as the leader of world democracy. In contrast with this point of view of gloom and doom, however, in this presentation I hope to bring to you what I see as an exciting message of good news. Today I will list the important opportunities and challenges for the future that I note for ANL, the leadership role that I believe ANL can play and the qualities that will help our laboratory to maintain its status as an outstanding DOE National Laboratory.

This project consists of two parts. In Part 1, well logs, other well data, drilling, and production data for the Pioneer Field in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California were obtained, assembled, and input to a commercial relational database manager. These data are being used in PC-based geologic mapping, evaluation, and visualization software programs to produce 2-D and 3-D representations of the reservoir geometry, facies and subfacies, stratigraphy, porosity, oil saturation, and other measured and model parameters. Petrographic and petrophysical measurements made on samples from Pioneer Field, including core, cuttings and liquids, are being used to calibrate the log suite. In Part 2, these data sets are being used to develop algorithms to correlate log response to geologic and engineering measurements. Rock alteration due to interactions with hot fluids are being quantitatively modeled and used to predict the reservoir response if the rock were subjected to thermally enhanced oil recovery (TEOR).

Improved temperature measurements in fossil power plants can reduce heat rate and uncertainties in power production efficiencies, extend the life of plant components, reduce maintenance costs, and lessen emissions. Conventional instruments for measurement of combustion temperatures, steam temperatures, and structural component temperatures can be improved by better specification, in situ calibration, signal processing, and performance monitoring. Innovative instruments can enhance, augment, or replace conventional instruments. Several critical temperatures can be accessed using new methods that were impossible with conventional instruments. Such instruments include high temperature resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), thermometric phosphors, inductive thermometry, and ultrasonic thermometry.

This project involves the development of an optimized, bench-scale processing circuit capable of efficiently removing trace elements from run-of-mine coals. The optimized circuit will be developed using characterization data obtained from detailed washability studies and release analyses tests conducted with several eastern US coals. The optimized circuit will incorporate a variety of conventional and advanced coal cleaning processes which are believed to be the most cost-effective and commercially viable. The coal products from the optimized circuit will be further treated with complexing agents specifically designed to extract organometallic trace elements that are difficult to remove by physical cleaning operations. Finally, innovative bioremediation schemes will be investigated as a means of controlling the release of trace elements from the process waste streams. Emphasis has been placed on the development of a processing circuit which (i) maximizes the rejection of trace elements, (ii) minimizes the production of coal fines which are costly to process and less marketable, and (iii) minimizes the downstream impacts of the process waste streams on the environment. During the past quarter, the project work plan and all associated technical/management reports were successfully approved by the COR (Subtask 1.1--Work Plan Development). Test work is now actively moving forward on …

The objective of this project is to demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is a cost effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through strategic placement of infill wells and geologically based field development. Project objectives are divided into two major phases. The objectives of the reservoir characterization phase of the project are to provide a detailed understanding of the architecture and heterogeneity of two fields, the Ford Geraldine unit and Ford West field, which produce from the Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon Formations, respectively, of the Delaware Mountain Group and to compare Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon reservoirs. Reservoir characterization will utilize 3-D seismic data, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, subsurface field studies, outcrop characterization, and other techniques. One the reservoir-characterization study of both field is completed, a pilot area of approximately 1 mi{sup 2} in one of the fields will be chosen for reservoir simulation. The objectives of the implementation phase of the project are to: (1) apply the knowledge gained from reservoir characterization and simulation studies to increase recovery from the …

The Chemical Weapons Convention allows for the collection and analysis of samples at inspection sites, including demilitarization facilities, to verify compliance with treaty obligations. The Preparatory Commission to the OPCW, through its Expert Group on Inspection Procedures, PC-VIII/B/WP.2, has determined that the Technical Secretariat must have analytical equipment that among other things, allows {open_quotes}identification and recording of the detection of chemicals relevant to the purpose of the inspection, but the suppression of the indication and recording of the detection of chemicals and other information unrelated to the purpose of the inspection.{close_quotes} This paper describes unfinished work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to satisfy this requirement for GC-MS instrumentation.

On February 18, 1992, Louisiana State University with two technical subcontractors, BDM, Inc. and ICF, Inc., began a research program to estimate the potential oil and gas reserve additions that could result from the application of advanced secondary and enhanced oil recovery technologies and the exploitation of undeveloped and attic oil zones in the Gulf of Mexico oil fields that are related to piercement salt domes. This project is a one year continuation of this research and will continue work in reservoir description, extraction processes, and technology transfer. Detailed data will be collected for two previously studies reservoirs: a South Marsh Island reservoir operated by Taylor Energy and one additional Gulf of Mexico reservoir operated by Mobil. Additional reservoirs identified during the project will also be studied if possible. Data collected will include reprocessed 2-D seismic data, newly acquired 3-D data, fluid data, fluid samples, pressure data, well test data, well logs, and core data/samples. The new data will be used to refine reservoir and geologic characterization of these reservoirs. Further laboratory investigation will provide additional simulation input data in the form of PVT properties, relative permeabilities, capillary pressure, and water compatibility. Geological investigations will be conducted to refine the …

The major project objective is to help move small American businesses (oil and gas independent operators) from traditional practices in oil and gas reservoir management to an unproved integrated team approach making better use of information and the expertise of people. This objective is being accomplished in two ways: (1) Specific examples resulting from our field study, and (2) A general manual documenting the process of integrating data and people from the disciplines of geology, geophysics, and petroleum engineering. An actual oil field in the Denver Julesburg Basin in Colorado was selected to test the methods of integration. Efforts during this quarter were dedicated to history matching of the simulation model and to planning for various forecast runs. The geologic model and the engineering analysis resulted in a reservoir simulation model that is representative of the main features of the reservoir, such as the compartments and differing gas-oil contacts in each compartment. As a result of the history matching process, changes were made in the model. The economic significance of these changes, if any, will be addressed in the final report.

The flammability of alternative, non-ozone depleting refrigerants is an issue of growing importance to the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry. Test methods developed decades ago are being stretched to their limits when measuring the combustion behavior of weakly flammable refrigerants. This work is Phase 2 of a three part project to determine the feasibility, accuracy, and applicability of a premixed opposed-flow burner as an alternative means of measuring lean flammability limits. In this work, the Phase 2 burner demonstrates the precision available to the opposed-flow technique for evaluating the lean flammability limit of weak fuels. Using opposed, converging nozzles, two jets support a premixed twin flame at different global strain rates and permit evaluation of the corresponding fuel concentration at the extinction point. Comparisons with published data support that the LFL{sub 0}, a lean flammability limit value defined by the extrapolation of the extinction conditions to zero global strain, yields a consistent value. Using a computer simulation to analyze the uncertainty, the lean flammability limit of refrigerants in dry air is found. Concurrent computational modeling of the combustion of refrigerants in air, individually and in mixtures has been performed with the chemical kinetics code CHEMKIN. Estimates of the impact of the …

This Functional Design Criteria (FDC) addresses remediation of the plutonium-bearing solutions currently in inventory at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). The recommendation from the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is that the solutions be treated thermally and stabilized as a solid for long term storage. For solutions which are not discardable, the baseline plan is to utilize a denitration process to stabilize the solutions prior to packaging for storage.

The primary goal of this project is the engineering development of two advanced physical fine coal cleaning processes, column flotation and selective agglomeration, for premium fuel applications. The project scope includes laboratory research and bench-scale testing on six coals to optimize these processes, followed by the design, construction, and operation of a 2-t/hr process development unit (PDU). The project began in October, 1992, and is scheduled for completion by June 1997. During Quarter 14 (January--March 1996), parametric testing of the 30-inch Microcel{trademark} flotation column at the Lady Dunn Plant continued under Subtask 3.2. Subtask 3. 3 testing, investigating a novel Hydrophobic Dewatering process (HD), continued this quarter with parametric testing of the batch dewatering unit. Coal product moistures of 3 to 12 percent were achieved, with higher percent solids slurry feeds resulting in lower product moistures. For a given percent solids feed, the product moisture decreased with increasing butane to dry coal ratios. Stirring time, stirring rate, and settling time were all found to have little effect on the final moisture content. Continuing Subtask 6.4 work, investigating coal-water-fuel slurry formulation for coals cleaned by selective agglomeration, indicated that pH adjustment to 10 resulted in marginally better (lower viscosity) slurries for …

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) No. Y1292-0111, between Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors Corporation and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, under contract to the US Department of Energy, is entitled ``Power Generation Systems for NOx Reduction``. The objective of this effort was to design, develop, and demonstrate an integrated turbine genset suitable for high efficiency power generation requirements. The result of this effort would have been prototype generator hardware including controllers for testing and evaluation by Allison Gas Turbine Division. The generator would have been coupled to a suitably sized and configured gas turbine engine, which would operate on a laboratory load bank. This effort leads to extensive knowledge and design capability in the most efficient and high power density generator design for mobile power generation and potentially to commercialization of these advanced technologies.

Control of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) from coal combustion systems is becoming a major design and retrofit consideration. Most NO{sub x} in coal combustion systems comes from nitrogen in the fuel, rather than from nitrogen in the air. Practical emission control strategies include burner design strategies (e.g., low NO{sub x} burners), overfire air, reburning, selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) using reduction agents such as NH{sub 3} or urea, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The order listed also reflects the order of increasing costs for implementation. It is therefore most economically desirable to perform burner modifications to reduce NO{sub x} emissions rather than other control measures. Low-NO{sub x} burners work on the principle that devolatilized nitrogen species will form N{sub 2} rather than NO{sub x} under locally fuel-rich conditions with sufficient residence time at appropriate temperatures. The amount and form of nitrogen released during devolatilization influence the degree of NO{sub x} reduction attainable using burner design strategies for a given coal. Nitrogen in the char following devolatilization is released by heterogeneous oxidation, and may not be controlled by aerodynamic burner modifications. The objectives of this work are to perform detailed chemical measurements of the nitrogen in coal, tar, and char.