Drilling Waste Management Information System (DWMIS)

DWMIS provides technical information about drilling waste management options, access to federal and state regulatory requirements, and an easy-to-use tool for selecting possible options for a user's specific situation.

Need/Opportunity

• New, "environment-friendly" waste management practices available
• Drilling waste management practices vary by drilling location and circumstances
• Regulatory requirements differ by jurisdiction
• Operators need easy access to technology information and regulatory guidance

Drilling waste management practices vary by region and are governed by regulatory agencies charged with the protection of human health and the environment. Within the United States, regulations vary by state to address the environmental issues of each geographic location. Regulations for offshore and international drilling waste management vary as well. DWMIS benefits both small independent and large multinational operators by providing easy access to U.S. regulations and waste management options, thus allowing them to choose the option with the most environmental and economic benefits. The regulatory information, with its links back to agency websites, is a particularly valuable resource. The website also provides unbiased information to countries developing drilling waste regulations so that the countries will have a basis for allowing operators to use the most economic, environmentally appropriate waste management options, rather than restricting operators to only those options that are commonly used in a particular country.

Approach

• Technology Description Module provides information about drilling waste management practices
• Regulatory Module summarizes state and federal regulations or guidelines
• Technology Identification Module suggests waste management options

DWMIS contains three main components.

Technology Description Module. This module provides basic information about practices that are currently employed to manage drilling wastes. The module divides management practices into three sections - waste minimization, recycle/reuse, and disposal. Users can click on any of the listed technologies to access separate fact sheets describing each technology and including references for additional information.

Regulatory Module. The Regulatory Module identifies and summarizes existing state and federal regulations or guidelines that form the regulatory context for drilling waste management. In the federal regulatory section of this page, users can click on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), or the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to be sent to pages that offer more information about each agency's requirements. In the state regulatory section of the page, users can click on any state on the U.S. map, or select a state from a drop-down list, to be linked to a state summary page that includes information about the agencies that regulate drilling waste management in that state. All of the agency pages will contain external links leading to agency websites and to the specific texts of the agencies drilling waste management regulations.

Technology Identification Module. In the interactive Technology Identification Module users are asked to answer a series of questions (mostly "yes" or "no" answers). The replies to these questions lead users through a decision tree, resulting in a suggested subset of waste management options that would make the most sense for a given geographical or environmental setting. The Technology Identification Module does not attempt to tell a company exactly which technology should be employed; rather, it helps to eliminate options that are not appropriate to the user's specific location.

EVS collaborated with engineers at ChevronTexaco and Marathon in developing DWMIS.

Results

• Site launched June 2004
• 43,000+ visitors since launch
• Similar system for produced water management under development

DWMIS has been very successful since its launch in June 2004. More than 43,000 users have visited the site in 89,000+ website visits. In June 2006, EVS received new funds from DOE to develop a parallel website for information on produced water management. The new system, the Produced Water Management Information System (PWMIS), is scheduled for launch in 2007.