THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Wednesday July 27, 2011
Volume 124, Issue 157
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Gov. calls for emergency fracking rules By Jessica Lear Staff Writer
Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has announced that West Virginia environmental regulators need to create emergency rules for drilling natural gas. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will form temporary rules, while lawmakers look into more permanent regulations for natural gas removal in the Marcel-
lus Shale deposit in the state. “This executive order is the first step in my long-term plan to ensure responsible development of Marcellus Shale,” Tomblin said. The rules will specifically focus on a process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” “Fracking is what you do to fracture rock that is underground in order to extract natural gas. At the Marcellus Shale site, there is compact clay that’s about 70-80 thousand feet un-
derground,” said Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute. The fracking process uses mass amounts of water and other chemicals to obtain natural gas from underground. “About 2 to 5 million gallons of water are sent down within 24 hours; it creates very high pressure. When this water returns, it has to be disposed of in some way,” Ziemkiewicz said. Environmentalists share concerns about where the wa-
ter goes once it returns to the surface. “While rare, it can have significant, harmful effects on our citizens, streams, rivers and wildlife. The risk to our citizens, however slight, is too great to not act swiftly,” Tomblin said. Since the water contains various chemicals, it has the potential to be dangerous if it were to leak into sources of drinking water. “If you don’t pay attention to where that water goes when it
ZERO GRAVITY
comes back up, it can be bad. You have to be careful to manage the returning water because it can be harmful, as it is salty and has organic substances in it,” Ziemkiewicz said. The fracking industry has announced numerous times that the technique can be done safely. Despite their reassurances, Tomblin has said there is a need for statewide fracking regulations. “I agree with the governor
by Charles young
Nicholas Mariani, kneeling, Marc Gramlich, floating, and Jason Hamilton, ground, test their experiment aboard the Weightless Wonder.
WVU Today
WVU students conduct zero gravity research at NASA summer program By Emily Smith Correspondent
West Virginia University’s Microgravity Research Team participated in NASA’s Microgravity University at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. 10 undergraduate students from the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources attended participated in the program for NASA. Microgravity University is a summer program that gives college students a chance to design and evaluate a reducedgravity experiment aboard the fixed-wing aircraft known as the “Weightless Wonder.” To be accepted into the program, teams must first submit a proposal to NASA, which WVUTODAY is then chosen based on sciEngineering students Mark James, left, Sunny Narayanan, middle, and Byron Patter- entific merit and educational son, right, pose with their experiment on NASA’s Weightless Wonder. outreach. The WVU Microgravity Re-
search Team was one of 20 teams chosen from universities across the country, and this wasn’t WVU’s first trip to the Johnson Space Center. In the past 10 years, this summer marked the ninth invitation to Microgravity University for the WVU team. “I was a little nervous because we still had to get the experiment approved by NASA, but I was also excited to fly on a “zero-g” (gravity) plane,” said Nick Mariani, an aerospace engineering major and a member of the team. The focus of this year’s experiment was what is known as a fluidized bed. A fluidized bed occurs when certain conditions cause particles to swirl and flow as if it were liquid. “When the drag force is adjusted to equal the body force,
Facilities Management at West Virginia University will be offering a four-year program for earning journeyman certificates for qualified workers. Apprentices can become trade specialists such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, maintenance workers or general trade employees by studying both in and out of the classroom and using the skills they learn on campus. There are no tuition costs because students will be working 6,400 hours as full-time employees while undertaking onthe-job training from a qualified mentor. They will also spend 540
hours receiving technical education. While more daunting than traditional class work in terms of time spent, this method ensures both proper training for students and maintained facilities at WVU. The pilot program, in place since 2007, is mutually beneficial to the student population and the University. The program is self-sustaining financially because students are working directly for the school. Paul Zepp, assistant director for Human Resources at WVU, said the program is about passing on knowledge from one generation to the next, as well as the passing on of practical skills.
“There’s sort of a shortage now in skilled trade, because of the rise in data processing and computers,” Zepp said. “Now, as the Baby Boomers have started to reach retirement age, there’s fewer and fewer carpenters and electricians. We’ve tried to build our own core of apprentices who know the university’s infrastructure and controls.” Upon graduation, participants will receive an official Journeyman’s card approved by the Department of Labor. The first graduation of skilled workers from the program was June 30. While only six completed the program, all were enthusiastic and saw the time as a good opportunity to start a career here
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During Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting for Morgantown’s City Council, council members heard a presentation from the Neighborhood Coordinating Council. These presentations, which will feature a different neighborhood association each month, are a part of Morgantown’s “Year of the Neighborhood” initiative. The program is aimed at allowing residents to celebrate favorite aspects of their individual neighborhoods, as well as the community as a whole. During the Neighborhood Coordinating Council presentation Matthew Cross, the vice president of the Suncrest Neighborhood Association, shared highlights from Suncrest’s July meeting. This included the attendance of an officer from the Morgantown Police Department to share facts and statistics on neighborhood crime within the last year and the possible expansion of the city’s emergency alert system to include alerts for
individual neighborhoods. “We have a good system available now, but we’d like to expand to be able to reach some of our more elderly residents,” Cross said. Jeff Mikorski, assistant city manager, said the city’s current alert system, The Nixle system, could easily be expanded to include such alerts. Mikorsi said the system, which currently only sends alerts to cell phones, could also be expanded to send alerts to landlines. Also during the meeting, council members heard presentations from members of the Wiles Hill-highland park Neighborhood Association. The presentation featured homemade cupcakes, which were presented to members of council and local children who displayed their artwork. Chief of Police Edward Preston also gave a presentation reviewing Morgantown’s ordinances dealing with trespassing and members of council discussed several proposed ordinances, which could be added to meeting agendas in the coming weeks. charles.young@mail.wvu.edu
Travel fund underway to help WVU Band trips
see nasa on PAGE 2
Pilot apprentice program teaches trade skills Correspondent
see fracking on PAGE 2
Council hears from city neighborhoods City Editor
By Joshua Clark
in developing rules for where the water goes once it reaches the surface. It can cause lots of damage if it’s not properly maintained,” Ziemkiewicz said. Tomblin has announced companies using fracking will now have to report all of the chemicals they use to obtain the natural gas. In addition, companies will have to avoid dumping fracking water on the ground, and
at WVU. Although a two-year obligation to the University is required, they will receive full benefits during their entire tenure and the highest pay grade for their level after graduating. “It was really neat to see them finally come to the end of their program, and now they’re trade workers and journeymen,” said Maria Witt, senior Human Resources Specialist with the program. WVU’s Pilot Apprenticeship program is aimed at offering exciting new opportunities for those who want to work with their hands and begin making a living for themselves immediately. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
ON THE INSIDE WVU center Asya Bussie is one of the few returning players who have played significant minutes for the women’s basketball team. ON PAGE 10
File Photo
West Virginia University’s ‘Pride’ of West Virginia, the Mountaineer Marching Band, performs during a home football game.
By Josh Clark Correspondent
The ‘Pride’ of West Virginia, the Mountaineer Marching Band of West Virginia University, is campaigning to offset travel costs to away games for the upcoming year. The Pride Travel Fund, created in 2007 as a way for alumni and friends to show their support for the band, supplements the cost of travel and lodging for the roughly 380 members of the band. The costs include nine full charter busses for each trip, as well as a 120 hotel rooms and a few meals for the band members and staff. Upcoming events for the band that require additional
funding include a trip to Piscataway, N.J., for the Oct. 29 football game against Rutgers University and also an away game against the University of Cincinnati. Jay Drury, director of the Mountaineer Marching Band, said he knows these outreach events are worth every penny. “The band plays an important role in creating excitement and generating Mountaineer spirit with its performances – both home and away,” Drury said. “Away football games serve as a recruiting tool for the ‘Pride,’ and band members represent WVU and the
see pride on PAGE 2
DOUG RIGG STEPPING UP After playing sparingly as a freshman, linebacker Doug Rigg is looking to become a bigger contributor in his sophomore season. SPORTS PAGE 10