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November 24, 2006
SIXTH ANNUAL APPLIED RESEARCH CONFERENCE
SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 6-7 AT OHIO UNIVERSITY
COLUMBUS, OH - Current issues related to mining, oil and gas drilling, conservation and reclamation will be discussed by mineral resources professionals from Ohio and surrounding states during this year’s Applied Research Conference, hosted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Mineral Resources Management. The conference is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, December 6-7, at Ohio University in Athens. The focus of the conference is on advances in resource extraction and restoration.
“Innovative ideas in mineral extraction and restoration are vital to the interests of our country and standard of living,” said Mike Sponsler, chief of the ODNR Division of Mineral Resources Management. “I am looking forward to a meaningful exchange of ideas that will help everyone with an interest in energy and mineral development.”
The conference keynote speaker, Harry J. Payne, is a former abandoned mine land manager for the Division of Mineral Resources Management. He recently retired from ODNR after 32 years of service to the State of Ohio in both the Coal Regulatory and Abandoned Mine Land programs. He will address Coal Mining Regulation and Reclamation in Ohio: A perspective on where we have been and the challenges ahead.
“Harry Payne spent a career working in the areas of regulation and reclamation and will undoubtedly challenge the audience with thought-provoking perspectives,” Sponsler added.
Day one of the conference includes sessions on the economic impacts of restoration, monitoring restoration impacts on streams, abandoned mine land soil issues, and the newest acid mine drainage technologies and case studies. Attention also will be given to the division’s Internet resources.
The second day will delve into the capture of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, energy production innovations and stream sedimentation. An interactive acid mine drainage workshop is also scheduled for the second day.
Attendees will have an opportunity to tour acid mine drainage treatment sites along Sunday and Monday creeks in Perry County, and view three projects that have successfully addressed this important environmental issue.
An awards luncheon, recognizing Ohio’s leaders in mineral resources education and reclamation, is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6. An evening reception, featuring educational displays by various organizations and watershed groups, is also scheduled for that day.
For further conference information, please contact John Husted with the ODNR Division of Mineral Resources Management at 614-265-6633 or visit ohiodnr.com/mineral/arc/index.htm .
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