CCST Project
The Costs of Wildfire in California
Overview
This report, undertaken by CCST and made possible with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, summarizes the state of knowledge regarding wildfire losses and their associated costs across key sectors. It challenges the assumptions underlying current fire management policies and proposes a novel framework for understanding the total cost of wildfire in California.
The results of this study suggest opportunities for policymakers to improve the effectiveness of wildfire management in California by enabling regional approaches, increasing investments in mitigation and resilience strategies, and accounting for the cumulative public health impacts of exposure to multiple fire events—including the interacting effects of wildfire smoke and COVID-19. In delivering a comprehensive framework to assess wildfire costs in California, the study finds that a full statewide calculation of wildfire costs is not possible with currently available data. Furthermore, the study finds that the costs associated with unquantified categories of loss (e.g., health impacts, loss of ecosystem services) likely exceed the reported costs. A more accurate accounting may result in more than double the currently reported costs.

Project Description
The economic burden of wildfires on the State of California and its residents is a wide-ranging topic, so correctly framing the scope of work is a crucial step in the study process.
The overarching question for the report is:
What are the key considerations concerning costs and losses from California wildfires, and what information already exists to answer them?
Elements that were considered for the report scope:
(1) Pre-Incident and Ongoing Activities
Efforts carried out to prevent unintentional human-caused wildfire ignitions or to mitigate the negative outcomes of wildfires.
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- Education/training (public and fire department)
- Ignition Detection
- Enforcement/Permitting/policing/inspections
- Monitoring and Forecasting of conditions (e.g. wind events, fuel loads)
- Infrastructure and Home Hardening
- Public Safety Power Shutoffs
- Fuels management (e.g. mechanical thinning, prescribed burns)
- Insurance
- Disaster Assistance Funds
(2) Active Incident
Suppression and emergency response efforts in response to active wildfires, wildfire smoke plumes, or related incidents (e.g. landslide, flooding).
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- Firefighting activities
- Evacuations
- Emergency Shelter
- Closures (Schools, Hospitals, Roads, work stoppages, etc.)
(3) Incident Outcomes and Recovery
Direct and indirect losses caused by wildfires, wildfire smoke, related incidents (e.g. landslide, flooding), or suppression efforts (e.g. impacts of fire retardants). Losses may be incurred during or after an active incident and may occur within the footprint of the wildfire or at a distance from the wildfire perimeter.
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- Death and injuries, including psychological impacts
- Loss of structures and infrastructure
- Loss of natural resources
- Loss of agriculture
- Environmental impacts (vegetation loss, watershed and soil impacts, etc.)
- Remediation and cleanup
- General economic impacts (business interruption, population decline)
- Supply chain impacts
- Interruption of services (utilities, transportation, government)
- Housing market impacts
- Decrease in Tax Base
Related News Stories
CCST Project
Science & Policy Beyond California
COMPLETED: January 2016
State Fellowships Planning Grant
State legislators and policymakers around the United States are encountering increasingly complicated science- and technology-related matters — pertaining to water, agriculture, energy, privacy, health, natural resources, food security, and other pressing issues. Policy decisions on these topics have widespread and long-term impacts, so it is valuable for state government lawmakers to have rapid access to trusted, impartial experts who can provide advice on and help decipher these complex issues.
Since 2009, our own CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows Program has placed PhD-level scientists annually in the California State Legislature for one-year appointments. These CCST Science Fellows gain valuable real-world experience working directly in the policymaking process as legislative staff, while California state legislators gain access to impartial, science-savvy staff to help them make critical decisions.
CCST has learned a great deal from offering this public service and government leadership training experience for scientists and engineers. Encouraged by this success, in summer 2016 CCST announced a new grant to encourage other states to replicate or adapt our CCST Science Fellows program. Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (#GBMF5943) and the Simons Foundation, this planning grant would support each grantee in completing landscape analyses, feasibility studies, and other strategic steps towards creating their own state-based, immersive science and technology policy fellowship.
In early 2017, proposals from nine states were awarded grants. CCST invited all nine teams to participate in a grant launch workshop co-hosted with the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program. Indeed, the CCST modeled its state fellowship program after that of AAAS, which places scientists in congressional offices and federal agencies.
The collective social impact of the AAAS and CCST policy fellowships has come full circle with this planning grant: of the nine awarded teams, three are led by former CCST or AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows. We hope this is a sign of even farther-reaching impact in the years to come.
Grant Recipients
Alaska
Host Institutions
University of Alaska System, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Points of Contact
Gwen Holdmann
Director, Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks
[email protected]
George Roe
Research Professor, Alaska Center for Energy and Power, University of Alaska Fairbanks
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
Colorado
Host Institutions
University of Colorado, Boulder – Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
Points of Contact
Matthew L. Druckenmiller, PhD
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
Fellowship Legacy
Matthew Druckenmiller was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow from 2013 to 2015, serving the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Connecticut
Host Institutions
Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
Points of Contact
Richard Strauss
Executive Director, Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams most recently participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
For More Information:
http://www.ctcase.org/fellowship.html
Idaho
Host Institutions
University of Idaho
Boise State University
Idaho State University
Points of Contact
Katherine Himes, Ph.D.
Director, McClure Center for Public Policy Research
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams most recently participated in a planning workshop held during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
In 2020, the Idaho Science & Technology Policy fellowship launched with its inaugural class of fellows placed within Idaho State Agencies aiding decision makers in a broad swath policy issue areas.
For More Information:
https://www.uidaho.edu/president/direct-reports/mcclure-center/istpf
Massachusetts
Host Institutions
Boston University
Points of Contact
Nathan Phillips, PhD
Professor, Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams most recently participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
On July 12, 2018, Massachusetts State Senate President Harriette Chandler (First Worcester) introduced a resolution where the Commonwealth of Massachusetts “invites and encourages non-partisan, non-profit science, engineering, technology, and scholarly societies; institutions of higher learning; not-for-profit philanthropic foundations; and allied organizations to convene a planning process and engage with legislators in Massachusetts for the establishment of a non-partisan science and technology legislative fellows program for the purpose of informing science and technology policy development in the Commonwealth.” Senate President Chandler presented the resolution to Dr. Nathan Phillips on the Massachusetts State Senate floor session that day. (Video at 34:20 mark, courtesy of The General Court)
Fellowship Legacy
Nathan Phillips was a CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow in 2014, serving the California State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee under then-Chair Mark DeSaulnier. Read Phillips’ fellowship Q&A here.
Michigan
Host Institutions
Michigan State University
Points of Contact
David W. Bertram
Associate Vice President of State Affairs, Michigan State University
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
New Jersey
Host Institutions
Rutgers University – Eagleton Institute of Politics
Points of Contact
John Weingart
Associate Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
In 2020, the first class of Eagleton Science and Politics Fellowship fellows were placed within legislative offices and executive agencies for a full year experience in New Jersey Government.
For More Information:
https://eagleton.rutgers.edu/eagleton-science-and-politics-initiative/
North Carolina
Host Institutions
Duke University Science & Society Initiative, Duke University Sanford School for Public Policy, Duke University Government Affairs Office, and North Carolina Sea Grant
Points of Contact
Andrew George
PhD Candidate, Duke University
[email protected]
Daniel Keeley
PhD Candidate, Duke University
[email protected]
Twitter: @NCSTEMPolFellow
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
In 2020, the NC STEM Policy Fellowship placed its inaugural class of fellows in the NC Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Commerce. These and future fellows will spend a year in service to North Carolina State Government aiding decision makers and providing insight on state matters.
For More Information:
https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/funding-opps/fellowships/nc-stem-policy-fellowship/
Washington
Host Institutions
Washington State Academy of Sciences, Washington State University William D. Ruckelshaus Center
Points of Contact
Donna Gerardi Riordan
Executive Director, Washington Academy of Sciences
[email protected]
Melanie Roberts, PhD
ST4S Consulting
[email protected]
Progress Update
The team was awarded a strategic planning grant from CCST in early 2017, and participated in the CCST grant launch workshop at the 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting. Grantee teams participated in a planning workshop held during the 2017 NCSL Legislative Summit and during the 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting.
Fellowship Legacy
Melanie Roberts was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow from 2006 to 2008, serving in the U.S. Senate and the National Science Foundation. Roberts is also the founding director of Emerging Leaders in Science & Society (ELISS), a program hosted by American Association for the Advancement of Science, which recruits graduate students to lead cross-sector dialogues on a range of science policy issues.
Donna Gerardi Riordan is the former Director of Programs at CCST, playing a leading role during the establishment of the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program.
Timeline
(July 2016)
(February 2017)
(Other)
Media
2017
CCST Project
Technology to Prevent Cell Phone Use in California Prisons
COMPLETED: May 2012
Project Team Members
The Contraband Cell Phones in Prison project is fortunate to have an outstanding set of participants. The overall project is led by Charles Harper. Below are details on the project team members.
name |
affiliation |
position |
---|---|---|
Charles Harper (Chair) | Strategy and Systems Innovation Group, Semtech | Senior Vice President |
S. Pete Worden | NASA Ames Research Center | Director |
Don Beddell | NASA Ames Research Center | Network Engineer |
Bobby Cates | NASA Ames Research Center | External Interface Network Engineer |
Deb Feng | NASA Ames Research Center | Deputy Center Director (acting) |
Ray Gilstrap | NASA Ames Research Center | Network Engineer, Information Technology Directorate |
William Hunt | NASA Ames Research Center | RF/IT Technician |
William Notley | NASA Ames Research Center | ARC RF Spectrum Manager |
James Williams | NASA Ames Research Center | IT Director and ARC Chief Technology Officer |
Brian W. Carver | University of California, Berkeley | Assistant Professor |
Pat Diamond | Consultant | |
David Goldstein | Draper Laboratory | Sr. Systems Engineer |
Pat Mantey | UCSC and CITRIS | |
Susan Hackwood | CCST | Executive Director |
Lora Lee Martin | CCST | Government Affairs |
CCST Project
innovate 2 innovation
COMPLETED: March 2011
Innovation Action Team
The primary recommendation of the Innovate 2 Innovation project is to bring together public and private leaders who are given a specific charge to focus on California's innovation and competitiveness infrastructure. An Innovation Action Team (IAT), comprised of leaders from universities, industry, and government, has been tasked to develop an Innovation Roadmap that will include specific recommendations for Improving Critical Innovation Infrastructure in California. This Innovation Action Team would be convened for this specific purpose over a defined period of approximately 12 months. Facilitated and staffed by CCST, this team would provide their recommendations to the Legislature.
Two key strategies essential to achieve this task are:
- Developing and leveraging public-private partnerships linking California's assets in education, research, technology, finance, and philanthropy to create social and technical innovations that competitors with less complete infrastructure cannot match.
- Enlisting California's S&T community in finding solutions to two of the state's major challenges, education and water, and, in so doing, enhancing California's international competitiveness.
name |
affiliation |
position |
---|---|---|
Randolph Hall | University of Southern California | Vice President of Research |
William F. Miller | Graduate School of Business, Stanford University | Herbert Hoover Professor of Public & Private Management, Emeritus |
Bob Sullivan | Rady School of Management, University of California San Diego | Dean |
Sam Traina | University of California Merced | Professor of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology, Vice Chancellor for Research, Graduate Dean |
Steve Zornetzer | NASA Ames Research Center | Associate Center Director |
Education Action Team
As a component of the overall i2i assessment and recommendations requested by the Legislature, CCST facilitated several discussions around the state, explored the opportunities in new technologies created for education, and the Education Action Team will produce recommendations offering more radically effective approaches to educate California's workforce.
There still is a need and a real opportunity to look at different models to inspire excellence in education. Utilizing public/private partnerships, a new, innovative approach could leverage the technology base in California to create educational opportunity; a new, transformative approach targeted at worker training and advanced education with access for all Californians. Investing in digitally designed education is, in effect, using the technological supremacy of the state to "reboot" the state's education delivery system and would be designed for the digital native generation - the state's future workforce.
name |
affiliation |
position |
---|---|---|
Dede Alpert | California State Senate | Former State Senator |
Anne Marie Bergen | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo | Teacher in Residence, Biological Sciences |
Mohammad Qayoumi | San Jose State University | President |
Stephen Rockwood | Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) | Former Executive Vice President and Director |
Water Action Team
Water continues to be the most fundamental resource challenge facing California. Water issues have shaped California's politics and economy since its founding. While the North has the water and the South needs water, the Central Valley must have water to grow its crops. Historically, these water resource challenges were solved by engineering solutions including building massive water systems based on canals and dams.
While these investments remain urgent today, California faces a more complex range of resource challenges including inter-related issues of water, energy, agriculture, climate change, and environmental stewardship that can be addressed through the state's significant science and technology community, represented by its universities, research institutions, and innovative companies.
name |
affiliation |
position |
---|---|---|
Jude Laspa | Bechtel Group, Inc. | Former Executive Vice President and Director |
Soroosh Sorooshian | Center for Hydrometeorology & Remote Sensing (CHRS), UC Irvine | Distinguished Professor and Director |
Robert Wilkinson | Water Policy Program, University of California Santa Barbara | Director |
David Zoldoske | California Water Institute and the Center for Irrigation Technology CSU Fresno |
Director |
CCST Project
innovate 2 innovation
COMPLETED: March 2011
Publications
Legislative Request
(May 17, 2010)
(Jan. 22, 2011)
Data Sources
- U.S. Commerce Department Announces Members of New Innovation Advisory Board
- Governor's Guide on State Research & Development Funds: NGA Center on Best Practices & Pew Center on the States
State Profile - California by Collaborative Economics - Science and Technology Index 2010: Enduring Lessons for the Intangible Economy
January 2011 - Issues In Science and Technology
Spring 2010 - Regional Innovation Initiative
Compete.org (page no longer available) - Innovation in America: Investing in Innovation (1.8MB)
National Governors Association/Pew Center on the States - Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (3.0MB)
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative/John Adams Innovation Institute, 2009 - Innovative Solutions for California's Future Briefing Book (6.1MB)
Milken Institute State of the State Conference, October 2008 - Innovation Driven Economic Development Model: A Practical Guide for the Reginal Innovation Broker (1.9MB)
Collaborative Economics, September 2008 - Best-Performing Cities 2008: Where America's Jobs Are Created and Sustained (2.5MB)
GreenStreet Partners/Milken Institute, September 2008 - California's Position in Technology and Science: A Comparative Benchmarking Assessment (7.4MB)
Milken Institute, June 2008 - State Technology and Science Index: Enduring Lessons for the Intangible Economy (1.3MB)
Milken Institute, June 2008 - Overview of California State-Funded R&D, 2004-2007: Understanding the State's Role in Shaping R&D Spending California Council on Science and Technology, November 2008
- The Innovation Economy: Protecting the Talent Advantage (975KB)
Bay Area Economic Forum, February 2006 - Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape.
Henry William Chesbrough, 2006 - California State Science and Technology Policy: Applications, Implications, Recommendations (7.0MB)
Joint Committee on Preparing California for the 21st Century, November 2004 - Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology.
Henry William Chesbrough, 2003 - Clusters of Innovation Initiative: San Diego
Council on Competitiveness, May 2001 - The Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture Volume I
Manuel Castells, 2000
Related Publications
CCST Project
Orphan Wells in California
Process
This report will be researched and written by principal researchers and select CCST staff within a project team, with an appropriate range of expertise, a balance of perspectives, and no conflicts of interest (unless a conflict is deemed unavoidable and is promptly and publicly disclosed). As the report is drafted, it will be submitted for feedback from identified experts and CCST Council Members for review based on their expertise.
CCST strives to produce reports through a transparent process to ensure that the final product is responsive to the questions of the sponsor, while maintaining full scientific independence. Transparency is achieved by engaging the sponsor in dialogue about the nature of the information they need and informing the sponsoring agency of our progress. CCST studies follow a process modeled after the National Academies study process with checks and balances at each stage. The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Project Team
Dr. Judson Boomhower is the primary analyst for the study and will be assisted in writing the body of the report by CCST staff members Dr. Mikel Shybut and Dr. M. Daniel DeCillis. Terence Thorn serves as the project team's lead expert advisor.
Terence Thorn, JKM Consulting
Judson Boomhower, UCSD
Mikel Shybut, CCST
M. Daniel DeCillis, CCST
The following institutions are subcontractors and are not responsible for the final content of the report, which rests with CCST and the Project Team:
UCSD
JKM Consulting
Peer Review
Peer review is the process of the evaluation of the scientific and technical merit (and likelihood of success) of the proposed research project/program by a panel of reviewers with direct expertise in the area of research to be evaluated who have no personal stake or interest in the outcome of the evaluation process. The salient features of the peer review process are the evaluation of the research program by "peer" experts in relevant fields who are deemed qualified to evaluate the product based solely on the scientific and technical merit of the content. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
All CCST reports are peer reviewed using guidelines and processes established by CCST to assure the highest scientific and technical standards. Guidelines are similar to those of the National Academy of Science, adapted to be appropriate for California. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
Project Team & Staff Bios
Judson Boomhower Ph.D
Lead Author
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics, UC San Diego
Judson Boomhower is an applied microeconomist who studies environmental and energy economics and policy. His research covers a range of topics and industries including oil and gas extraction, electricity markets, energy efficiency, and the economics of climate change. He received a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford.
Terence Thorn
President
JKM Energy and Environmental Consulting
Terence (Terry) Thorn is a 43-year veteran of the domestic and international natural gas industry and has held a wide variety of senior positions beginning his career as Chairman of Mojave Pipeline Company and President and CEO of Transwestern Pipeline Company. He has worked as an international project developer throughout the world.
As a Chief Environmental Officer, Terry supported Greenfield projects in 14 countries to minimize their environmental impact. He wrote and had adopted company wide Environmental Health and Safety Management Standards and implemented the first environmental management plan for pipeline and power plant construction. In attendance at COP 1 and 2, Terry has remained involved in the climate change discussions where he is focusing on international policies and best practices to control methane emissions.
Residing in Houston, Terry is President of JKM Energy and Environmental Consulting and specializes in project development and management, environmental risk assessment and mitigation, business and policy development, and market analysis. He has done considerable work in the areas of pipeline integrity management systems, management systems auditing, safety and reliability and the reduction of methane emissions from natural gas facilities.
He also serves as Senior Advisor to the President of the International Gas Union where he helps drive the technical, policy and analytical work product for the 13 Committees and Task Forces with their 1000 members from 91 countries. He also serves on the Advisory Boards for the North American Standards Board where he co-chaired the gas electric harmonization task force, and the University of Texas' Bureau of Economic Geology's Center for Energy Economics. Terry is also on the Board of Air Alliance Houston. He served on the CCST California Council on Science and Technology steering committee for the report that provided the state with an up-date and independent technical assessment of the thirteen natural gas storage fields in California. Currently he is on the CCST team that will estimate the liability and costs to the state of plugging and abandoning oil and gas wells and decommissioning their attendant facilities.
Terry has published numerous articles on energy, risk management and corporate governance and was author of the International Energy Agency's 2007 North American Gas Market Review. As advisor to European gas companies and regulators he co-authored The Natural Gas Transmission Business -a Comparison Between the Interstate US-American and European Situations, Environmental Issues Surrounding Shale Gas Production, The U.S. Experience, A Primer. As a participant in the National Petroleum Council Study Prudent Development: Realizing the Potential of North America's Abundant Natural Gas and Oil Resources (September 2011), Terry wrote the section on electric gas harmonization, co-authored the chapter on electric generation, and advised on the residential commercial chapter. Most recently he has completed market research projects on electricity markets, gas markets including modeling the US gas markets 2015-2050. Gas Shale Environmental Issues and Challenges was just published by Curtin University in 2015. His most recent papers are "The Bridge to Nowhere: Gas in An All Electric World," "The Paradigms of Reducing Energy Poverty" and "Making Fossils Fuels Great Again: Initial Observations About Trump's Energy Policy."
Mikel Shybut Ph.D
Project Manager, Author
CCST
Mikel Shybut is a CCST Program Associate. Previously he was a CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellow appointed to the California State Senate on the Transportation and Housing Committee, which analyzes legislation covering policy areas from essential infrastructure needs to autonomous vehicles and affordable housing.
Shybut received his PhD in Plant Biology from UC Berkeley, where he studied the molecular mechanisms of cassava bacterial blight, a disease of agricultural significance in the tropics. Shybut completed his BA in Biological Chemistry and in Russian at Grinnell College in Iowa.
M. Daniel DeCillis Ph.D
Senior Research Associate, Author
CCST
M. Daniel DeCillis is Senior Research Associate & Director of Web Operations at the California Council on Science and Technology, where he has worked since 2001. He has been principal project writer on studies including the Overview of California State-Funded R&D, 2004-2007 (2008), Critical Path Analysis of California's Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation System (2007), An Industry Perspective of the Professional Science Master's Degree in California (2005), Opportunities for Collaboration in High-tech Research and Teacher Professional Development (2004), the Critical Path Analysis of California's Science and Technology Education System (2002), and The Preparation of Elementary School Teachers to Teach Science in California (2010); he has also contributed substantially to CCST projects on nanotechnology, energy, and intellectual property. In addition he designed and edited the Workforce Investment Board Online Toolkit (2008), a major component of CCST's contributions to the California Innovation Corridor project. In 2011, he edited and reviewed Imagining the Future: Digitally Enhanced Education in California and components of California's Energy Future. In 2012, he completed the California Climate Change Research Database website. He was part of the team that produced the 2014 report Achieving a Sustainable California Water Future through Innovations in Science and Technology and a co-author on Promoting Engagement of the California Community Colleges with the Maker Movement (2016) and The Maker Movement and K-12 Education (2017).
DeCillis has presented CCST's work on a variety of projects in numerous venues (including the Legislature and the National Academies) both in California and abroad. Since 2002, he has served as primary writer and editor for CCST's Annual Report and newsletter; he is also responsible for design and management of the CCST website. From 2001- 2004 he served as the Managing Editor for the Journal of Robotic Systems. Prior to this, he worked as a paleographer and French instructor; he holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Romance Studies from Duke University and a B.A. with High Honors in French and Latin from Oberlin College.
Sarah Brady Ph.D
Deputy Director
Project Director
CCST
Sarah Brady, Ph.D. is the Deputy Director for CCST. In addition to managing large-scale commissioned projects requested by the Legislature and state agencies, Sarah leads outreach efforts to connect CCST's network of experts with state decision makers.
Prior to joining CCST, Sarah served as Legislative Director in Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla's office where she was hired after her placement as a CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellow in 2014. During her time with Assemblywoman Bonilla, Sarah initiated policy work to retain women in STEM careers by preventing pregnancy discrimination in graduate programs. As a result of legislation that she conceptualized and staffed through the process, the law now requires all California colleges to establish a family leave policy for their graduate students. Sarah also spearheaded legislation to increase the use of biomethane, reduce the cost of college textbooks, and improve access to computer science education. In addition, she conducted bill analysis and provided vote recommendations to Assemblywoman Bonilla on all bills related to utilities and commerce, energy, water, natural resources, and environmental toxicity.
Sarah earned Bachelor's degrees in Chemistry and French from North Central College and a Doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Oregon researching the degradation of plastics. She was also a GK-12 Fellow and an NSF-IGERT Fellow where she worked at the Hong Kong Baptist University. In her free time, Sarah likes to watch the Green Bay Packers, brew beer, camp, and is the Co-Chair for the CCST Science Fellows Alumni Group.
Amber Mace Ph.D
Executive Director
CCST
Amber Mace, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and is a Policy Fellow with the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. Mace devotes her time to building new and revitalizing existing programs and organizations that are dedicated to increasing the impact and value of science-informed decision-making.Prior to this, Mace served as the Associate Director of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. She also served as the Executive Director of the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and Assistant Secretary for Coastal Matters at the California Natural Resources Agency. In this role she applied her background in ocean policy and marine ecology and collaborative leadership skills to guide the state in developing policies that promote the sustainable use of California's ocean ecosystem. Prior to that, she served in the dual roles of science advisor to the OPC and executive director of the California Ocean Science Trust, a non-profit whose mission is to provide objective, high-quality science to decision makers.
She learned firsthand about the challenges of public policy-making at the federal level as a Knauss Fellow in the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and at the state level as a California Sea Grant state fellow at the California Natural Resources Agency. Amber was recognized as a Coastal Hero by Sunset magazine in 2011 and her California coastal research experience includes piloting a submersible with the Sustainable Seas Expedition. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in geography from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in ecology from UC Davis and the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
CCST Project
Orphan Wells in California
Overview
Responding to a request from the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, now the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), under the California Department of Conservation, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) conducted a study entitled “Orphan Wells in California: An Initial Assessment of the State’s Potential Liabilities to Plug and Decommission Orphan Oil and Gas Wells.” Orphan wells are wells that have no known responsible operator or no financially viable operator capable of plugging the well and decommissioning the well’s production facilities. An active or idle well can potentially become an orphan well when deserted by a financially insolvent operator. Responsibilities for plugging and decommissioning these wells may ultimately fall to the State. As the United States’ fourth largest producer of crude oil and fifteenth of natural gas, with approximately 107,000 active and idle wells in the state, the issue of ensuring that resources exist to properly plug and decommission every well is significant for California.
The CCST report uses broad categorizations to screen for wells that may already be orphaned or that are at high risk of becoming orphan wells in the near future. The analysis finds that 5,540 wells in California may already have no viable operator, and that the potential net liability for the State appears to be about $500 million, after subtracting available bonds. An additional 69,425 economically marginal and idle wells could become orphaned in the future.

Related News Stories
CCST Project
Well Stimulation in California (SB4)
COMPLETED: July 2015
Publications
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, Vol. 1 (SB4)
Full Report:
Executive Summary (All Volumes)
Summary Report (All Volumes)
Vol. 1 Executive Summary
Vol. 1 Appendix L: Well-Record Result Data Set
Cover sheet (PDF) | Data file (XLS) | Data file (CSV)
Vol. 1 Appendix M: Integrated hydraulic fracturing data set regarding occurrence, location, date, and depth
Cover sheet (PDF) | Data file (XLS) | Data file (CSV)
Vol. 1 Appendix N: Pools with Production Predominantly Facilitated By Hydraulic Fracturing
Cover sheet (PDF) | Data file (XLS) | Data file (CSV) Part 1 Part 2
Vol. 1 Appendix O: Water Volume Per Stimulation Event
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, Vol. 2 (SB4)
Full Report:
Executive Summary (All Volumes)
Summary Report (All Volumes)
Vol. 2 Front Matter
Vol. 2 Chapter 1
Vol. 2 Chapter 2
Vol. 2 Chapter 3
Vol. 2 Chapter 4
Vol. 2 Chapter 5
Vol. 2 Chapter 6
Vol. 2 General Appendices: A (SB4 Language Mandating Study); B (CCST Steering Committee Members); C (Report Author Biosketches); D (Glossary); E (Review of Information Sources); F (CCST Study Process); G (Expert Oversight & Review)
Chapter 2 Appendices
Chapter 4 Appendices
Chapter 5 Appendices
Chapter 6 Appendices
Appendix 2.G: Data on Wastewater Disposal Ponds (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Appendix 5.E: Estimate of the Number Hydraulic Fracturing Operations by Pool in California (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.B-1: Chronic Hazard Screening Criteria, Inhalation Route (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.B-2, Chronic Hazard Screening Criteria, Oral Route (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.C-1: Hazard Screening Matrix for Acute Human Health Effects of Well Stimulation Fluid Substance (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.C-2: Hazard Screening Matrix for Chronic Human Health Effects of Well Stimulation Fluid Substances (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.C-3: Hazard Screening Matrix for Acute Human Health Effects of SCAQMD Acidization Fluid Substances (ONLINE ONLY)
Data file (XLS) Data File (CSV)
Table 6.C-4: Hazard Screening Matrix for Chronic Human Health Effects of SCAQMD Acidization Fluid Substances (ONLINE ONLY)
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, Vol. 3 (SB4)
Full Report:
Executive Summary (All Volumes)
Summary Report (All Volumes)
Vol. 3 Front Matter
Vol. 3 Chapter 1
Vol. 3 Chapter 2
Vol. 3 Chapter 3
Vol. 3 Chapter 4
Vol. 3 Chapter 5
General Appendices A (SB4 Language Mandating Study); B (CCST Steering Committee Members); C (Report Author Biosketches); D (Glossary); E (Review of Information Sources); F (CCST Study Process); G (Expert Oversight & Review)
Chapter 2 Appendices
Chapter 3 Appendices
Chapter 4 Appendices
Chapter 5 Appendices
Appendix 5.C (ONLINE ONLY)
Press Releases
(Jul. 9, 2015)
(Jan. 14, 2015)

Correspondence
2016
2015
Related Publications
CCST Project
Well Stimulation in California
COMPLETED: July 2016
Process
CCST studies follow a process modeled after the National Academies study process with checks and balances at each stage. The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Defining the Study
Study Authors and Steering Committee (SC) Selection and Approval
Author and Steering Committee Meetings, Information Gathering, Deliberations, and Drafting the Study
Report Review
The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Authors
Staff of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) researched and wrote the body of the report. In addition, staff and faculty at a number of research institutions collaboratedon the report. The following institutions are subcontractors and are not responsible for the final content of the report, which rests with CCST, LBNL and the steering committee.
California State University Stanislaus Endangered Species Recovery Program
Don Gautier, LLC
Pacific Institute
Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy
Stanford University
Click below to see a complete list of the authors who contributed to this project.
Steering Committee Members
The steering committee oversees the report authors, reaches conclusions based on the findings of the authors and writes an executive summary.
Committee Selection and Approval
Selection of appropriate committee members, individually and collectively, is essential for the success of a study. All committee members serve as individual experts, not as representatives of organizations or interest groups. Each member is expected to contribute to the project on the basis of his or her own expertise and good judgment. A committee is not finally approved until a thorough balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held, and any issues raised in that discussion are investigated and addressed. Members of a committee are anonymous until this process is completed.
Careful steps are taken to convene committees that meet the following criteria:
Expertise
Expertise
The committee must include experts with the specific expertise and experience needed to address the study's statement of task. A major strength of CCST is the ability to bring together recognized experts from diverse disciplines and backgrounds who might not otherwise collaborate. These diverse groups are encouraged to conceive new ways of thinking about a problem.
Perspectives
Perspectives
Having the right expertise is not sufficient for success. It is also essential to evaluate the overall composition of the committee in terms of different experiences and perspectives. The goal is to ensure that the relevant points of view are, in CCST's judgment, reasonably balanced so that the committee can carry out its charge objectively and credibly.
Screening
Screening
All provisional committee members are screened in writing and in a confidential group discussion about possible conflicts of interest. For this purpose, a "conflict of interest" means any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it could significantly impair the individual's objectivity or could create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization. The term "conflict of interest" means something more than individual bias. There must be an interest, ordinarily financial, that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. Except for those rare situations in which CCST determines that a conflict of interest is unavoidable and promptly and publicly discloses the conflict of interest, no individual can be appointed to serve (or continue to serve) on a committee used in the development of reports if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed.
Point of View
Point of View
A point of view or bias is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Committee members are expected to have points of view, and CCST attempts to balance these points of view in a way deemed appropriate for the task. Committee members are asked to consider respectfully the viewpoints of other members, to reflect their own views rather than be a representative of any organization, and to base their scientific findings and conclusions on the evidence. Each committee member has the right to issue a dissenting opinion to the report if he or she disagrees with the consensus of the other members.
Considerations
Considerations
Membership in CCST and previous involvement in CCST studies are taken into account in committee selection. The inclusion of women, minorities, and young professionals are additional considerations.
Committee Selection
Specific steps in the committee selection and approval process are as follows:
Staff solicit an extensive number of suggestions for potential committee members from a wide range of sources, then recommend a slate of nominees. Nominees are reviewed and approved at several levels within CCST.
A provisional slate is then approved by CCST's Board. The provisional committee members complete background information and conflict-of-interest disclosure forms. The committee balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held at the first committee meeting. Any conflicts of interest or issues of committee balance and expertise are investigated; changes to the committee are proposed and finalized.
CCST's Board formally approves the committee. Committee members continue to be screened for conflict of interest throughout the life of the committee.
Committee Members' Bios
Jane Long Ph.D
Steering Committee Chair
Principal Associate Director at Large, Retired
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Dr. Long recently retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where she was the Principal Associate Director at Large, Fellow in the LLNL Center for Global Strategic Research and the Associate Director for Energy and Environment. She is currently a senior contributing scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund, Visiting Researcher at UC Berkeley, Co-chair of the Task Force on Geoengineering for the Bipartisan Policy Center and chairman of the California Council on Science and Technology's California's Energy Future committee. Her current work involves strategies for dealing with climate change including reinvention of the energy system, geoengineering and adaptation. Dr. Long was the Dean of the Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno and Department Chair for the Energy Resources Technology and the Environmental Research Departments at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Brown University and Masters and PhD from U. C. Berkeley. Dr. Long is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was named Alum of the Year in 2012 by the Brown University School of Engineering. Dr. Long is an Associate of the National Academies of Science (NAS) and a Senior Fellow and council member of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and the Breakthrough Institute. She serves on the board of directors for the Clean Air Task Force and the Center for Sustainable Shale Development.
Roger Aines Ph.D
Senior Scientist, Atmospheric, Earth, and Energy Division and Carbon Fuel Cycle Program Leader E Programs, Global Security
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Roger Aines leads the development of carbon management technologies at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, working since 1984 in the U.S. national laboratory system. Dr. Aines's work has spanned nuclear waste disposal, environmental remediation, applying stochastic methods to inversion and data fusion, managing carbon emissions, and sequestration monitoring and verification methods. Aines takes an integrated view of the energy, climate, and environmental aspects of carbon-based fuel production and use. His current focus is on efficient ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and safer methods for producing environmentally clean fuel. He holds 13 patents and has authored more than 100 publications. Aines holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Carleton College, and Doctor of Philosophy in geochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.
Jens Birkholzer Ph.D
Deputy Director, Earth Sciences Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Dr. Birkholzer joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1994 as a post-doctoral fellow and has since been promoted to the second-highest scientist rank at this research facility. He currently serves as the deputy director of the Earth Sciences Division and as the program lead for the nuclear waste program, and also leads a research group working on environmental impacts related to geologic carbon sequestration and other subsurface activities. His area of expertise is subsurface hydrology with emphasis on understanding and modeling coupled fluid, gas, solute and heat transport in complex subsurface systems, such as heterogeneous sediments or fractured rock. His recent research was mostly in the context of risk/performance assessment, e.g., for geologic disposal of radioactive wastes and for geologic CO2 storage. Dr. Birkholzer has authored about 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and has over 230 conference publications and abstracts.
Brian Cypher Ph.D
Associate Director, Endangered Species Recovery Program
California State University-Stanislaus
Dr. Cypher received a PhD in Zoology from Southern Illinois University in 1991. Since 1990, he has been engaged in ecological research and conservation efforts on a variety of animal and plant species and their habitats. Much of this work has occurred in the San Joaquin Valley in central California and has involved extensive evaluations of the effects of hydrocarbon production and energy development on ecological processes and individual species. The information generated has been presented in numerous reports and publications, which have contributed to the development of conservation strategies and best-management practices that help mitigate environmental impacts from energy development activities.
Jim Dieterich Ph.D
Distinguished Professor of Geophysics
University of California, Riverside
Dr. Dieterich's research interests have to do with the mechanics of deformation processes, particularly as they relate to earthquake and volcanic phenomena. Areas of emphasis include development of governing relations for earthquake nucleation and earthquake occurrence; estimation of earthquake probabilities; fault constitutive properties; and coupled interactions between magmatic activity, faulting, and earthquakes. Current research includes (1) numerical simulation of earthquakes processes in interacting fault systems, (2) origins of earthquake clustering including foreshocks and aftershocks, (3) application of seismicity rate changes to infer stress changes in volcanic and tectonic environments, (4) laboratory investigation of fault constitutive properties and surface contact process.
Donald L. Gautier Ph.D
Consulting Petroleum Geologist
DonGautier L.L.C.
With a career spanning almost four decades, Dr. Donald L. Gautier is an internationally recognized leader and author in the theory and practice of petroleum resource analysis. As a principal architect of modern USGS assessment methodology, Gautier's accomplishments include leadership of the first comprehensive evaluation of undiscovered oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle, the first national assessment of United States petroleum resources to be fully documented in a digital environment, and the first development of performance-based methodology for assessment of unconventional petroleum resources such as shale gas or light, tight oil. He was lead scientist for the San Joaquin Basin and Los Angeles Basin Resource Assessment projects. His recent work has focused on the analysis of growth of reserves in existing fields and on the development of probabilistic resource/cost functions. Gautier is the author of more than 200 technical publications, most of which concern the evaluation of undiscovered and undeveloped petroleum resources. He holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Colorado.
Peter H. Gleick Ph.D
President
Pacific Institute
Dr. Peter H. Gleick is an internationally recognized environmental scientist and co-founder of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California. His research addresses the critical connections between water and human health, the hydrologic impacts of climate change, sustainable water use, privatization and globalization, and international security and conflicts over water resources. Dr. Gleick was named a MacArthur "genius" Fellow in October 2003 for his work on water, climate, and security. In 2006 Dr. Gleick was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Dr. Gleick's work has redefined water from the realm of engineers to the world of social justice, sustainability, human rights, and integrated thinking. His influence on the field of water has been long and deep: he developed one of the earliest assessments of the impacts of climate change on water resources, defined and explored the links between water and international security and local conflict, and developed a comprehensive argument in favor of basic human needs for water and the human right to water - work that has been used by the UN and in human rights court cases. He pioneered the concept of the "soft path for water," developed the idea of "peak water," and has written about the need for a "local water movement." Dr. Gleick received a B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group of the University of California, Berkeley. He serves on the boards of numerous journals and organizations, and is the author of many scientific papers and ten books, including Bottled & Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water and the biennial water report, The World's Water, published by Island Press (Washington, D.C.).
A. Daniel Hill Ph.D
Department Head, Professor and holder of the Noble Chair, Petroleum Engineering Department
Texas A&M University
Dr. A. D. Hill is Professor, holder of the Noble Endowed Chair, and Department Head of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. Previously, he taught for 22 years at The University of Texas at Austin after spending five years in industry. He holds a B. S. degree from Texas A&M University and M. S. and Ph. D. degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, all in chemical engineering. He is the author of the Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) monograph, Production Logging: Theoretical and Interpretive Elements, co-author of the textbook, Petroleum Production Systems (1st and 2nd editions), co-author of an SPE book, Multilateral Wells, and author of over 170 technical papers and five patents. He has been a Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Lecturer, has served on numerous SPE committees and was founding chairman of the Austin SPE Section. He was named a Distinguished Member of SPE in 1999 and received the SPE Production and Operations Award in 2008. In 2012, he was one of the two inaugural winners of the SPE Pipeline Award, which recognizes faculty, who have fostered petroleum engineering Ph.Ds. to enter academia. He currently serves on the SPE Editorial Review Committee, the SPE Global Training Committee, and the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference Program Committee. Professor Hill is an expert in the areas of production engineering, well completions, well stimulation, production logging, and complex well performance (horizontal and multilateral wells), and has presented lectures and courses and consulted on these topics throughout the world.
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: Prof. Dan Hill
In accordance with the practice of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), CCST makes best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on a committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and CCST determines that the conflict is unavoidable. A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. An objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests, and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include among others, individuals with research and expertise in the area of acid treatments for petroleum wells who have studied oil and gas industry operations in the United States and are internationally recognized for this expertise. Acid treatment is of particular public concern in California and is the subject of regulation under SB4.
To meet the need for this expertise and experience, Dr. Dan Hill is proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because of investments he holds and research services provided by his employer.
As his biographical summary makes clear, Dr. Hill is a recognized expert in petroleum reservoir engineering with many publications to wit. He is also known as one of the world's key experts in acid treatment.
After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with the equivalent combination of expertise in acid treatment as Dr. Hill, who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.
Larry Lake Ph.D
Professor, Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
University of Texas, Austin
Larry W. Lake is a professor of the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and director of the Center for Petroleum Asset Risk Management. He holds B.S.E and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University and Rice University. Dr. Lake has published widely; he is the author or co-author of more than 100 technical papers, the editor of 3 bound volumes and author or co-author of four textbooks. He has been teaching at UT for 34 years before which he worked for Shell Development Company in Houston, Texas. He was chairman of the PGE department twice, from 1989 to 1997 and from 2008 to 2010. He formerly held the Shell Distinguished Chair and the W.A. (Tex) Moncrief, Jr. Centennial Endowed Chair in Petroleum Engineering. He currently holds the W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Centennial Chair in Petroleum Engineering. Dr. Lake has served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) as well as on several of its committees; he has twice been an SPE distinguished lecturer. Dr. Lake is a member of the US National Academy of Engineers and won the 1996 Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal of the SPE. He won the 1999 Dad's Award for excellence in teaching undergraduates at The University of Texas and the 1999 Hocott Award in the College of Engineering for excellence in research. He also is a member of the 2001 Engineering Dream Team awarded by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. He is an SPE Honorary Member.
Tom McKone Ph.D
Deputy for Research Programs in the Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Department
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Thomas E. McKone is a senior staff scientist and Deputy for Research Programs in the Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. At LBNL, he leads the Sustainable Energy Systems Group. His research focuses on the development, use, and evaluation of models and data for human-health and ecological risk assessments, as well as the health and environmental impacts of energy, industrial, and agricultural systems. Outside of Berkeley, he has served six years on the EPA Science Advisory Board, has been a member of more than a dozen National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committees including the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and has been on consultant committees for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Health Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. McKone is a Fellow of the Society of Risk Analysis and has received two major awards from the International Society of Exposure Analysis - one for lifetime achievement in exposure science research and one for research that has impacted major international and national environmental policies.
William A. Minner Ph.D
Principal Consultant
StrataGen, Inc.
Minner is an independent petroleum engineering consultant, with a primary focus on hydraulic fracture well stimulation technology and application. After receiving B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering with a petroleum option from the University of California, Berkeley, Minner joined Unocal in 1980, and began to focus on hydraulic fracturing well stimulation in 1985. In 1995, he left Unocal to open an office for Pinnacle Technologies in Bakersfield. Pinnacle's focus was on the development and commercialization of hydraulic fracture mapping technologies; Minner's role was in engineering consulting, using fracture diagnostics and mapping results to assist clients with hydraulic fracture engineering design, execution, and analysis. His engineering consulting role continued after the fracture mapping business was sold in 2008 and the company name was changed to StrataGen Engineering, and after February 2015, when he left StrataGen to venture out in the independent engineering consulting arena. Minner is a registered Petroleum Engineer in California, and received Society of Petroleum Engineers regional awards in 2011 and 2015 for his contribution to technical progress and interchange. He has authored or coauthored 21 industry technical papers on hydraulic fracturing.
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest: William Minner
In accordance with the practice of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), CCST makes best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on a committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and CCST determines that the conflict is unavoidable. A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. An objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests, and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include, among others, individuals with direct experience in the area of well stimulation practice, specifically in California. Well stimulation is of particular public concern in California and is the subject of regulation under SB4. The practice in California is significantly different than in other states so we require someone with direct experience in the state.
To meet the need for this expertise and experience, William Minner is proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because of investments he holds and research services provided by his employer.
As his biographical summary makes clear, William Minner is a recognized expert in petroleum reservoir stimulation with a long history of practice in California as well as around the world. He is one of the most recognized experts in California well stimulation design and execution.
After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with the equivalent combination of expertise as William Minner, who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.
Amy Myers Jaffe
Executive Director, Energy and Sustainability
UC Davis
Amy Myers Jaffe is a leading expert on global energy policy, geopolitical risk, and energy and sustainability. Jaffe serves as executive director for Energy and Sustainability at University of California, Davis with a joint appointment to the Graduate School of Management and Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS). At ITS-Davis, Jaffe heads the fossil fuel component of Next STEPS (Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways). She is associate editor (North America) for the academic journal Energy Strategy Reviews. Prior to joining UC Davis, Jaffe served as director of the Energy Forum and Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. Jaffe's research focuses on oil and natural gas geopolitics, strategic energy policy, corporate investment strategies in the energy sector, and energy economics. She was formerly senior editor and Middle East analyst for Petroleum Intelligence Weekly. Jaffe is widely published, including as co-author of Oil, Dollars, Debt and Crises: The Global Curse of Black Gold (Cambridge University Press, January 2010 with Mahmoud El-Gamal). She served as co-editor of Energy in the Caspian Region: Present and Future (Palgrave, 2002) and Natural Gas and Geopolitics: From 1970 to 2040 (Cambridge University Press, 2006). Jaffe was the honoree for Esquire's annual 100 Best and Brightest in the contribution to society category (2005) and Elle Magazine's Women for the Environment (2006) and holds the excellence in writing prize from the International Association for Energy Economics (1994).
Seth B. Shonkoff Ph.D, MPH
Executive Director
Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy
Dr. Shonkoff is the executive director of the energy science and policy institute, PSE Healthy Energy. Dr. Shonkoff is also a visiting scholar in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, and an affiliate in the Environment Energy Technology Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley California. An environmental and public health scientist by training, he has more than 15 years of experience in water, air, climate, and population health research. Dr. Shonkoff completed his PhD in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and his MPH in epidemiology in the School of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a contributing author to the Human Health chapter of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). He has worked and published on topics related to the intersection of energy, air pollution, water quality, climate, and human health from scientific and policy perspectives. Dr. Shonkoff's research also focuses on the development of the effectiveness of anthropogenic climate change mitigation policies that generate socioeconomic and health co-benefits. Dr. Shonkoff's current work focuses on the human health, environmental and climate dimensions of oil and gas development in the United States and abroad.
Dan Tormey Ph.D, P.G.
Principal
ENVIRON International Corporation
Dr. Daniel Tormey is an expert in energy and water and conducts environmental reviews for both government and industry. He works with the environmental aspects of all types of energy development, with an emphasis on oil and gas, including hydraulic fracturing and produced water management, pipelines, LNG terminals, refineries and retail facilities. Dr. Tormey was the principal investigator for the peer-reviewed, publicly available, Hydraulic Fracturing Study at the Baldwin Hills of southern California, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles and the field operator, PXP. He conducts projects in sediment transport, hydrology, water supply, water quality, and groundwater-surfacewater interaction. He has been project manager or technical lead for over two hundred projects requiring fate and transport analysis of chemicals in the environment. He has a Ph.D. in Geology and Geochemistry from MIT, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Geology from Stanford. He is a Principal at Ramboll Environ Corporation; was named by the National Academy of Sciences to the Science Advisory Board for Giant Sequoia National Monument; is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Society of Petroleum Engineers; is on the review committee on behalf of IUCN for the UNESCO World Heritage Site List and member of the IUCN Geoscientist Specialist Group; is volcanologist for Cruz del Sur, an emergency response and contingency planning organization in Chile; was an Executive in Residence at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo; and is a Professional Geologist in California. He has worked throughout the USA, Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Senegal, South Africa, Armenia and the Republic of Georgia.
Sam Traina Ph.D
Vice Chancellor of Research
University of California, Merced
Dr. Traina is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the University of California, Merced, where he holds the Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology. He serves as a Board Member of the California Council of Science and Technology. Prior to joining UC Merced in 2002 as a Founding Faculty member and the Founding Director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, Dr. Traina was a faculty member for 17 years at The Ohio State University, with concomitant appointments in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Department of Earth Science and Geology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Microbiology and Chemistry. He has served on the National Research Council's Standing Committee on Earth Resources. In 1997 - 1998, he held the Cox Visiting Professorship in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Traina's past and current research has dealt with the fate, transformation, and transport of contaminants in soils and natural waters, with an emphasis on radionuclides, heavy metals, and mining wastes. Dr. Traina holds a B.S. in soil resource management and a Ph.D. in soil chemistry. He is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of American and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as a recipient of the Clay Scientist Award of the Clay Minerals Society.
Laura Feinstein Ph.D
Project Manager
CCST
Laura Feinstein serves as the project manager and author for CCST on this report, and CCST's previous report on well stimulation prepared for the Bureau of Land Management. She previously served as a CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the California Senate Committee on Environmental Quality. She was the director of the GirlSource Technology and Leadership Program, where she developed and ran a program teaching computer and job skills to low-income young women. She also was a web/media developer and researcher with the Center for Defense Information, a think-tank focusing on security issues. She was awarded a CalFED Bay-Delta Science fellowship for scientific research on ecological problems facing the Bay-Delta watershed, and a California Native Plant Society research scholarship. She has a Ph.D. in Ecology from University of California, Davis.
Peer Review
Peer review is the process of the evaluation of the scientific and technical merit (and likelihood of success) of the proposed research project/program by a panel of reviewers with direct expertise in the area of research to be evaluated who have no personal stake or interest in the outcome of the evaluation process. The salient features of the peer review process are the evaluation of the research program by "peer" experts in relevant fields who are deemed qualified to evaluate the product based solely on the scientific and technical merit of the content. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
All CCST reports are peer reviewed using guidelines and processes established by CCST to assure the highest scientific and technical standards. Guidelines are similar to those of the National Academy of Science, adapted to be appropriate for California. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
Meetings
Thursday, July 9, 2015 at 3pm PST
Public Webinar on Release of CCST's Scientific Review of Oil and Gas Development Technologies in California - Volumes 2 and 3
February 3, 2015
Location: California State University, Bakersfield, Student Union/Multipurpose Room, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311.
Pursuant to Senate Bill 4 (Pavley, Statutes of 2013), the California Natural Resources Agency has commissioned the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with the participation of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, to conduct an independent scientific assessment of well stimulation. Volumes II and III of the study focus on the potential impacts on the environment and contain case studies with evaluations of environmental issues and public health risks. Attendees at the workshop learned more about the scientific assessment and provided input to the scientists who are working on Volumes II and III, scheduled for release in July 2015.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 3pm PST
Public Webinar on Release of CCST's Scientific Review of Oil and Gas Development Technologies in California - Volume 1
Monday, November 17, 2014 at 12 noon PST
Public Webinar on CCST's Scientific Review of Oil and Gas Development Technologies in California
CCST Project
Well Stimulation in California
COMPLETED: July 2016
Lead Authors
* Denotes the chapter(s) for which an author served as the lead.
name | affiliation | chapters |
---|---|---|
Jens T. Birkholzer | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Summary Report | Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction |
Adam Brandt | Stanford University | Volume II: Ch. 3* | Volume III: Ch. 3, 4.3, 5 |
Patrick F. Dobson | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction, Ch. 4* |
Laura C. Feinstein | California Council on Science and Technology | Summary Report Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction | Volume II: Ch. 5* | Volume III: Ch. 3*, 5 |
William Foxall | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 4* | Volume III: Ch. 3 |
Donald L. Gautier | DonGautier L.L.C. | Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction, Ch. 4 | Volume III: Ch. 3, 4.1, 4.2 |
James E. Houseworth | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction, Ch. 2* | Volume II: Ch. 2 | Volume III: Ch. 2* |
Preston D. Jordan | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume I: Executive Summary, Introduction, Ch. 3* | Volume II: Ch.2 | Volume III: Ch. 4.3, 5* |
Jane C.S. Long | California Council on Science and Technology | Summary Report* | Volume I: Executive Summary*, Introduction* | Volume II: Ch. 1* | Volume III: Ch. 1* |
Thomas E. Mckone | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 6* | Volume III: Ch. 4.3 |
Seth B.C. Shonkoff | PSE Healthy Energy | Volume II: Ch. 6 | Volume III: Ch. 4.3* |
William T. Stringfellow | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2*, 6 | Volume III: Ch. 2 |
More Authors
name | affiliation | chapters |
---|---|---|
Corinne Bachmann | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 4 |
Jenner Banbury | California State University, Stanislaus | Volume II: Ch. 5 |
Mary Kay Camarillo | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Heather Cooley | Pacific Institute | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Brian L. Cypher | California State University, Stanislaus | Volume II: Ch. 5 |
Jeremy K. Domen | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Kristina Donnelly | Pacific Institute | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Jacob G. Englander | Stanford | Volume II: Ch. 3 |
Kyle Ferrar | The Frac Tracker Alliance | Volume III: Ch. 4.3, 5 |
Ben K. Greenfield | University of California, Berkeley | Volume III: Ch. 4.3 |
Amro Hamdoun | University of California, San Diego | Volume II: Ch. 2, 5 |
Jake Hays | PSE Healthy Energy | Volume II: Ch. 6 |
Robert J. Harrison | University of California, San Francisco | Volume II: Ch. 6 |
Matthew G. Herberger | Pacific Institute | Volume I: Ch. 3 | Volume II: Ch. 2 | Volume III: Ch. 3, 4.3 |
Michael L.B. Jerret | University of California, Los Angeles | Volume III: Ch. 4.3 |
Ling Jin | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 3 |
Nathaniel J. Lindsey | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 4 | Volume III: Ch. 3 |
Randy L. Maddalena | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 6 | Volume III: Ch. 4.3 |
Dev E. Millstein | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 3 |
Sascha C.T. Nicklisch | University of California, San Diego | Volume II: Ch. 2, 5 |
Scott E. Phillips | California State University, Stanislaus | Volume II: Ch. 5 | Volume III: Ch. 3, 5 |
Matthew T. Reagan | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Whitney L. Sandelin | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2, 6 |
Craig Ulrich | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume III: Ch. 3 |
Caruleka Varadharajan | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Volume II: Ch. 2 |
Zachary S. Wettstein | University of California, San Francisco | Volume II: Ch. 6 |
CCST Project
SB 1281 - Oil and Gas Water Cycle Reporting
Process
CCST studies follow a process modeled after the National Academies study process with checks and balances at each stage. The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Authors
Dr. Brie Lindsey, the lead author of Phase I, and Dr. Laura Feinstein and Dr. Seth Shonkoff, lead authors of Phase II of the report, are the primary analysts and writers of the body of the report. In addition, Lee Ann Hill has assisted in writing sections of the Phase I report.
Brie Lindsey, CCST - Lead Author, Phase I
Laura Feinstein, Pacific Institute - Lead Author, Phase II
Seth Shonkoff, PSE Healthy Energy, UC Berkeley - Lead Author, Phase II
Lee Ann Hill, PSE Healthy Energy
The following institutions are subcontractors and are not responsible for the final content of the report, which rests with CCST and the Steering Committee:
Pacific Institute
PSE Healthy Energy
Steering Committee Members
The steering committee oversees the report authors, reaches conclusions based on the findings of the authors and writes an executive summary.
Committee Selection and Approval
Selection of appropriate committee members, individually and collectively, is essential for the success of a study. All committee members serve as individual experts, not as representatives of organizations or interest groups. Each member is expected to contribute to the project on the basis of his or her own expertise and good judgment. A committee is not finally approved until a thorough balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held, and any issues raised in that discussion are investigated and addressed. Members of a committee are anonymous until this process is completed.
Careful steps are taken to convene committees that meet the following criteria:
Expertise
Expertise
The committee must include experts with the specific expertise and experience needed to address the study's statement of task. A major strength of CCST is the ability to bring together recognized experts from diverse disciplines and backgrounds who might not otherwise collaborate. These diverse groups are encouraged to conceive new ways of thinking about a problem.
Perspectives
Perspectives
Having the right expertise is not sufficient for success. It is also essential to evaluate the overall composition of the committee in terms of different experiences and perspectives. The goal is to ensure that the relevant points of view are, in CCST's judgment, reasonably balanced so that the committee can carry out its charge objectively and credibly.
Screening
Screening
All provisional committee members are screened in writing and in a confidential group discussion about possible conflicts of interest. For this purpose, a "conflict of interest" means any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it could significantly impair the individual's objectivity or could create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization. The term "conflict of interest" means something more than individual bias. There must be an interest, ordinarily financial, that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. Except for those rare situations in which CCST determines that a conflict of interest is unavoidable and promptly and publicly discloses the conflict of interest, no individual can be appointed to serve (or continue to serve) on a committee used in the development of reports if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed.
Point of View
Point of View
A point of view or bias is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Committee members are expected to have points of view, and CCST attempts to balance these points of view in a way deemed appropriate for the task. Committee members are asked to consider respectfully the viewpoints of other members, to reflect their own views rather than be a representative of any organization, and to base their scientific findings and conclusions on the evidence. Each committee member has the right to issue a dissenting opinion to the report if he or she disagrees with the consensus of the other members.
Considerations
Considerations
Membership in CCST and previous involvement in CCST studies are taken into account in committee selection. The inclusion of women, minorities, and young professionals are additional considerations.
Committee Selection
Specific steps in the committee selection and approval process are as follows:
Staff solicit an extensive number of suggestions for potential committee members from a wide range of sources, then recommend a slate of nominees. Nominees are reviewed and approved at several levels within CCST.
A provisional slate is then approved by CCST's Board. The provisional committee members complete background information and conflict-of-interest disclosure forms. The committee balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held at the first committee meeting. Any conflicts of interest or issues of committee balance and expertise are investigated; changes to the committee are proposed and finalized.
CCST's Board formally approves the committee. Committee members continue to be screened for conflict of interest throughout the life of the committee.
Committee Members' Bios
Mike Kavanaugh PhD, P.E., NAE
Steering Committee Chair
Senior Principal
Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.
Mike Kavanaugh is a chemical and environmental engineer with more than four decades of consulting experience in a number of technical areas. Mike's professional practice started in the areas of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, water quality management, and water reuse and drinking water treatment. He expanded his practice to include contaminated groundwater studies, particularly CERCLA-driven remedial investigations/feasibility studies (RI/FS), groundwater remediation, waste minimization and pollution prevention studies, pioneering technology development, as well as third-party peer review and strategic consulting on environmental management and compliance issues. He has also provided technology evaluations including patent reviews of environmental technologies.
As a testifying expert and a fact witness on engineering and hydrogeologic issues related to hazardous waste sites as well as on other issues related to his areas of expertise, Mike has been tapped more than 60 times by attorneys, arbitrators, judges, and government agencies to serve. He also has participated on several mediation and arbitration panels as a neutral technical expert as well as serving as an individual facilitator, mediator, arbitrator, court appointed expert, or "blue ribbon" expert panelist working on project-specific and policy-level issues.
To advance the state of the practice, Mike has contributed to over 80 technical publications and more than 150 presentations to audiences that included congressional and state committees. Currently, he is an instructor for the Princeton Groundwater Course and a consulting professor in the Stanford University Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Law Institute and was the chair of the National Research Council's Committee on Future Options for the Nation's Contaminated Groundwater Remediation Efforts. He was elected into the National Academy of Engineering in 1998.
Nicole Deziel M.H.S., PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Yale School of Public Health
Nicole C. Deziel, M.H.S., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Her research involves applying existing and advanced statistical models, biomonitoring techniques, and environmental measurements to provide quantitative assessments of exposure to combinations of traditional and emerging environmental contaminants. Her exposure assessment strategies aim to reduce exposure misclassification for epidemiologic studies, advancing understanding of relationships between of exposure to environmental chemicals and risk of cancer and other adverse health outcomes. She has investigated several types of pollutants including pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Dr. Deziel's research also includes hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," and how chemicals used in the process and released into the air or water may adversely affect communities of people living nearby. She is leading an inter-disciplinary team of investigators on a project entitled "Drinking water vulnerability and neonatal health outcomes in relation to oil and gas production in the Appalachian Basin." In this 3-year study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), her team is evaluating whether exposure to water contaminants from the process of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") is associated with adverse human developmental and teratogenic effects.
Eric M.V. Hoek PhD
Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
California NanoSystems Institute and Institute of the Environment & Sustainability
Eric Hoek is an internationally recognized expert in water treatment, UCLA environmental engineering professor, founder of 4 successful water technology startups, and considered a thought leader in the water industry. He has worked on various aspects of water treatment including drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, desalination, oil & gas produced water treatment, municipal and industrial water reuse and oil spill remediation. He has served as a consultant to municipal water authorities, water technology startups, hedge funds, venture capital funds, law firms, private research foundations, non-profit foundations, US federal, state and local agencies and foreign national research agencies. He has over 130 scientific publications, over 70 patents filed in the U.S. and internationally, and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Nature Publishing Group journal npj Clean Water. He is a graduate of Penn State (B.S.), UCLA (M.S.), Yale University (Ph.D.) and the Executive Management program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Susan Hubbard PhD
Associate Laboratory Director & Senior Scientist, LBNL
Adjunct Professor, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
University of California, Berkeley
As the Associate Lab Director for Earth & Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Laboratory, Dr. Susan Hubbard leads a premier group of ~500 staff that has a significant research portfolio in climate science, terrestrial ecosystem science, environmental and biological system science, fundamental geoscience, and subsurface energy resources. Research within this Area of Berkeley Lab is tackling some of the most pressing environmental and subsurface energy challenges of the 21st Century. Dr. Hubbard is also an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. Dr. Hubbard earned her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, and prior to joining Berkeley Lab, she was a geologist at the US Geological Survey and a geophysicist in industry.
As a Senior Scientist at Berkeley Laboratory, Dr. Hubbard's research focuses on quantifying how terrestrial environments function, with a particular emphasis on the development of geophysical approaches to provide new insights about processes relevant to contaminant remediation, carbon cycling, water resources, and subsurface energy systems. She has been honored by the scientific community with several awards, including as an: American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow, Geological Society of America (AGU) Felow, receipent of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Frank Frischknecht Award for leadership and innovation in near-surface geophysics, the Birdsall Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer Award, Distinguished Alumni of UC Berkeley, and the SEG Harold Mooney Award for Near Surface Geophysics. Dr. Hubbard has served widely on many scientific boards and has served on the editorial boards of JGR-Biosciences, Water Resources Research, Vadose Zone Journal and the Journal of Hydrology.
James McCall P.S.M.
Distributed Energy and Environment Analyst
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
James joined the Systems Modeling & Geospatial Data Science Group in the Strategic Energy Analysis Center in 2015. His interests include techno-economic analyses for various renewable technologies, economic and employment impacts, and systems analysis associated with the energy-water-food-nexus. Prior work experience was as a researcher at a utility law think tank at ASU and a project manager/facilities engineer for an upstream oil and gas producer.
Steve Weisberg PhD
Executive Director
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority (SCCWRP)
Dr. Stephen Weisberg is Executive Director of the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority, a research consortium formed by 14 leading water quality agencies in California to ensure a solid scientific foundation for their management activities. Dr. Weisberg's research emphasis is in developing tools to support implementation of, and data interpretation from, environmental monitoring programs. Beyond his research activities, Dr. Weisberg focuses on linking the needs of the management community with science. He serves on numerous advisory committees, including the State of California's Clean Beach Task Force, the California Ocean Protection Council Science Advisory Team, the California Sea Grant Program Advisory Council, and the California Water Quality Monitoring Council. Dr. Weisberg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware.
William Stringfellow PhD
Emeritus Professor / Research Engineer
University of the Pacific / Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
William T. Stringfellow, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor at the School of Engineering & Computer Science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA and a Research Engineer in the Geochemistry Department, Earth & Environmental Sciences Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He received his B.S. in Environmental Health from the University of Georgia (Athens, GA) in 1980 and his Master’s Degree in Microbial Physiology and Aquatic Ecology from Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) in 1984. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994 and worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California at Berkeley. Prof. Stringfellow is the first author on over 50 journal publications, has been the lead author on numerous government reports, and has made hundreds of presentations on the subjects of water quality, water treatment, and the microbiology of engineered systems. He has over 35 years research and consulting experience in wastewater treatment and management in both the US and Europe. Prof. Stringfellow’s research interests include treatment and management of agricultural and industrial wastes. Prof. Stringfellow was the WaterGroup Leader for the SB-4 Study examining the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing in California and Lead Scientist on the Low Dissolved Oxygen Study investigating disuse pollution impacts on the San Joaquin River and Estuary. He is currently a member of the Food Safety Advisory Panel examining the beneficial reuse of produced water for irrigation. On-going projects include an extensive examination of water and chemical use during oil and gas development and the treatment and reuse of oil-field wastewater.
Peer Review
Peer review is the process of the evaluation of the scientific and technical merit (and likelihood of success) of the proposed research project/program by a panel of reviewers with direct expertise in the area of research to be evaluated who have no personal stake or interest in the outcome of the evaluation process. The salient features of the peer review process are the evaluation of the research program by "peer" experts in relevant fields who are deemed qualified to evaluate the product based solely on the scientific and technical merit of the content. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
All CCST reports are peer reviewed using guidelines and processes established by CCST to assure the highest scientific and technical standards. Guidelines are similar to those of the National Academy of Science, adapted to be appropriate for California. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
The Phase I white paper was circulated for discussion and comment purposes among the project Steering Committee. The authors responded to all Steering Committee questions and comments. This white paper has not been peer reviewed through CCST's standard process.
CCST Project
Natural Gas Storage
COMPLETED: January 2018
Publications
Long-Term Viability of Underground Natural Gas Storage in California: An Independent Review of Scientific and Technical Information
Full Report:
Executive Summary
Summary Report
CCST One-Pager
Public briefing PPT presentation
Front Matter
Chapter 1 Abstract
Chapter 1 Section 1.0: Introduction
Chapter 1 Section 1.1: Characteristics of California’s underground natural gas storage facilities
Chapter 1 Section 1.2: Failure modes, likelihood, and consequences
Chapter 1 Section 1.3: Effects of age and integrity on underground gas storage capacity
Chapter 1 Section 1.4: Human health hazards, risks, and impacts associated with underground gas storage in California
Chapter 1 Section 1.5: Quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from underground gas storage in California
Chapter 1 Section 1.6: Risk mitigation and management
Chapter 1 Section 1.7: Summary and Conclusions
Chapter 1 Section 1.8: References
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.A: California gas storage and geologic trap type
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.B: Dispersion modeling
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.C: Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Assessment
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.D: Human Population Proximity analysis
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.E: Efforts to Seek Information on Stored Gas Composition
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.F: Operator Response Letters
Chapter 1 Appendix 1.G: Best Practices in Occupational Safety and Health
Chapter 2: Does California Need Underground Gas Storage to Provide for Energy Reliability through 2020?
Chapter 3: How will implementation of California’s climate policies change the need for underground gas storage in the future?
Appendices
Press Release
(Jan. 18, 2018)
Correspondence
The study team requested facility-specific data on withdrawn gas composition, or in the case of the 2015 Aliso Canyon incident, the composition of the gas escaping from the (SS-25) well blowout. An assessment of human health hazards for populations exposed to gas emitted from underground gas storage facilities requires knowing the composition of the gas. The utilities' responses to the data requests can be found below.
2017
Related Publications
CCST Project
Natural Gas Storage
COMPLETED: January 2018
Process
CCST studies follow a process modeled after the National Academies study process with checks and balances at each stage. The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Defining the Study
Study Authors and Steering Committee (SC) Selection and Approval
Author and Steering Committee Meetings, Information Gathering, Deliberations, and Drafting the Study
Report Review
The report is a collaborative effort by a large number of experts serving in various capacities.
Authors
Staff of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Aspen Environmental Group (Aspen), and the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), researched and wrote the body of the report. In addition, staff and faculty at a number of research institutions collaborated on the report. The following institutions are subcontractors and are not responsible for the final content of the report, which rests with CCST and the Steering Committee.
ALL Consulting, LLC
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
NASA Jet Propolusion Laboratory (JPL)
Stanford University
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of Southern California (USC)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
University of California Merced
JKM Energy and Environmental Consulting
Sandia National Laboratory (Sandia)
University of California Berkeley
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
PSE Healthy Energy (PSE)
Walker & Associates
Energy Projects Consulting
Click below to see a complete list of the authors and staff who contributed to this project.
Steering Committee Members
The steering committee oversees the report authors, reaches conclusions based on the findings of the authors and writes an executive summary.
Committee Selection and Approval
Selection of appropriate committee members, individually and collectively, is essential for the success of a study. All committee members serve as individual experts, not as representatives of organizations or interest groups. Each member is expected to contribute to the project on the basis of his or her own expertise and good judgment. A committee is not finally approved until a thorough balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held, and any issues raised in that discussion are investigated and addressed. Members of a committee are anonymous until this process is completed.
Careful steps are taken to convene committees that meet the following criteria:
Expertise
Expertise
The committee must include experts with the specific expertise and experience needed to address the study's statement of task. A major strength of CCST is the ability to bring together recognized experts from diverse disciplines and backgrounds who might not otherwise collaborate. These diverse groups are encouraged to conceive new ways of thinking about a problem.
Perspectives
Perspectives
Having the right expertise is not sufficient for success. It is also essential to evaluate the overall composition of the committee in terms of different experiences and perspectives. The goal is to ensure that the relevant points of view are, in CCST's judgment, reasonably balanced so that the committee can carry out its charge objectively and credibly.
Screening
Screening
All provisional committee members are screened in writing and in a confidential group discussion about possible conflicts of interest. For this purpose, a "conflict of interest" means any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it could significantly impair the individual's objectivity or could create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization. The term "conflict of interest" means something more than individual bias. There must be an interest, ordinarily financial, that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. Except for those rare situations in which CCST determines that a conflict of interest is unavoidable and promptly and publicly discloses the conflict of interest, no individual can be appointed to serve (or continue to serve) on a committee used in the development of reports if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed.
Point of View
Point of View
A point of view or bias is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Committee members are expected to have points of view, and CCST attempts to balance these points of view in a way deemed appropriate for the task. Committee members are asked to consider respectfully the viewpoints of other members, to reflect their own views rather than be a representative of any organization, and to base their scientific findings and conclusions on the evidence. Each committee member has the right to issue a dissenting opinion to the report if he or she disagrees with the consensus of the other members.
Considerations
Considerations
Membership in CCST and previous involvement in CCST studies are taken into account in committee selection. The inclusion of women, minorities, and young professionals are additional considerations.
Committee Selection
Specific steps in the committee selection and approval process are as follows:
Staff solicit an extensive number of suggestions for potential committee members from a wide range of sources, then recommend a slate of nominees. Nominees are reviewed and approved at several levels within CCST.
A provisional slate is then approved by CCST's Board. The provisional committee members complete background information and conflict-of-interest disclosure forms. The committee balance and conflict-of-interest discussion is held at the first committee meeting. Any conflicts of interest or issues of committee balance and expertise are investigated; changes to the committee are proposed and finalized.
CCST's Board formally approves the committee. Committee members continue to be screened for conflict of interest throughout the life of the committee.
Committee Members' Bios
Jane C.S. Long Ph.D
Steering Committee Co-Chair
Independent Consultant and Council Member
CCST
Dr. Long holds a ScB in biomedical engineering from Brown University, an MS and PhD in hydrology from U.C. Berkeley. She formerly was Associate Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dean of Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno; and a scientist and department chair in energy and environment for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Long is an advisor for the Environmental Defense Fund, on the board of directors for Clean Air Task Force and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Scientific Advisory Board. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an Associate of the National Academies of Science (NAS) and a Senior Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST). She was Alum of the Year in 2012 for the Brown University School of Engineering and Woman of the Year for the California Science Center in 2017.
Jens Birkholzer Ph.D
Steering Committee Co-Chair
Director, Energy Geosciences Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Dr. Jens Birkholzer is a Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, Berkeley Lab). As an internationally recognized expert in subsurface energy applications and environmental impact assessment, he currently serves as the Director for the Energy Geosciences Division (EGD) in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA). He received his Ph.D. in water resources, hydrology, and soil science from Aachen University of Technology in Germany in 1994. Dr. Birkholzer joined LBNL in 1994, left for a management position in his native Germany in 1999, and eventually returned to LBNL in 2001. He has over 300 scientific publications, about 120 of which are in peer-reviewed journals, in addition to numerous research reports. He serves as the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control (IJGGC) and is also on the Board of Editorial Policy Advisors for the Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and Environment (GETE). Dr. Birkholzer leads the international DECOVALEX Project as its Chairman, is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and serves as a Senior Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology.
J. Daniel Arthur P.E., SPEC
President, Petroleum Engineer, Program Manager
ALL Consulting
Mr. Arthur is a registered professional petroleum engineer specializing in fossil energy, planning/engineering, the entire lifecycle of water, resource development best practices, gas storage, and environmental/regulatory issues. He has 30 years of diverse experience that includes work in industry, government, and consulting. Mr. Arthur is a founding member of ALL Consulting and has served as the company's President and Chief Engineer since its inception in 1999.
Prior to founding ALL Consulting, Mr. Arthur served as a Vice President of a large international consulting engineering firm and was involved with a broad array of work, including supporting the energy industry, various federal agencies, water and wastewater projects (municipal/industrial), environmental projects, various utility related projects, and projects related to the mining industry. Mr. Arthur's experience also includes serving as an enforcement officer and National Expert for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a drilling and operations engineer with an independent oil producer, as well as direct work with an oilfield service company in the mid-continent.
In 2016, Mr. Arthur was appointed to serve on a Steering Committee for Natural Gas Storage for the California Council on Science and Technology. Mr. Arthur's role on the Committee is primarily focused on well construction, integrity and testing based on his expertise, but also included overall analysis on issues such as global climate change and other issues (e.g., induced seismicity, gas markets, etc.). In 2010, as the shale boom was heightening, Mr. Arthur was appointed to serve as a Sub-Group Leader for a National Petroleum Council study on North American Resource Development. His Sub-Group focused on technology that is and will be needed to address development (e.g., hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, production, etc.) and environmental challenges through the year 2050. Mr. Arthur was also appointed to a U.S. Department of Energy Federal Advisory Committee on Unconventional Resources. And lastly, Mr. Arthur supported the U.S. Department of Energy through the Annex III Agreement between the United States and China to provide support relative to coal bed methane and shale gas development in China.
Mr. Arthur routinely serves as a testifying and/or consulting expert on a broad variety of issues that range from basic engineering to catastrophic incidents. He has also served to advise management and legal teams on a plethora of issues in an effort to avoid litigation, reach settlements, or develop strategies for future activities. His experience and continued level of activity on such issues has expanded his experience on a variety of issues, while also exposing him to an array of technical and forensic approaches to assess past activities, claims, etc. Mr. Arthur is also a member of the National Association of Forensic Engineers (NAFE).
Mr. Arthur has managed an assortment of projects, including regulatory analysis (e.g., new regulation development process, commenting/strategizing on new proposed regulations, negotiating with regulatory agencies on proposed regulations, analysis of implementation impacts, etc.); engineering design (including roads, well pads, design of various types of wells; completions/fracturing; water and wastewater systems, and oil & gas facilities); life cycle analysis and modeling; resource evaluations; energy development alternatives analysis (e.g., oil, gas, coal, electric utility, etc.); feasibility analyses (including power plants, landfills, injection wells, water treatment systems, mines, oil & gas plays, etc.); remediation and construction; site closure and reclamation site decommissioning; reservoir evaluation; regulatory permitting and environmental work; geophysical well logging; development of new mechanical integrity testing methods, standards, and testing criteria; conduction and interpretation of well tests; restorative maintenance on existing wells and well sites; extensive hydrogeological and geochemical analysis of monitoring and operating data; sophisticated 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional modeling; geochemical modeling; drilling and completion operations; natural resource and environmental planning; natural resource evaluation; governmental and regulatory negotiations; restoration and remediation; environmental planning, design, and operations specific to the energy industry in environmentally sensitive areas; water management planning; alternative analysis for managing produced water; beneficial use of produced water; water treatment analysis and selection; produced water disposal alternatives; facilities engineering for wastewater handling (e.g., disposal wells, injection wells, water treatment, water recycling, water blending, etc.); construction oversight; contract negotiations and management; contract negotiation with wastewater treatment companies accepting produced water; data management related to water and environmental issues; property transfer environmental assessments; and data management of oil and gas producing and related injection well data and information. He maintains experience with the technical and regulatory aspects of oil and gas and underground injection throughout North America. He has given presentations, workshops, and training sessions to groups and organizations on an assortment of related issues and has provided his consulting expertise to hundreds of large and small clients - including several major international energy companies and government agencies.
Specific to unconventional resource development, Mr. Arthur has gained experience in all aspects of planning, development, operations, and closure. Mr. Arthur has supported the evolution of various activities through this process that have included technical issues such as water sourcing, well drilling techniques, cement design, well integrity analysis, fracturing design & analysis, well performance assessment, production operations and facilities, well plugging & abandonment, site closures, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Arthur's experience covers ever major unconventional play in North America and on other continents. Moreover, Mr. Arthur's experience also includes work with horizontal drilling and various types of completions in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs and with various types of unconventional reservoirs (e.g., shales, limestones, coal).
Riley M. Duren
Principal Engineer
Earth Science & Technology Directorate, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mr. Riley Duren is Chief Systems Engineer for the Earth Science and Technology Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He received his BS in electrical engineering from Auburn University in 1992. He has worked at the intersection of engineering and science including seven space missions ranging from earth science to astrophysics. His current portfolio spans JPL's earth system science enterprise as well as applying the discipline of systems engineering to climate change decision-support. His research includes anthropogenic carbon emissions and working with diverse stakeholders to develop policy-relevant monitoring systems. He is Principal Investigator for five projects involving anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions. He has also co-led studies on geoengineering research, monitoring, and risk assessment. He is a Visiting Researcher at UCLA's Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and serves on the Advisory Board for NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress.
Karen Edson
Vice-President of Policy and Client Services
California Independent System Operator (ISO), Retired
Ms. Karen Edson has nearly 40 years of experience involving state and federal energy issues. Most recently, she served as Vice-President of Policy and Client Services for the California Independent System Operator (ISO) from 2005 until her retirement in 2016. She performed a key role in building and maintaining strategic partnerships with responsibilities that included overseeing the outreach and education needs of a diverse body of stakeholders, state and federal regulators and policy makers. She was also a leader of internal policy development and oversaw internal and external communications. Her work in the energy field began in the seventies as a legislative aide and state agency government affairs director, leading to her appointment to the California Energy Commission by Governor Jerry Brown in 1981. After her term ended, she founded a small consulting firm that represented non-utility interests including geothermal and solar energy providers, industrial firms with combined heat and power, electric vehicle interests, and several trade associations. Ms. Edson holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of California Berkeley.
Catherine M. Elder M.P.P.
Practice Director, Energy Economics
Aspen Environmental Group
Elder has 30 years of experience working in the natural gas and electric generation business and leads Aspen's Energy Economics practice, specializing in assistance to state energy agencies, public power entities and others. Elder worked on both federal and state-level natural gas industry restructuring as an employee of Pacific Gas and Electric Company beginning in the mid-1980's. She has reviewed fuel plans and advised lenders providing nonrecourse financing to more than 40 different gas-fired power projects across the U.S. and Canada, and has served as the Chief Gas Price Forecaster both for consultancy R.W. Beck and for the State of California's then-record $13 Billion financing of purchased power arising from the 2000-2001 power crisis. She holds a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in Political Economy (with Honors) from the University of California, Berkeley.
In starting her career at PG&E, Elder helped develop the policies and rules that to this day govern the natural gas market and regulatory framework in California. These include the unbundling of gas from transportation, the development of independent gas storage, and efforts to allow larger customers and marketers to bid for pipeline capacity in an auction whose results would have been used to establish priority of service. (The latter was abandoned in favor of a simpler mechanism in settlement.)
Since leaving PG&E in 1991, Elder worked for two years at law firm Brady & Berliner as its internal consultant, working often with Canadian natural gas producers selling natural gas in the U.S. She then joined Morse, Richard, Weisenmiller & Associates as a Senior Project Manager in Oakland, CA. From 1998 to 2003 she was a Principal Executive Consultant at Resource Management, Inc, in Sacramento, which ultimately became Navigant Consulting. At Navigant she performed independent reviews of natural gas markets, gas arrangements and disconnects between electricity and natural gas markets in support of nonrecourse financing by large financial institutions. She also reviewed the gas arrangement included in many of the tolling agreements put in place by the California Department of Water Resources during the 2000-2001 power crisis and developed the natural gas price forecast used by the state to project gas and electricity costs underlying the associated $13 Billion bond financing. In 2003 she joined consultancy RW Beck, as its natural gas market expert and chief price forecaster, and in 2009 joined Aspen Environmental Group. At Aspen, Elder leads the Energy Economics practice. Key clients have included the American Public Power Association, for whom she authored a major report in 2010 entitled "Implications of Greater Reliance on Natural Gas for Electricity Generation," and the California Energy Commission. Elder has served as the independent fuel consultant for lenders to more than 40 natural gas-fired power projects across the U.S. and Canada.
Elder is an Ex Officio Steering Committee member, due to her role as a lead author and technical expert for each of the three key questions of the report. Serving as an ex officio member ensures regular interaction with the rest of the Steering Committee and improves the quality of the final report. She is responsible for her portion of the report, and is not responsible for portions she did not contribute to.
Jeffery Greenblatt Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Jeffery Greenblatt has been involved with modeling pathways of low-carbon energy future since 2006. He has published a number of studies including the groundbreaking California's Energy Future study (sponsored California Council on Science and Technology), an analysis of California greenhouse gas policies in Energy Policy, an analysis of US policies in Nature Climate Change, and a review of the future of low-carbon electricity forthcoming in Annual Review of Environment and Resources. He also works on the life-cycle assessment of emerging technologies including artificial photosynthesis and autonomous vehicles, was involved with both DOE's Quadrennial Technology Review and Quadrennial Energy Review efforts, and recently started a consulting company focused on space technologies. He has more than 15 years of experience in climate change and low-carbon energy technology assessment and modeling. Prior to joining LBNL in 2009, Dr. Greenblatt worked at Google on the Renewable Electricity Cheaper than Coal initiative, at Environmental Defense Fund as an energy scientist, at Princeton University as a research staff member, and at NASA Ames as a National Research Council associate. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley in 1999.
He is an Ex Officio Steering Committee member, due to his role as a lead author and technical expert for each of the three key questions of the report. Serving as an ex officio member ensures regular interaction with the rest of the Steering Committee and improves the quality of the final report. He is responsible for his portion of the report, and is not responsible for portions he did not contribute to.
Robert B. Jackson Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Earth Sciences Department, Stanford University
Robert B. Jackson is Michelle and Kevin Douglas Provostial Professor and chair of the department of Earth System Science in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. He studies how people affect the earth, including research on the global carbon and water cycles, biosphere/atmosphere interactions, energy use, and climate change.
Jackson has received numerous awards. He is a Fellow in the American Geophysical Union and the Ecological Society of America and was honored at the White House with a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. In recent years, he directed the DOE National Institute for Climate Change Research for the southeastern U.S., co-chaired the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan, and is currently CHAIR of the Global Carbon Project (www.globalcarbonproject.org).
An author and photographer, Rob has published a trade book about the environment (The Earth Remains Forever, University of Texas Press) and two books of children's poems, Animal Mischief and Weekend Mischief (Highlights Magazine and Boyds Mills Press). His photographs have appeared in many media outlets, including the NY Times, Washington Post, USA Today, US News and World Report, Nature, and National Geographic.
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest
In accordance with the practice of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), CCST makes best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on a committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such a conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and CCST determines that the conflict is unavoidable. A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. An objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests, and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include, among others, individuals with research and expertise in the area of natural gas storage facilities and Aliso Canyon gas leak disaster in order to assess the longterm viability of underground natural gas storage facilities in California.
To meet the need for this expertise and experience, Professor Rob Jackson was proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because of his participation in a study at this university that is funded in part by an entity that could be affected by the results of the study.
As his biographical summary makes clear, Professor Jackson is a recognized expert in global carbon and water cycles, biosphere/atmosphere interactions, energy use, and climate change.
After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with the equivalent combination of expertise in energy law as Professor Jackson, who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.
Michael L.B. Jerrett Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Michael Jerrett is an internationally recognized expert in Geographic Information Science for Exposure Assessment and Spatial Epidemiology. He is a full professor and the chair of the Department of Environmental Health Science, and Director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Jerrett is also a professor in-Residence in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Jerrett earned his PhD in Geography from the University of Toronto. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Jerrett has researched how to characterize population exposures to air pollution and built environmental variables, the social distribution of these exposures among different groups (e.g., poor vs. wealthy), and how to assess the health effects from environmental exposures. He has worked extensively on how the built environment affects exposures and health, including natural experimental design studies. He has published some of the most widely-cited papers in the fields of Exposure Assessment and Environmental Epidemiology in leading journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, and Nature. In 2009, the United States National Academy of Science appointed Dr. Jerrett to the Committee on "Future of Human and Environmental Exposure Science in the 21st Century." The Committee concluded its task with the publication of a report entitled Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy. In 2014 and 2015, he was named to the Thomson-Reuters List of Highly-Cited Researchers, indicating he is in the top 1% of all authors in the fields of Environment/Ecology in terms of citation by other researchers. In 2016, Dr. Jerrett was appointed to the National Academy of Science Standing Committee on Geographical Sciences.
Jackson has received numerous awards. He is a Fellow in the American Geophysical Union and the Ecological Society of America and was honored at the White House with a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. In recent years, he directed the DOE National Institute for Climate Change Research for the southeastern U.S., co-chaired the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan, and is currently CHAIR of the Global Carbon Project (www.globalcarbonproject.org).
An author and photographer, Rob has published a trade book about the environment (The Earth Remains Forever, University of Texas Press) and two books of children's poems, Animal Mischief and Weekend Mischief (Highlights Magazine and Boyds Mills Press). His photographs have appeared in many media outlets, including the NY Times, Washington Post, USA Today, US News and World Report, Nature, and National Geographic.
Najmedin Meshkati Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering/Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
Dr. Najmedin Meshkati is a (tenured, full) Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering; Industrial & Systems Engineering; and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He was a Jefferson Science Fellow and a Senior Science and Engineering Advisor, Office of Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, US State Department, Washington, DC (2009-2010). He is a Commissioner of The Joint Commission (2016-; a not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States and operates in 92 countries around the world, http://www.jointcommission.org/) and is on the Board of Directors of the Center for Transforming Healthcare. He has served as a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global, chaired by Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (2013-2016).
For the past 30 years, he has been teaching and conducting research on risk reduction and reliability enhancement of complex technological systems, including nuclear power, aviation, petrochemical and transportation industries. He has been selected by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and National Research Council (NRC) for his interdisciplinary expertise concerning human performance and safety culture to serve as member and technical advisor on two national panels in the United States investigating two major recent accidents: The NAS/NRC Committee "Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants" (2012-2014); and the NAE/NRC "Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Accidents in the Future" (2010-2011).
Dr. Meshkati has inspected many petrochemical and nuclear power plants around the world, including Chernobyl (1997), Fukushima Daiichi and Daini (2012). He has worked with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, as an expert on human factors and safety culture, on the investigation of the BP Refinery explosion in Texas City (2005), and served as a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Human Performance, Organizational Systems and Maritime Safety. He also served as a member of the NRC Marine Board's Subcommittee on Coordinated R&D Strategies for Human Performance to Improve Marine Operations and Safety.
Dr. Meshkati is the only full-time USC faculty member who has continuously been conducting research on human factors and aviation safety-related issues (e.g., cockpit design and automation, crew resource management, safety management system, safety culture, and runway incursions,) and teaching in the USC 63-year old internationally renowned Aviation Safety and Security Program, for the past 25 years. During this period, he has taught in the "Human Factors in Aviation Safety" and "System Safety" short courses. From 1992 to 1999, he also was the Director and had administrative and academic responsibility for the USC Professional Programs, which included Aviation Safety, as well as for the Transportation Safety, and Process Safety Management (which he designed and developed) programs. He has worked with numerous safety professionals from all over the world and has taught safety short courses for private and public sector organizations, including the US Navy, US Air Force, US Forest Service, California OSHA, Celgene, Metrolink, Exelon, the Republic of Singapore Air Force, Singapore Institution of Safety Officers, China National Petrochemical Corporation, Canadian upstream oil and gas industry (Enform), Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of Korea), etc.
Dr. Meshkati is an elected Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES); the 2015 recipient of the HFES highest award, the Arnold M. Small President's Distinguished Service Award, for his "career-long contributions that have brought honor to the profession and the Society"; and the 2007 recipient of the HFES Oliver Keith Hansen Outreach Award for his "scholarly efforts on human factors of complex, large-scale technological systems." He is the inaugural recipient of the Ernest Amory Codman Lectureship and Award (form The Joint Commission for his leadership and efforts in continuously improving the safety and quality of care). He is an AT&T Faculty Fellow in Industrial Ecology, a NASA Faculty Fellow (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2003 and 2004), and a recipient of the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1989.
He has received numerous teaching awards at USC, which include the 2013 Steven B. Sample Teaching and Mentoring Award from the USC Parents Association, the 2000 TRW Award for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement in Teaching from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering; the 1996, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016 Professor of Year Award (Excellence in Teaching and Dedication to Students Award) from the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering; the Mortar Board's Honored Faculty Award (2007-2008) from the University of Southern California's Chapter of the Mortar Board; and the Outstanding Teaching Award from The Latter-day Saint Student Association at USC (April 11, 2008). He was chosen as a Faculty Fellow by the Center for Excellence in Teaching, USC (2008-2010).
He is the co-editor and a primary author of the book Human Mental Workload, North-Holland, 1988. His articles on public policy; the risk, reliability, and environmental impact of complex, large-scale technological systems; and foreign policy-related issues have been published in several national and international newspapers and magazines such the New York Times, International New York Times (International Herald Tribune), Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Houston Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, MIT Technology Review, Japan Times, Korea Herald (South Korea), Gulf Today (Sharjah, UAE), Times of India, Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul, Turkey), Strait Times (Singapore), Iran News (Tehran, Iran), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Winnipeg Free Press, Waterloo Region Record, Windsor Star (Canada), Scientific Malaysian, etc.
As chairman of the "group of expects" of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), Dr. Meshkati coordinated international efforts which culminated in the joint publication of the United Nations' International Labor Office (ILO) and IEA Ergonomic Checkpoints: Practical and Easy-to-Implement Solutions for Improving Safety, Health and Working Conditions book in 1996, for which he received the Ergonomics of Technology Transfer Award from the IEA in 2000. According to the ILO, this book has so far been translated and published into 16 languages including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysian, Chinese, Estonian, Farsi, French, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. The second edition of this book was released by the ILO/IEA in 2010.
Dr. Meshkati simultaneously received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science in 1976, from Sharif (Arya-Meher) University of Technology and Shahid Beheshti University (National University of Iran), respectively; a M.S. in Engineering Management in 1978; and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1983 from USC. He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist.
Najmedin Meshkati Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering/Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
Dr. Najmedin Meshkati is a (tenured, full) Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering; Industrial & Systems Engineering; and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He was a Jefferson Science Fellow and a Senior Science and Engineering Advisor, Office of Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, US State Department, Washington, DC (2009-2010). He is a Commissioner of The Joint Commission (2016-; a not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States and operates in 92 countries around the world, http://www.jointcommission.org/) and is on the Board of Directors of the Center for Transforming Healthcare. He has served as a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global, chaired by Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (2013-2016).
For the past 30 years, he has been teaching and conducting research on risk reduction and reliability enhancement of complex technological systems, including nuclear power, aviation, petrochemical and transportation industries. He has been selected by the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and National Research Council (NRC) for his interdisciplinary expertise concerning human performance and safety culture to serve as member and technical advisor on two national panels in the United States investigating two major recent accidents: The NAS/NRC Committee "Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants" (2012-2014); and the NAE/NRC "Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Accidents in the Future" (2010-2011).
Dr. Meshkati has inspected many petrochemical and nuclear power plants around the world, including Chernobyl (1997), Fukushima Daiichi and Daini (2012). He has worked with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, as an expert on human factors and safety culture, on the investigation of the BP Refinery explosion in Texas City (2005), and served as a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Human Performance, Organizational Systems and Maritime Safety. He also served as a member of the NRC Marine Board's Subcommittee on Coordinated R&D Strategies for Human Performance to Improve Marine Operations and Safety.
Dr. Meshkati is the only full-time USC faculty member who has continuously been conducting research on human factors and aviation safety-related issues (e.g., cockpit design and automation, crew resource management, safety management system, safety culture, and runway incursions,) and teaching in the USC 63-year old internationally renowned Aviation Safety and Security Program, for the past 25 years. During this period, he has taught in the "Human Factors in Aviation Safety" and "System Safety" short courses. From 1992 to 1999, he also was the Director and had administrative and academic responsibility for the USC Professional Programs, which included Aviation Safety, as well as for the Transportation Safety, and Process Safety Management (which he designed and developed) programs. He has worked with numerous safety professionals from all over the world and has taught safety short courses for private and public sector organizations, including the US Navy, US Air Force, US Forest Service, California OSHA, Celgene, Metrolink, Exelon, the Republic of Singapore Air Force, Singapore Institution of Safety Officers, China National Petrochemical Corporation, Canadian upstream oil and gas industry (Enform), Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of Korea), etc.
Dr. Meshkati is an elected Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES); the 2015 recipient of the HFES highest award, the Arnold M. Small President's Distinguished Service Award, for his "career-long contributions that have brought honor to the profession and the Society"; and the 2007 recipient of the HFES Oliver Keith Hansen Outreach Award for his "scholarly efforts on human factors of complex, large-scale technological systems." He is the inaugural recipient of the Ernest Amory Codman Lectureship and Award (form The Joint Commission for his leadership and efforts in continuously improving the safety and quality of care). He is an AT&T Faculty Fellow in Industrial Ecology, a NASA Faculty Fellow (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2003 and 2004), and a recipient of the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1989.
He has received numerous teaching awards at USC, which include the 2013 Steven B. Sample Teaching and Mentoring Award from the USC Parents Association, the 2000 TRW Award for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement in Teaching from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering; the 1996, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016 Professor of Year Award (Excellence in Teaching and Dedication to Students Award) from the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering; the Mortar Board's Honored Faculty Award (2007-2008) from the University of Southern California's Chapter of the Mortar Board; and the Outstanding Teaching Award from The Latter-day Saint Student Association at USC (April 11, 2008). He was chosen as a Faculty Fellow by the Center for Excellence in Teaching, USC (2008-2010).
He is the co-editor and a primary author of the book Human Mental Workload, North-Holland, 1988. His articles on public policy; the risk, reliability, and environmental impact of complex, large-scale technological systems; and foreign policy-related issues have been published in several national and international newspapers and magazines such the New York Times, International New York Times (International Herald Tribune), Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Houston Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, MIT Technology Review, Japan Times, Korea Herald (South Korea), Gulf Today (Sharjah, UAE), Times of India, Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul, Turkey), Strait Times (Singapore), Iran News (Tehran, Iran), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Winnipeg Free Press, Waterloo Region Record, Windsor Star (Canada), Scientific Malaysian, etc.
As chairman of the "group of expects" of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), Dr. Meshkati coordinated international efforts which culminated in the joint publication of the United Nations' International Labor Office (ILO) and IEA Ergonomic Checkpoints: Practical and Easy-to-Implement Solutions for Improving Safety, Health and Working Conditions book in 1996, for which he received the Ergonomics of Technology Transfer Award from the IEA in 2000. According to the ILO, this book has so far been translated and published into 16 languages including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysian, Chinese, Estonian, Farsi, French, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. The second edition of this book was released by the ILO/IEA in 2010.
Dr. Meshkati simultaneously received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a B.A. in Political Science in 1976, from Sharif (Arya-Meher) University of Technology and Shahid Beheshti University (National University of Iran), respectively; a M.S. in Engineering Management in 1978; and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 1983 from USC. He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist.
Curtis M. Oldenburg Ph.D.
Geological Senior Scientist
Energy Geosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Curtis Oldenburg is a Senior Scientist, Energy Resources Program Domain Lead, Geologic Carbon Sequestration Program Lead, and Editor in Chief of Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology. Curt's area of expertise is numerical model development and applications for coupled subsurface flow and transport processes. He has worked in geothermal reservoir modeling, vadose zone hydrology, and compressed gas energy storage. Curt's focus for the last fifteen years has been on geologic carbon sequestration with emphasis on CO2 injection for enhanced gas recovery, and near-surface leakage and seepage including monitoring, detection, and risk-based frameworks for site selection and certification. Curt Oldenburg is a co-author of the textbook entitled Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration.
He is an Ex Officio Steering Committee member, due to his role as a lead author and technical expert for each of the three key questions of the report. Serving as an ex officio member ensures regular interaction with the rest of the Steering Committee and improves the quality of the final report. He is responsible for his portion of the report, and is not responsible for portions he did not contribute to.
Scott A. Perfect Ph.D.
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Engineer Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Dr. Perfect is the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Engineering Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). In this role, Dr. Perfect provides leadership ensuring the safety and technical quality of mechanical and related engineering activities conducted throughout the 1600-member Engineering Directorate in support of the Laboratory's diverse missions. Along with the Chief Electronics Engineer, he oversees workforce management and employee development activities within the Engineering Directorate.
Dr. Perfect received his B.S. in Civil Engineering and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Perfect began his career at LLNL in 1986 as a member of the Experimental Physics Group, designing hardware, conducting experiments, and performing computational simulations in support of the Defense and Nuclear Technologies Program. After three years in that assignment, he joined the Structural and Applied Mechanics Group where he conducted large-scale nonlinear finite element analyses in support of many projects across the LLNL mission space. His prior leadership assignments are Associate Division Leader for the Defense Technologies Engineering Division and Group Leader for the Structural and Applied Mechanics Group. He has published in the areas of vehicle crashworthiness, nuclear material storage and transportation, magnetic fusion energy, biomechanics of human joints, laser crystal stability, single-crystal plasticity, hydrogen storage, and weapon systems.
Terence Thorn
President
JKM Energy and Environmental Consulting
Terence (Terry) Thorn is a 42-year veteran of the domestic and international natural gas industry and has held a wide variety of senior positions beginning his career as Chairman of Mojave Pipeline Company and President and CEO of Transwestern Pipeline Company. He has worked as an international project developer throughout the world.
As a Chief Environmental Officer, Terry supported Greenfield projects in 14 countries to minimize their environmental impact. He wrote and had adopted company wide Environmental Health and Safety Management Standards and implemented the first environmental management plan for pipeline and power plant construction. In attendance at COP 1 and 2, Terry has remained involved in the climate change discussions where he is focusing on international policies and best practices to control methane emissions.
Residing in Houston, Terry is President of JKM Energy and Environmental Consulting and specializes in project development and management, environmental risk assessment and mitigation, business and policy development, and market analysis. He has done considerable work in the areas of pipeline integrity management systems including audit systems for safety and integrity management programs.
He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of the International Gas Union where he helps drive the technical, policy and analytical work product for the 13 Committees and Task Forces with their 1000 members from 91 countries. He also serves on the Advisory Boards for the North American Standards Board where he co-chaired the gas electric harmonization task force, and the University of Texas' Bureau of Economic Geology's Center for Energy Economics where he helped found the Electric Power Research Forum. Terry is also on the Board of Air Alliance Houston which focuses on Houston's greatest air pollution challenges in collaboration with universities, regulators, and partner organizations.
Terry has published numerous articles on energy, risk management and corporate governance and was author of the International Energy Agency's 2007 North American Gas Market Review. As advisor to European gas companies and regulators he co-authored The Natural Gas Transmission Business -a Comparison Between the Interstate US-American and European Situations, Environmental Issues Surrounding Shale Gas Production, The U.S. Experience, A Primer. As a participant in the National Petroleum Council Study Prudent Development: Realizing the Potential of North America's Abundant Natural Gas and Oil Resources (September 2011), Terry wrote in coordination with the subject team the section on electric gas harmonization, co-authored the chapter on electric generation, and advised on the residential commercial chapter. Most recently he has completed market research projects on electricity markets and gas markets including modeling the US gas markets 2015-2050. Gas Shale Environmental Issues and Challenges was just published by Curtin University in 2015. His most recent papers are "The Bridge to Nowhere: Gas in An All Electric World," "The Paradigms of Reducing Energy Poverty and Meeting Climate Goals," and "Making Fossil Fuels Great Again: Initial Thoughts on the Trump Energy Policy."
Samuel J. Traina Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development
University of California, Merced
Dr. Samuel Justin Traina joined the University of California, Merced in July 2002 as the founding director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. Prior to beginning his UC Merced duties, Dr. Traina was a professor at Ohio State University.
Dr. Traina received his bachelor's degree in soil resource management and his doctorate in soil chemistry from UC Berkeley, where he also served as a graduate research assistant and graduate teaching assistant. Immediately following, he moved to UC Riverside to conduct postdoctoral research and work as an assistant research soil chemist in the Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences.
In July 2007 Dr. Traina became the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Dean. As of July 1, 2012 Dr. Traina became solely the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development.
Michael W. Wara J.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Stanford Law School
An expert on energy and environmental law, Michael Wara's research focuses on climate and electricity policy. Professor Wara's current scholarship lies at the intersection between environmental law, energy law, international relations, atmospheric science, and technology policy.
Professor Wara, JD '06, was formerly a geochemist and climate scientist and has published work on the history of the El Niño/La Niña system and its response to changing climates, especially those warmer than today. The results of his scientific research have been published in premier scientific journals, including Science and Nature.
Professor Wara joined Stanford Law in 2007 as a research fellow in environmental law and as a lecturer in law. Previously, he was an associate in Holland & Knight's Government Practice Group, where his practice focused on climate change, land use, and environmental law.
Professor Wara is a research fellow at the Program in Energy and Sustainable Development in Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, a Faculty Fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, and a Center Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment.
Disclosure of Conflict of Interest
In accordance with the practice of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), CCST makes best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on a committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and CCST determines that the conflict is unavoidable. A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. An objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests, and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established its membership must include among others, individuals with research and expertise in the area of natural gas storage facilities and Aliso Canyon gas leak disaster in order to assess the longterm viability of underground natural gas storage facilities in California.
To meet the need for this expertise and experience, Professor Michael Wara was proposed for appointment to the steering committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because of investments he holds.
As his biographical summary makes clear, Professor Wara is a recognized expert in environmental, climate, and energy law.
After an extensive search, we have been unable to find another individual with the equivalent combination of expertise in energy law as Professor Wara, who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable.
Peer Review
Peer review is the process of the evaluation of the scientific and technical merit (and likelihood of success) of the proposed research project/program by a panel of reviewers with direct expertise in the area of research to be evaluated who have no personal stake or interest in the outcome of the evaluation process. The salient features of the peer review process are the evaluation of the research program by "peer" experts in relevant fields who are deemed qualified to evaluate the product based solely on the scientific and technical merit of the content. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.
All CCST reports are peer reviewed using guidelines and processes established by CCST to assure the highest scientific and technical standards. Guidelines are similar to those of the National Academy of Science, adapted to be appropriate for California. It is standard practice to keep the identity of peer reviewers confidential as well as all of the comments and deliberations.