WOCA 2024 to Feature Two Short Course Options
What’s better than the WOCA Short Course? Two WOCA Short Courses! WOCA 2024 will have two separate short course options to choose from: Short Course 101 and Short Course 301.
Coal Ash 101 – The Science of Coal Ash: Products, Utilization, and Management
- Introductory course to coal ash for new employees; students; a refresher for yourself, etc.
Coal Ash 301 – Geochemistry of Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) Constituents in the Groundwater Environment: Concepts and Simulation Tools
- Recommended for attendees with a basic understanding of groundwater and CCR chemistry
The WOCA 2024 Short Course will be held on Monday, May 13th, 2024. Registration for the 2024 WOCA Short Course is now open on the WOCA website. Register here and remember that you must register for the Short Course AND the full conference if you wish to attend both activities.
Coal Ash 101
| 7:00am – 7:30am | Registration and Breakfast |
| 7:30am – 8:00am | |
| 8:00am – 8:30am | Introduction to Coal Combustion Ash (what they are and how they’re formed) |
| 8:30am – 8:35am | Q & A |
| 8:35am – 9:05am | Lab Tests for Ash Characterization (Lab practices and Industry standards) |
| 9:05am – 9:10am | Q & A |
| 9:10am – 9:40am | Coal Combustion Products, i.e. fly ash, bottom ash, slag, gypsum, sulfate/sulfite |
| 9:40am – 9:45am | Q & A |
| 9:45am – 10:15am | The Nature of Ponded Ash |
| 10:15am – 10:20am | Q & A |
| 10:20am – 10:40am | Coffee Break |
| 10:40am – 11:10am | Techniques for Harvesting Ponded and Landfilled Ash |
| 11:10am – 11:15am | Q & A |
| 11:15am – 11:45am | Coal Combustion Ash Management Practices (Management and Marketing Perspectives) |
| 11:45am – 11:50am | Q & A |
| 11:50am – 12:00pm | |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm – 1:10pm | |
| 1:10pm – 1:40pm | Technology for Beneficiation and Advanced Materials and Applications |
| 1:40pm – 1:45pm | Q & A |
| 1:45pm – 2:15pm | Use of Coal Combustion Products in Cementitious Materials |
| 2:15pm – 2:20pm | Q & A |
| 2:20pm – 2:50pm | Advanced Beneficiated Materials and Non-Cement Uses of Ash |
| 2:50pm – 2:55pm | Q & A |
| 2:55pm – 3:15pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:15pm – 3:45pm | Utilization trends in CCP’s – Domestic and Abroad |
| 3:45pm – 3:50pm | Q & A |
Coal Ash 301
| 7:00am – 8:00am | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 8:00am – 8:15am | Introduction | PJ Nolan |
| 8:15am – 9:00am | Geochemistry of CCP in the Subsurface | PJ Nolan and Jeff Frazier |
| 9:00am – 10:00am | Empirical Observations and Unresolved Questions on CCP Leaching: 40 years of EPRI Research | Bruce Hensel and Lea Millet |
| 10:00am – 10:30am | Coffee Break | |
| 10:30am – 11:15am | Introduction and Approaches to Modeling, Difference between Geochemical and Flow Modeling | PJ Nolan and Cole Mayer |
| 11:15am – 12:00pm | Modeling Attenuation and Reversibility | Jim Finley, PJ Nolan, and Cole Mayer |
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00pm – 1:45pm | Uncertainty, Interpretation, and Application of Geochemical Modeling Results and Data | Jim Finley and Jeff Frazier |
| 1:45pm – 2:30pm | Tools to Strengthen ASDs: Use and Misuse of Geochemical Evidence | Denise Levitan |
| 2:30pm – 3:00pm | Geochemical Changes Observed at CCP Sites After Closure | Jeff Frazier and Denise Levitan |
| 3:00pm – 3:30pm | Coffee Break | |
| 3:30pm – 4:00pm | Geochemistry for Key CCP Management Decisions and Closing Remarks | Panel Dicsussion Moderated by Cole Mayer |
Coal Ash 301 Speaker Bios
PJ Nolan, PhD, PG
WSP USA Inc., Technical Principal, Geochemist
Dr. PJ Nolan is Technical Principal and Lead Geochemist at WSP with 10+ years in the industry. PJ has a Doctorate in Geology, specializing in Geochemistry. PJ focuses his practice primarily on the geochemistry and geochemical modeling of coal combustion products (CCP) and the remediation of uranium sites. Dr. Nolan has published his work in numerous high impact peer reviewed journals and presented at multiple national and international conferences. Most recently PJ led at six-part webinar series on geochemistry and geochemical modeling for the Electric Power Research Institute. He is currently leading a team and is lead author for two additional guidance documents on the geochemistry of CCPs for the power industry.
Jim Finley, PhD, PG
Stantec Consulting, Inc., Principal Geochemist
Dr. Finley a principal geochemist with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. with 27 years of experience in the application of geochemical and hydrological principles to address water quality and management issues in a variety of environments associated with natural resource extraction and use. He has worked in coal, coal combustion residuals, uranium, and hard-rock mining for his consulting career completing projects in North and South America, New Zealand, and Australia. He has extensive experience in mining at all phases of the mine life cycle from baseline work in support of permitting, active agency interaction, preparation of EIS/EIA documents, support for active mine operations, and participation in analysis and design for reclamation and closure of mines. Dr. Finley has expertise in the following technical areas: aqueous geochemistry, geochemical modeling, isotope geochemistry and hydrology, trace metal chemistry, watershed hydrology, and dynamic systems modeling.
Bruce Hensel
EPRI, CCP Research Program Manager
Bruce leads EPRI’s research on coal combustion product (CCP) land and groundwater management (Program 242), the Groundwater Resource Center, and several other supplemental projects dealing with environmental aspects of CCP management. He has more than 35 years of environmental research and consulting experience, and has worked extensively with environmental issues at CCP management facilities since 1992. His areas of expertise include upland and wetland hydrogeology, groundwater remediation, groundwater-surface water interactions, computer modeling, and statistical analysis. Bruce has authored or co-authored more than 80 publications related to hydrogeology and/or coal combustion products. He holds B.S. (1982) and M.S. (1984) degrees in Geological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where his M.S. thesis focused on groundwater-surface water interactions.
Lea Millet, P.G.
EPRI, Senior Technical Leader
Lea is a Senior Technical Leader at EPR and performs research on a broad range of topics, including coal combustion product (CCP) land and groundwater management. She has over 25 years of experience in environmental compliance, permitting, and remediation of legacy groundwater and soil contamination. Her areas of expertise are hydrogeology, geochemistry, groundwater and soil remediation, and statistical analyses. Lea has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Wittenberg University, and a master’s in geology, specializing in geochemistry, from Louisiana State University. She is a licensed professional geologist in two states.
Jeff Frazier
WSP, Assistant VP
Jeff Frazier is a Technical Principal Hydrogeologist and Assistant VP at WSP with 24 years of industry experience and a Master of Science degree in Geology from West Virginia University. Jeff has practiced environmental hydrogeology within many geographic, geologic, and regulatory settings, with a focus on waste management over the past 11 years, including coal combustion products (CCP). Jeff currently leads a client service team for hydrogeologic and geochemical assessment and remediation at CCP management facilities, while also serving as the lead hydrogeologist for the projects.
Denise Levitan, PhD, PG
US Geological Survey, Research Geologist
Dr. Denise Levitan is a Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA, and was previously a Senior Environmental Scientist at Barr Engineering Co. in Minneapolis, MN. She holds a BS in geology from Yale University and a PhD in geosciences from Virginia Tech. Denise has over a decade of experience in evaluating the environmental impacts of natural resource extraction and use. She has worked with clients and researchers in mining, power, and other fields to develop assessment and remediation strategies for a variety of environmental media.
Cole Mayer
Geochemist
Cole Mayer is an Associate Consultant and Geochemist with WSP and has a Bachelor’s Degree in geology from the University of West Georgia. Cole specializes in the geochemistry of Coal Combustion Products (CCP), investigating potential alternate source demonstrations, the development of reactive transport models that support monitored natural attenuation (MNA), and modeling in-situ injection scenarios. In addition of the power industry, Cole also uses his skills for the development of reactive transport models for legacy mine site remediation and at other diverse sites on an international scale. Cole recently developed the models and co-authored the presentation at the USWAG conference that demonstrated the conditions for remobilization and permanence of MNA under varying groundwater conditions.
