Twelve individuals representing seven federal agencies and other organizations met in Washington, D.C. on October 31, 1996, for the sixth meeting of the Interagency Drilling and Excavation Group (IDEG), sponsored by the NADET Institute. The Interagency Drilling and Excavation Group, open to all federal agency and laboratory personnel concerned with improving drilling and excavation practices, was formed in 1992 to exchange information about agency drilling activities and to discuss ways to advance drilling-related technology. Previous IDEG meetings, held under the auspices of the Geothermal Technologies Office of the Department of Energy, were critical to the establishment of the NADET program.
NADET Institute staff described how the involvement of government agencies is needed to ensure the success of NADET. This involvement can come in the form of grants and contracts or participation in the Greater NADET Program (work that takes place outside the NADET Institute, but is consistent with NADET goals and is recognized as such). The IDEG meetings can provide direction to the NADET Institute on government needs and activities. The job of the NADET Institute is to coordinate activities that already exist, but that will not self-assemble without NADET’s help.
NADET Institute staff described plans to form a high-level Government Executive Advisory Board (GEAB), senior agency personnel responsible for drilling and excavation-related policy direction and execution. Agency personnel at the meeting were asked to provide suggestions of persons within their respective agencies that would be appropriate for the GEAB.
Agency personnel then described interests of their agencies related to drilling and excavation. For example, the need for smart drilling for environmental purposes was mentioned by a number of meeting participants, and the suggestion was made that NADET should contact the electronics industry. Smart drilling for directional purposes and fracture understanding is critical to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which, as a regulatory agency, must have the technical basis on which to evaluate plans for site decommissioning, for example. The Corps of Engineers is interested in safe ways to drill through embankment dams and ways to install monitoring systems beneath waste sites. The Army Research Office is in the business of learning more about rock penetration for offensive military purposes. The DOE Federal Energy Technology Center - Morgantown’s natural gas drilling program was described (see Autumn 1996 issue of NADET News).
Meeting participants offered suggestions to the NADET Institute staff including the following:
In closing, agency participants endorsed the continuation of IDEG and urged NADET Institute staff to consider at least quarterly meetings of the group.
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Last modified: 05/05/97