The GWPC began developing RBDMS (Risk Based Data Management System) in 1988. RBDMS manages information about drilling and sundry activities, production records, water quality and environmental data, administrative docket approvals that set infrastructure constraints, Underground Injection Control well permit data, idle and orphan well status, and other operational details. State agencies have collected and warehoused in RBDMS millions of records about oil and gas operations.

We have now completed the development stage of this highly successful program, which is installed in twenty states and one Indian Nation. These states and the U.S. Department of Energy have invested over $10 million in this management tool for oil and gas and underground injection control (UIC) wells. The success of this program is largely due to the dedication and commitment from our state partners. States continue to provide over twice the financial match that is required by the U.S. DOE grant (see Figure 1). We will continue to install RBDMS in any remaining oil and gas state upon request. Future enhancements to RBDMS will be primarily limited to software upgrades.

GWPC’s next initiative is to make this data widely available via the Internet through electronic commerce applications. This data will be used to streamline the regulatory process and increase environmental compliance. GWPC and its member states have developed partnerships with the U.S. Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management and Mineral Management Service) to help implement the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) Amendments of 2002.

Other initiatives include a water quality database to track the quality of produced water (coal bed methane and conventional oil and gas related), public education and outreach, and continued research into innovative methods of protecting and conserving our natural resources.

This year’s RBDMS annual training was hosted by the California Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources and focused on technical transfer with "states training states." I am pleased to report this training event was very successful and I would like take this opportunity to commend Mary Wistrom, Dan Jarvis, Ben Stone, Thom Kerr, Jim Lindholm, Kyle Joresz, Ben Stone, and Richard Inge for their hard work and dedication.

Mike Paque, GWPC Executive Director