Over the past two years, both the hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) industries have gained momentum in the US. Project development in these industries has been rapidly accelerating with the growing financial incentives from policymakers for the commercial deployment of these projects. The signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, in November of 2021 marked the US Department of Energy's largest single investment in carbon management, along with significant investments funding clean hydrogen development.

The African Copper belt is a major supplier of key minerals such as copper, nickel, and cobalt to the world economy. Extracting and transporting these minerals to market will be essential to the success of the energy transition as demand for solar and wind energy, and battery metals soar exponentially over the next three decades. In contrast, the dismal state of road infrastructure for transporting the minerals from mine to port creates a major impediment to the commercial competitiveness of miners in the region and threatens economic rents accruable to host countries and communities. This commentary describes a new paradigm that could radically transform the design of solutions to ease logistics problems in the region.

Collapsible Soils in Colorado describes the geologic setting, the geomorphic and soil conditions, locations of potential susceptibility, and engineering properties of collapsible soils in Colorado. This bulletin is the result of a comprehensive and multi-year effort to understand collapsing soil behavior and the geologic and geomorphic conditions where they can form. In addition, this report contains a 1:1,000,000-scale map of Colorado that shows locations of soil collapse compiled from soil test data and damage incidents, climatic exclusions zones, and areas of the state where collapse-prone soil may exist. Collapsible soils are a widespread geologic hazard in the state, common in almost all semi-arid non-mountainous areas. The CGS program addressing this particular geohazard has increased public and professional awareness of collapsible soils. At the same time, through robust evaluation and research, it has improved the existing geological and geotechnical professional standard-of-practice related to the hazard. Note: The Association of American State Geologists announced that their annual John C. Frye Memorial Award for 2009 is granted to the CGS and the staff members who authored EG-14.

This study was a cooperative investigation conducted by the CGS and funded by a U.S. Geological Survey Grant on the Study of Environmental Impact of Energy Resource Development in the Denver Basin, Colorado. It was presented at the 5th Governor's Conference on Environmental Geology held in Grand Junction from October 9-12, 1979. As technology advances and the economy changes, new mining methods are researched and developed by industry and the Federal government. Planners may encounter situations where industry wishes to utilize a new, unfamiliar mining technique to recover a mineral resource. Many of these methods offer considerable socio-economic and environmental advantages over conventional mining and milling techniques. Other of these methods, however, may result in significant impacts that concern planners. This paper describes only one of these methods, in situ solution mining, which is a relatively old technique that recently has been successfully used to extract uranium. This report presents the mining and processing techniques, wastes and effluents, waste disposal and control, monitoring programs, environmental effects of accidents, and restoration.

The problem of subsidence resulting from the undermining of the surface has received a great deal of study over the past 100 years. Much of this work has been done in Europe where industry, population density, and coal mining tended to grow and develop in the same areas. Damage to surface structures in highly urbanized areas such as the Ruhr and the English Midlands led to intensive investigations as to how to predict where and when subsidence would occur and how to prevent or minimize such subsidence. Until recently most of the significant research on surface subsidence was done abroad and has been published in journals which are not easily obtainable or are in a language other than English. In Europe, most underground coal mining is done by methods different than those commonly used in the Boulder-Weld coalfield. For this reason, one must be cautious in applying European principles of subsidence prediction to the Boulder-Weld coalfield where the layout and condition of the mines are quite different. In the last decade, land development has encroached on the undermined area of the Boulder-Weld coalfield, and the importance of subsidence has been recognized. This study is directed primarily toward the problems of land-use in those undermined areas where subsidence has occurred in the past and may occur in the future. Absolute predictability of the amount and area of subsidence in the Boulder-Weld coalfield is not possible with records now available. In Europe land-use plans have evolved to take subsidence into account, and detailed records have been maintained over long periods of time. It is unfortunate that the level of record-keeping in the Boulder-Weld coalfield has not been geared to land-use needs, because the present lack of data severely limits the accuracy of subsidence prediction. Within the limitations imposed by the adequacy of mine data, this study is intended to bring together a body of information that will be useful to planners and geologists involved in bringing the land to its optimum use.

Engineering and environmental geology of the Windsor study area, covering eight 7.5-minute quadrangles in Larimer and Weld counties. Included are the cities of Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, and Windsor. Model geologic baseline-data study for a rapidly urbanizing area. 11 plates (1:48,000 and 1:96,000). Information included on plates: a) Bedrock geology; b) shallow surficial materials; c) slope analysis; d) drainage basins and areas of past flooding; e) existing land use; f) sand and gravel resources; g) groundwater availability; h) water quality and sources of potential pollution; i) bedrock surface topography of valley-fill areas; j) solid waste disposal suitability; k) energy and mineral resources (excluding sand and gravel).

This report presents the results of a comprehensive investigation of the geology and engineering geology of Planning District 9, State of Colorado. Planning District 9 includes the counties of Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan. Within the Planning Districts, specific geologic factors which should be considered to insure safe, efficient and environmentally sound land use decisions. This investigation was done on a reconnaissance basis and the factors include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Mineral resources which affect land use decisions; b. Massive land movements or other unstable surface conditions; c. Areas of swelling soils, settling soils or other soil factors that will affect foundation construction; d. General areas of flood danger and/or erosional hazards; e. Areas of high water table, both permanent and seasonal; f. General geologic constraints that will affect selection and operation of solid waste disposal sites; g. Pollution potential and other possible hazards associated with old mine tailing dumps; h. Other critical factors which may become evident during the course of the study. The report identified four problem areas. Two problem areas, similar in nature, are listed together as IA and IB. Problem Area IA is Sleeping Ute Mountain in western Montezuma County, and IB is the area of the La Plata Mountains on the Montezuma-La Plata County border. Problem Area II is located in eastern Dolores County. Problem Areas IIIA and 11 IB are both in San Juan County. Problem Area IV is located in eastern Archuleta County. Specifics of these problem areas are provided in the report.

This report was originally prepared for Planning District 7 which has since been divided into two planning districts, 7 and 13. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a comprehensive investigation of the geology and engineering geology of Planning Districts 7 and 13. Planning Districts 7 & 13 include the counties of Lake, Chaffee, Fremont, Custer, Pueblo, Huerfano and Las Animas. Within the Planning Districts, specific geologic factors which should be considered to insure safe, efficient and environmentally sound land use decisions. This investigation was done on a reconnaissance basis and the factors include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Mineral resources which affect land use decisions; b. Massive land movements or other unstable surface conditions; c. Areas of swelling soils, settling soils or other soil factors that will affect foundation construction; d. General areas of flood danger and/or erosional hazards; e. Areas of high water table, both permanent and seasonal; f. General geologic constraints that will affect selection and operation of solid waste disposal sites; g. Pollution potential and other possible hazards associated with old mine tailing dumps; h. Other critical factors which may become evident during the course of the study. The report identified six problem areas in Planning District 7. Problem area I is the Leadville mining district in northeastern Lake County. Problem area II is the Spanish Peaks region with the associated radial dike swarms. Problem area III covers disseminated areas of potential avalanches. Such areas are common in alpine regions, which includes the Sangre de Cristo Range, the Wet Mountains, the Mosquito Range and the Sawatch Range. Problem area IV encompasses areas that were covered by glaciers in the past. Glaciers have covered most of the high mountain ranges, including the Sangre de Cristo Range, the Mosquito Range, and the Sawatch Range. Problem area V includes areas of extremely complex geology. There are several located in the major mountain ranges, including the Mosquito, Sangre de Cristo, Sawatch, and Wet Mountain Ranges. Problem Area VI includes groundwater in Pueblo County, areas of which may be contaminated significantly by radioactive material. Specifics of these problem areas are provided in the report.

As the energy crisis perseveres and governments around the world attempt to meet net zero emission timelines, there are many eyes on Africa's natural resource supply. Africa is resource rich. The continent is endowed with significant hydrocarbon reserves and critical minerals required for low-carbon technologies. As political and environmental developments around the world seek to decarbonize supply chains, pivoting investments over time towards critical minerals in Africa can help and bridge the gap between emerging/developing economies and energy security.

New technologies don't often "fit" within market designs as well as the incumbent technologies. As a result, subtle changes in market rules can have large impacts on new technology adoption, and their associated supply chains. This research measures the impact on grid battery installations, and the resulting lithium demand – both generated by the June 2020 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 841.