Policy Debates On Hydraulic Fracturing

This edited volume compares seven countries in North America and Europe on the highly topical issue of oil and gas development that uses hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” The comparative analysis is based on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and guided by two questions: First, in each country, what are current coalitions and the related policy output? Second, based on the current situation, what are the chances for future policy change? This book is the first to use a social science approach to analyze hydraulic fracturing debates and the first application of the ACF that is deliberately comparative. The contributions in this book advance our understanding about the formation of coalitions and development of public policy in the context of different forms of government and economically recoverable natural resources.

The disputes around fracking, and oil and gas policy, follow a long tradition of complicated intergovernmental relationships. Proponents argue that fracking supports new and well-paying jobs, revitalizes state and local economies, and that it can help replace reliance on other fossil fuels. Skeptics and opponents contend that oil and gas production via fracking contaminates air and water resources, causes earthquakes, and can ruin the character of many communities. Examining the intergovernmental politics of the first oil and natural gas boom of the 21st century, The Fracking Debate, Second edition offers a holistic understanding of the politics that characterize oil and natural gas operations, including why local governments are challenging their state’s preemptive authority, in order to initiate a larger conversation about improving intergovernmental relationships. Author Jonathan Fisk presents a novel argument about the ways in which local, state, regional, and national approaches to governance of shale gas development can work together to reduce conflict and forward the interests of the communities exposed to development, asking important questions such as: What state structures govern state-local relations? What state institutions impact and shape oil and gas production? What is the policymaking context in the state? What are the costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing at the national, state, and local levels? How are risks and rewards distributed within states? What local policies have challenged the state, and why would local communities challenge the state? The result is a book that demonstrates that when stakeholders acknowledge their interdependencies and one another’s expertise, they create, design, and implement more responsive, strategic, and targeted public policies. The Fracking Debate, Second edition will be required reading for courses on oil and gas policy in the United States, environmental politics, and domestic energy politics, as well as a vital reference for practitioners and policymakers working in these fields.

Policy matters because it affects everyone; because it affects everyone, we care about how policy is made. As policy scholars, we know a lot about the processes that influence policy outcomes, but there is a lot we have yet to learn about how people express their policy preferences, how people get access to policy debates, and how people work together to achieve their policy goals. These three ideas form the foundations of the three chapters of my dissertation. Because the way that policy is made can systematically advantage or disadvantage certain groups of people, this body of knowledge seeks to answer my driving question, which is, how does the way that we make policy both facilitate and impede environmental justice? Meaning, how do we ensure that all citizens are informed about and involved in decision-making, and provided equal protection from environmental hazards? If the people who are directly impacted by an activity are not being represented in relevant decision-making, or if the avenues to participation are systematically closed to specific groups of people (or if those people are not being effectively recruited into policy debates), then the policies that are passed will not represent their interests or viewpoints, which will perpetuate inequities in the distribution of environmental harm. This work, therefore, is a crucial step towards understanding how the way we make policy, facilitates and impedes environmental justice. The first chapter focuses on the strategic use of narrative to influence policy outcomes. Narratives are highly consequential in policy processes because they shape public perception of policy issues. The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) seeks to predict the extent to which narratives are strategically used to influence policy outcomes. Its core hypotheses center around a winning vs. losing dichotomy, in which winning and losing narratives employ distinct sets of strategies. Due to the newness of the theory, there are few empirical tests of its components, and their results are inconclusive. I posit that the winning-losing paradigm does not accurately predict narrative strategy use. To test this hypothesis, I examine a policy dilemma where contextually similar jurisdictions adopted multiple different policy solutions over a common time period. From 2008 to 2012, more than 260 New York municipalities passed policies related to hydraulic fracturing (fracking). I analyze editorial content from two local newspapers in central New York whose distribution covers municipalities that adopted anti- and pro-fracking policies. My findings reveal that narrators consistently use narrative strategies that correspond to the side of the issue they support, regardless of whether they are winning or losing the policy debate. This suggests the NPF's winning-losing dichotomy may not be not well suited to predicting narrative strategy use or policy outcomes. The second chapter examines the role of advocacy organizations in mobilizing people to participate in policy processes. Marginalized individuals are less likely to participate or have their interests represented in political processes than historically privileged individuals. Interest groups are considered the best means to address this gap, but there is little research on the role of interest groups in mobilizing people to directly participate in political processes, particularly in marginalized communities. This chapter tests hypotheses about organizational strategies used to mobilize individuals for political participation, based on a survey of interest groups that have promoted participation around unconventional oil and gas policies in California and Colorado. The results show that interest groups working in vulnerable communities do more direct advocacy (i.e., connecting residents to representatives) and use more personal communication methods (i.e., door-to-door canvassing) than interest groups working in historically privileged communities. However, organizational strategies in general are not well predicted by the target community's composition, suggesting that decisions around mobilization strategies are driven by other factors. The third chapter explores the role of collaboration in helping advocacy organizations to achieve their goals vis-à-vis passing preferred policies, increasing political participation (particularly among disadvantaged individuals), and enhancing organizational capacity. Collaborations help organizations achieve what they could not do on their own by leveraging resources to improve outcomes. However, a growing body of work suggests that collaborating may not be worth the tradeoff in lost autonomy. Drawing on the factors that predict collaborative success, I predict that collaborations will be perceived to be more helpful if an organization communicates more with their collaborators, has more heterogeneous collaborators, has a smaller budget, and has more staff and a larger percentage of female staff working on oil and gas. I tested these hypotheses using a survey of advocacy organizations in California and Colorado that worked to influence oil and gas policies. The results show that staff size is a significant predictor of how helpful collaboration is for achieving all three goals (passing preferred policies, enhancing organizational capacity and increasing political participation); number of collaborators is positively associated with enhancing organizational capacity and increasing political participation; and contact frequency is positively correlated with enhancing organizational capacity. Together, these findings indicate that organizational capacity and breadth of collaboration can be important determinants of whether or not collaborating is a worthwhile endeavor, but that more work is needed to elucidate the circumstances under which collaboration is beneficial.

A pharmacologist and a veterinarian pull back the curtain on the human and animal health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” Across the country, fracking—the extraction of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing—is being touted as the nation’s answer to energy independence and a fix for a flagging economy. Drilling companies assure us that the process is safe, politicians push through drilling legislation without a serious public-health debate, and those who speak out are marginalized, their silence purchased by gas companies and their warnings about the dangers of fracking stifled. The Real Cost of Fracking pulls back the curtain on how this toxic process endangers the environment and harms people, pets, and livestock. Michelle Bamberger, a veterinarian, and Robert Oswald, a pharmacologist, combine their expertise to show how contamination at drilling sites translates into ill health and heartbreak for families and their animals. By giving voice to the people at ground zero of the fracking debate, the authors vividly illustrate the consequences of fracking and issue an urgent warning to all of us: fracking poses a dire threat to the air we breathe, the water we drink, and even our food supply. Bamberger and Oswald reveal the harrowing experiences of small farmers who have lost their animals, their livelihoods, and their peace of mind, and of rural families whose property values have plummeted as their towns have been invaded by drillers. At the same time, these stories give us hope, as people band together to help one another and courageously fight to reclaim their communities. The debate over fracking speaks to a core dilemma of contemporary life: we require energy to live with modern conveniences, but what degree of environmental degradation, health risks, and threats to our food supply are we willing to accept to obtain that energy? As these stories demonstrate, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and this is an issue that none of us can afford to ignore.

A guide to environmental and communication issues related to fracking and the best approach to protect communities Environmental Considerations Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing Operations offers a much-needed resource that explores the complex challenges of fracking by providing an understanding of the environmental and communication issues that are inherent with hydraulic fracturing. The book balances the current scientific knowledge with the uncertainty and risks associated with hydraulic fracking. In addition, the authors offer targeted approaches for helping to keep communities safe. The authors include an overview of the historical development of hydraulic fracturing and the technology currently employed. The book also explores the risk, prevention, and mitigation factors that are associated with fracturing. The authors also include legal cases, regulatory issues, and data on the cost of recovery. The volume presents audit checklists for gathering critical information and documentation to support the reliability of the current environmental conditions related to fracking operations and the impact fracking can have on a community. This vital resource: Contains the technical information and mitigation recommendations for safety and environmental issues related to hydraulic fracturing Offers an historical overview of conventional and unconventional oil and gas drilling Explains the geologic and technical issues associated with fracking of tight sand and shale formulations Presents numerous case studies from the United States EPA and other agencies Discusses issues of co-produced waste water and induced seismicity from the injection of wastewater Written for environmental scientists, geologists, engineers, regulators, city planners, attorneys, foresters, wildlife biologists, and others, Environmental Considerations Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing Operations offers a comprehensive resource to the complex environmental and communication issues related to fracking.

Daniel Raimi gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, clearly and thoroughly explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution. The Fracking Debate provides the evidence and context that have so frequently been missing from discussion of the future of oil and gas production.

There is a strong need for innovation and the development of viable renewable energy sources. Recent technological advances now allow natural gas supplies—previously believed inaccessible or nonexistent—to be discovered, mined, and processed for both industrial and consumer use. The technology, a controversial process that is alternatively called hydraulic fracturing, fracking, fracing, or hydrofracking, has greatly expanded natural gas production in the United States. Presenting a balanced discussion, Environmental Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of hydraulic fracturing used to extract natural gas, along with gas exploration and production in various shale fields. As the use of hydraulic fracturing has grown, concerns about its environmental and public health impacts have also increased—one of the most significant concerns being the fluids that are injected into rock formations to cause the fracturing contain potentially hazardous chemical additives. The book covers all facets of the issue, including ongoing controversies about the environmental and operator safety issues arising from possible water pollution, drinking water contamination, on-the-job safety hazards, and harmful chemical exposure to workers and residents near well areas. The author discusses both the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, explaining the process in great detail. He describes the benefits of hydraulic fracturing and its importance in making the United States energy independent by drilling for its own resources, as well as the potential impacts to the surrounding environment. The text also includes suggestions and recommendations on how to mitigate environmental damage. Arguably the first book of its kind, this is the go-to text on the use and impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

Over roughly the past decade, oil and gas production in the United States has surged dramatically—thanks largely to technological advances such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking.” This rapid increase has generated widespread debate, with proponents touting economic and energy-security benefits and opponents highlighting the environmental and social risks of increased oil and gas production. Despite the heated debate, neither side has a monopoly on the facts. In this book, Daniel Raimi gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, clearly and thoroughly explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution. The Fracking Debate directly addresses the most common questions and concerns associated with fracking: What is fracking? Does fracking pollute the water supply? Will fracking make the United States energy independent? Does fracking cause earthquakes? How is fracking regulated? Is fracking good for the economy? Coupling a deep understanding of the scholarly research with lessons from his travels to every major U.S. oil- and gas-producing region, Raimi highlights stories of the people and communities affected by the shale revolution, for better and for worse. The Fracking Debate provides the evidence and context that have so frequently been missing from the national discussion of the future of oil and gas production, offering readers the tools to make sense of this critical issue.

An in-depth report on the potential risks and rewards of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas detailing the latest reports, studies, facts and figures from around the world. Objective and non-partisan analysis of the arguments from all sides means readers can make up their own minds about the potential risks and purported rewards of the shale gas industry.Simple and concise Fracking: Risks & Rewards cuts through the legal, scientific, political and economic jargon to provide a comprehensive guide to the entire fracking controversy.