Environmental science & technology
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Jan 2014
Substate federalism and fracking policies: does state regulatory authority trump local land use autonomy?
State officials responsible for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations used in the production of oil and gas resources will inevitably confront a key policy issue; that is, to what extent can statewide regulations be developed without reducing land use autonomy typically exercised by local officials? Most state regulators have historically recognized the economic importance of industry jobs and favor the adoption of uniform regulatory requirements even if these rules preempt local policymaking authority. Conversely, many local officials seek to preserve land use autonomy to provide a greater measure of protection for public health and environmental quality goals. ⋯ While local officials within Texas have succeeded in developing fracking ordinances with relatively little interference from state regulators, Colorado and Pennsylvania have adopted a tougher policy stance favoring the retention of preemptive oil and gas statutes. Key factors that account for between state differences in fracking policy decisions include the strength of home rule provisions, gubernatorial involvement, and the degree of local experience with industrial economic activities.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Jan 2014
Shale play politics: the intergovernmental Odyssey of American shale governance.
Intergovernmental responsibility for policy development for shale gas is concentrated primarily at the state level, given multiple statutory and political constraints on potential federal engagement. This opens the question of how a large subset of American states might craft shale policies, amid competing scholarly views on the commitment of states to environmental protection when energy development opportunities arise in the absence of applicable federal authority. The article examines recent trends in state political economy that may shape policy development and capacity, considers the heterogeneous pattern of policy emerging thus far, and draws preliminary lessons from the very small set of states that have enacted far-reaching new state legislation. It also offers early discussion of cross-border issues that may trigger multistate, regional, or ultimately federal engagement as well as growing signs of volatility in policy development in some states.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Sep 2013
An evaluation of water quality in private drinking water wells near natural gas extraction sites in the Barnett Shale formation.
Natural gas has become a leading source of alternative energy with the advent of techniques to economically extract gas reserves from deep shale formations. Here, we present an assessment of private well water quality in aquifers overlying the Barnett Shale formation of North Texas. We evaluated samples from 100 private drinking water wells using analytical chemistry techniques. ⋯ Lower levels of arsenic, selenium, strontium, and barium were detected at reference sites outside the Barnett Shale region as well as sites within the Barnett Shale region located more than 3 km from active natural gas wells. Methanol and ethanol were also detected in 29% of samples. Samples exceeding MCL levels were randomly distributed within areas of active natural gas extraction, and the spatial patterns in our data suggest that elevated constituent levels could be due to a variety of factors including mobilization of natural constituents, hydrogeochemical changes from lowering of the water table, or industrial accidents such as faulty gas well casings.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Jun 2013
Beach nourishment impacts on bacteriological water quality and phytoplankton bloom dynamics.
A beach nourishment with approximately 1/3 fine-grained sediment (fines; particle diameter <63 μm) by mass was performed at Southern California's Border Fields State Park (BFSP). The nourishment was found to briefly (<1 day) increase concentrations of surf-zone fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) above single-sample public health standards [104 most probable number (MPN)·(100 mL)(-1)] but had no effect on phytoplankton. ⋯ Microcosm experiments and field sampling suggest that the short surf-zone residence times observed for enterococci (e-folding time 4 h) resulted from both rapid, postplacement FIB inactivation and mixing/transport by waves and alongshore currents. Nourishment fines were phosphate-rich/nitrogen-poor and were not correlated with surf-zone phytoplankton concentrations, which may have been nitrogen-limited.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Mar 2013
Spatial and temporal correlation of water quality parameters of produced waters from devonian-age shale following hydraulic fracturing.
The exponential increase in fossil energy production from Devonian-age shale in the Northeastern United States has highlighted the management challenges for produced waters from hydraulically fractured wells. Confounding these challenges is a scant availability of critical water quality parameters for this wastewater. Chemical analyses of 160 flowback and produced water samples collected from hydraulically fractured Marcellus Shale gas wells in Pennsylvania were correlated with spatial and temporal information to reveal underlying trends. ⋯ Comparisons against brines from adjacent formations provide insight into the origin of salinity in produced waters from Marcellus Shale. Major cations exhibited variations that cannot be explained by simple dilution of existing formation brine with the fracturing fluid, especially during the early flowback water production when the composition of the fracturing fluid and solid-liquid interactions influence the quality of the produced water. Water quality analysis in this study may help guide water management strategies for development of unconventional gas resources.