A policy and impact analysis of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale region: a wildlife perspective
Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale (underlying about 24 mil ha in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia) has become a politically charged issue, primarily because of concerns about drinking water safety and human health. This thesis examines hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale region using an E3 analysis; looking at the energy potential of the natural gas in the basin, the economics of shale gas extraction, and the environmental impact from a wildlife perspective. The thesis also examines the federal, regional, and state policies and regulations that apply to the industry. The Marcellus Shale has the most technically recoverable gas of any basin in the United States at 141 trillion cubic feet. Based on current U.S. consumption, the Marcellus could provide all the natural gas used in the country for 5.5 years. Income from natural gas development comes primarily from jobs (direct such as gas workers, indirect such as equipment suppliers, and induced jobs which are created when direct workers spend their earnings in a community) and taxes and fees. From a wildlife perspective, environmental effects are primarily on habitat. Terrestrial habitat effects are primarily due to landscape fragmentation from clearing of land for well pad development, which removes mature forest and creates edge habitat. An increase in forest edges is associated with an increase in nest predation and brood parasitism, which could put edge-nesting songbird species at risk. Aquatic habitat effects are less well understood. Hydraulic fracturing requires up to 19 mil l of water per well fracture and in the Marcellus Shale region, most of that comes from surface water sources. Removal of water from surface water sources can increase sedimentation, alter the temperature, and change the chemistry of the water, resulting in changes in the biodiversity of the water source. Federal oversight of natural gas production is managed through a variety of regulations, primarily the National Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Water Act (although hydraulic fracturing was exempted from the erosion control provisions via the Energy Policy Act of 2005), the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, the Natural Gas Act, and several others. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) regulate water usage in their respective watersheds, although the DRBC has yet to finalize the regulations for water usage for hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin. Each of the states in the region regulate the industry in different ways. Given that hydraulic fracturing will continue, further research is needed on habitat impacts, especially on aquatic habitats. Best Management Practices need to be agreed upon by stakeholders (industry, regulators, non-governmental organizations). Federal regulation is required to force operators to consistently disclose the chemicals used in the fracturing fluid and to mandate erosion/sediment control. An Ohio River Basin Commission needs to be chartered to manage water use in the Ohio River Basin, as it is in the Susquehanna and Delaware River basins. States need to actively manage reclamation activities to ensure native plantings.