Energy Crime, Harm, and Problematic State Response in Colorado: A Case of the Fox Guarding the Hen House?

Fracking Fortunes: Economic Well‐being and Oil and Gas Development along the Urban‐Rural Continuum

“…Policy regimes can mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of oil and gas development, especially given the piecemeal nature of federal regulations (Davis 2012(Davis , 2014Fisk 2013;Rabe and Borick 2013;Warner and Shapiro 2013;Zirogiannis et al 2016). The lack of federal oversight likely leads to varied impacts along the urban-rural continuum as state and local governments, which often have limited resources, may lack the capacity to effectively regulate (Opsal and Shelley 2014;Raimi and Newell 2016). For instance, state and local governments could levy significant taxes on UOGE to establish funds that can be used to address problems caused by rapid development and prepare for possible busts, thereby impacting their own levels of UOGE and related income (Ferrell and Sanders 2013;Jacquet 2009).…”

“…However, researchers have much to explore regarding the varied outcomes of this regulatory checkerboard. UOGE activity enjoys a series of exemptions from federal environmental and health regulations, wherein governance has devolved to the state and local levels even though those governments may lack the capacity to effectively regulate UOGE activity (Opsal and Shelley 2014;Raimi and Newell 2016). Yet we still do not know how this affects rural versus urban communities and counties, what differences may exist, and how economic and other policies may mitigate those outcomes.…”

“…While conventional drilling techniques are of course still applied, UOGE methods have largely driven this boom in both oil and gas production. UOGE is widely touted as a solution to the economic problems of rural communities, but its socioeconomic implications are not unambiguously positive (Kinnaman 2011;Opsal and Shelley 2014;Perry 2012).…”

Free market ideology and deregulation in Colorado’s oil fields: Evidence for triple movement activism?

“…Trust in regulators is especially important in Colorado, where the main regulatory agency, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), simultaneously enforces regulations and advocates for increased development to support economic growth. In this dual role, the COGCC appears to favor industry (Cook 2014, 2015; Opsal and Shelley 2014). …”

Crime as Pollution? Theoretical, Definitional and Policy Concerns with Conceptualizing Crime as Pollution

“…Unlike crime, significant forms and volumes of ecological destruction/pollution occur in rural areas (Brisman, McClanahan, & South, 2014;Opsal & Shelley, 2014). These forms of ecological destruction and pollution includes activities related to: deforestation, mining, and other raw material extraction processes (Meng et al, 2009;Nraigu, 1990;Reece, 2007), non-point source agricultural pollution including pesticides and fertilizer runoff (Corsolini et al, 2006;Jacques, Gibbs, Rivers, & Dobson, 2012;Kim et al, 1996;Mallin & Cahoon, 2003), farm animal waste (Edwards & Ladd, 2000;Nicole, 2013), and a host of other environmental pollution problem related to waterways, oceans, wetlands 7 and tidal areas, rainforests, tropical and semi-tropical forests, grasslands, and other relevant ecological units of analysis (Lynch and Stretesky, 2014).…”