The Politics of “Fracking”: Regulating Natural Gas Drilling Practices in Colorado and Texas

Abstract

This article focuses on the politics of regulating natural gas fracking operations in Colorado and Texas. Between-state differences in the economic importance of natural gas production, political traditions, environmental impacts of drilling activities, and local governmental responses to risk reduction, and entrepreneurial activities are discussed in relation to policy-making initiatives. In the concluding section, I suggest that Colorado's regulatory approach offers a greater degree of environmental protection than Texas. Key reforms adopted in 2007-8 can be largely attributed to electoral victories that ensured unified party control over state government and the determined efforts of the proenvironmental governor to make changes in both the regulatory commission and in the substance of natural gas drilling policies. KEY WORDS: energy policy, natural gas, regulation, state environmental policies Research ExpectationsThere is a paucity of literature on state energy policy in general and hardly any when the topic of natural gas is searched. For much of the 20th century, energy

Home Rule Be Damned: Exploring Policy Conflicts between the Statehouse and City Hall

“…They argue that production deteriorates air quality, harms water quality, strains municipal infrastructure, and fundamentally alters impacted neighborhoods. Environmentalists have also described state regulators as reluctant to balance energy production with environmental protection or local needs (Davis 2012). The resulting dynamics have sandwiched many local governments between the economic promises of development and the potential harms to their environment.…”

¨ A Dilemma of Abundance: Governance Challenges of Reconciling Shale Gas Development and Climate Change Mitigation

“…These studies reach divided conclusions, drawing attention to both prospective benefits (such as reduced emissions and reduced particulate) and concerns about shale gas (notably increased emissions under some scenarios and water quality, ecosystem and health impacts). Emerging literature addresses some of the governance challenges associated with shale gas development, including economic dynamics [21,22] and the capacity of different regulatory regimes [23,24]. In this section, we synthesize existing literature to explore both the technical and governance challenges specific to reconciling shale gas with climate mitigation.…”

“…As a result, they have tended towards either speedy opt-in or towards complete opt-out by delaying production (as in New York state and the province of Quebec) [24]. Optimistically, some argue that regulating shale gas may prove easier where existing states are not already dependent on fossil fuel revenue or beholden to privilege these industries [23]. Less optimistically, where opt-in has been the choice, we are seeing active facilitation of shale gas development that circumvents the types of knowledge production and regulatory oversight described above.…”

“…For example, rather than the expanded and reinforced capacity called for above [40], several jurisdictions have moved towards rewriting legislation that would apply to shale gas development. In the USA, for example, a 2005 loophole in the Clean Water Act exempts fracking operations from baseline monitoring otherwise required [23], while in Canada, the national government has enacted sweeping changes to the Environmental Assessment Act that will facilitate development for oil and gas operators (discussed in Section 4.2 below).…”

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