A Guide for Community Residents and Policy Makers

Science, Democracy, and Fracking A Guide for Community Residents and Policy Makers Facing Decisions over Hydraulic Fracturing

Information Resources Appendix

General information regarding hydraulic fracturing

Introduction to Hydraulic Fracturing (U.S. Geological Survey) http://www.usgs.gov/hydraulic_fracturing/ Summary of hydraulic fracturing, with links to USGS studies and energy assessments related to fracking.

“Breaking Fuel from the Rock” (National Geographic) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101022-breaking-fuel-from-the-rock/ Provides an interactive and easy-to-follow animation of each of the steps in the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing process, with detailed information about each step and the process as a whole.

Natural Gas Maps: Exploration, Resources, Reserves, and Production (Energy Information Administration) http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/maps/maps.htm Maps of shale plays, tight gas plays, and coal-bed methane fields, all of which are accessed through hydraulic fracturing, as well as detailed maps of known oil and gas fields.

Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources: Separating the Frack from the Fiction (Pacific Institute) http://www.pacinst.org/publication/hydraulic-fracturing-and-water-resources-separating-the-frack- from-the-fiction/ Detailed assessment and synthesis of existing research on fracking as well as the results of interviews with representatives from government, industry, academia, and community groups highlighting current concerns.

Rules and regulations

Fractracker http://fractracker.org/ Maps of well sites and community regulations, as well as downloadable data for individual drilling sites.

FracFocus http://fracfocus.org/ Data about well locations, state regulations, and chemical usage related to hydraulic fracturing. The data are self-reported by industry, and may vary in accuracy.

Natural Gas Extraction—Hydraulic Fracturing (Environmental Protection Agency) http://www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing Overview of EPA studies and laws related to fracking; provides links to other sources that contain more detailed information about shale gas and the hydraulic fracturing process.

1 Shale Maps (Resources for the Future) http://rff.org/centers/energy_economics_and_policy/Pages/Shale_Maps.aspx Provides a breakdown of state fracking regulations in various formats, including tables and maps.

Municipalities and Hydraulic Fracturing: Trends in State Preemption http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/environmentallawprogram/files/2013/03/Municipalities-and-Hydraulic- Fracturing-Trends-in-State-Preemption.pdf Overview of regulatory approaches that municipalities can consider when faced with fracking. It also offers examples of where each approach has been implemented and the challenges these communities face.

Risks and impacts of hydraulic fracturing development

Resources for the Future http://www.rff.org/centers/energy_economics_and_policy/Pages/Shale-Matrices.aspx A risk matrix that identifies the potential risks (i.e., those that could plausibly occur under normal operating conditions) to be considered when developing a well, examining impacts from widespread drilling activities, or writing regulations.

Information on Shale Resources, Development, and Environmental and Public Health Risks (Government Accountability Office) http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/647791.pdf Findings of the GAO in response to congressional requests for information about shale resources, development, and possible risks.

Fracking Outpaces Science on Its Impact (Yale University) http://environment.yale.edu/envy/stories/fracking-outpaces-science-on-its-impact Outline of all the potential environmental and health impacts associated with fracking, emphasizing uncertainty and the need for more research.

Hydraulic Fracturing and Information Forcing http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstract_id=2283904 Overview of the gaps in information about hydraulic fracturing’s impacts; offers recommendations for what should be done to correct them.

How Should We Think about the Economic Consequences of Shale Gas Drilling? http://cce.cornell.edu/EnergyClimateChange/NaturalGasDev/Documents/Green%20Choices %20Papers/Marcellus_SC_NR.pdf Discusses the potential economic impacts of shale gas development on communities, using Pennsylvania as a model. Considers both the short- and long-term benefits, the costs of extraction, and related activities.

An Evidence-based Fracking Debate?: Science, Democracy, and Community Right to Know in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Center for Science and Democracy report to be released in October.