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2015

Hydraulic fracturing

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman Dec 2015

Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman

Publications and Research

A great deal has been written about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempting oil and gas operations using hydraulic fracturing from the purview of certain federal environmental laws. Far less attention has been paid to George W. Bush’s Executive Order 13211 (EO 13211), entitled “Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use.” The executive order requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of federal regulations on “supply, distribution and use of energy.” This study examined the impact of EO 13211 on United States environmental and conservation regulations proposed and promulgated by federal agencies. The study found …


Wyoming V. United States Department Of Interior, Keatan J. Williams Dec 2015

Wyoming V. United States Department Of Interior, Keatan J. Williams

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In a scathing opinion, the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming granted a motion for preliminary injunction, effectively blocking the BLM’s new Fracking Rule from being implemented on federal and tribal lands in the United States. The court held not only was the BLM’s new rule likely arbitrary and capricious, but the department lacked the authority to regulate fracking. The opinion relied on the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Energy Policy Act to determine that Congress explicitly removed fracking from federal regulation. Pending an appeal, the new Fracking Rule will not be implemented.


Law Library Blog (October 2015): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law Oct 2015

Law Library Blog (October 2015): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.


The Future Of Fracking In England: A Comparative Legal Analysis, Brian Easley Aug 2015

The Future Of Fracking In England: A Comparative Legal Analysis, Brian Easley

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


What The Frack? How Weak Industrial Disclosure Rules Prevent Public Understanding Of Chemical Practices And Toxic Politics, Benjamin W. Cramer Jun 2015

What The Frack? How Weak Industrial Disclosure Rules Prevent Public Understanding Of Chemical Practices And Toxic Politics, Benjamin W. Cramer

Benjamin W. Cramer

Hydraulic fracturing, known colloquially as “fracking,” makes use of chemically-formulated fluid that is forced down a gas well at great pressure to fracture underground rock formations and release embedded natural gas. Many journalists, environmentalists, and public health advocates are concerned about what may happen if the fracking fluid escapes the well and contaminates nearby drinking water supplies. This article attempts a comprehensive analysis and comparison of all relevant fracking fluid disclosure regulations currently extant in the United States, and considers whether the information gained is truly useful for citizens, journalists, and regulators. In recent years the federal government and several …


The Superagency Solution, K.K. Duvivier Apr 2015

The Superagency Solution, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

In many parts of the country, hydraulic fracturing has brought energy development onto people’s doorsteps. Efforts by local governments to employ traditional land use mechanisms to study and mitigate some of the impacts of these latest intrusions have erupted into battles over the scope of statewide agencies’ control. Forgotten in this fray are many renewable energy resources. As a general rule, they are not subject to statewide oversight, and consequently renewable energy providers must navigate the myriad of siting and permitting requirements of local jurisdictions. For several years, scholars have urged more statewide renewable energy siting procedures to level the …


Hydraulic Fracturing: Can Local Governments Authorities Regulate Fracking In Nigeria?, Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo, Olumide Obayemi Mar 2015

Hydraulic Fracturing: Can Local Governments Authorities Regulate Fracking In Nigeria?, Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo, Olumide Obayemi

Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo

If, and when Nigeria adopts unconventional oil extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) system as a means of oil extraction in Nigeria, all stakeholders must resolve the following questions: What measures of legal and institutional regulations should Nigerian stakeholders adopt? How the environmental and economic impacts of fracking be adequately measured and assessed in Nigeria? Will the adoption of fracking methods in oil extraction activities in Nigeria make oil exploration safer? And, whether the proposed Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill (“PIB”) which aims to comprehensively regulate the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector, contains sufficient provisions to cover fracking? Finally, how …


How Local Is Local?: A Response To Professor David B. Spence's The Political Economy Of Local Vetoes, Joshua P. Fershee Feb 2015

How Local Is Local?: A Response To Professor David B. Spence's The Political Economy Of Local Vetoes, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

Professor Fershee responds to Professor David B. Spence’s article about local hydraulic fracturing bans: The Political Economy of Local Vetoes, 93 Texas L. Rev. 351 (2015). Professor Spence notes that the shale oil and gas debate provides an example of “an age-old political problem that the law is called upon to solve: the conflict between an intensely held minority viewpoint and a less intense, contrary view held by the majority.” In resolving such conflicts, Spence suggests that courts should resolve such “conflicts in ways that encourage states and local governments to regulate in ways that weigh both the costs and …


Comments: Hydraulic Fracturing: Evaluating Fracking Regulations, Blake Lara Jan 2015

Comments: Hydraulic Fracturing: Evaluating Fracking Regulations, Blake Lara

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

The demand for nonrenewable energy resources has increased in nations around the world despite the reality that these remaining resources are both scarce, and increasingly difficult to acquire. In 2010 Earth's reserves held the equivalent of approximately 406 billion tons of natural gas and oi1. However, at yearly consumption rates, this amount would only serve the planet's energy needs for about fifty years. The rapid elimination of conventional sources for oil and gas has led to the utilization of alternative methods to access sources that were previously not worth drilling. In the United States, for example, there are several types …


Social License To Operate: Hydraulic Fracturing-Related Challenges Facing The Oil & Gas Industry, Don C. Smith, Jessica Marie Richards Jan 2015

Social License To Operate: Hydraulic Fracturing-Related Challenges Facing The Oil & Gas Industry, Don C. Smith, Jessica Marie Richards

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The crossroads of urban development and improved technology allowing oil and gas development in new areas can result in contentious community issues. The debate over one of the improved technologies – i.e., hydraulic fracturing – can be highly emotional. Consequently, industry must address community issues, earning trust and therefore a “social license to operate.” This paper provides fundamental knowledge of the social license to operate concept, validates its application to the oil and gas industry, particularly with respect to shale gas development, discusses the current status of social license in the unconventional development sphere, analyzes current ongoing efforts for shale …


Intrastate Preemption In The Shifting Energy Sector, Uma Outka Jan 2015

Intrastate Preemption In The Shifting Energy Sector, Uma Outka

University of Colorado Law Review

The United States energy sector is in a state of transition, at once moving toward cleaner energy resources, but also expanding the use of fossil fuels with new access to oil and gas plays. Although federalism concerns have dominated the literature, I argue here that the state-local relationship and intrastate preemption are shaping energy policy in important and under-examined ways. The energy transition to date has been marked by growth centered on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and commercial wind development, both of which are mostly regulated at the state level. Local governments have exerted authority over both forms of energy production, …


Legal Tools For Local Control Of Oil And Gas Development: Successes, Challenges, And Opportunities – Focusing On Select Eastern And Western U.S. States With Current And Potential Oil/Gas Development, Gabrielle M. Ostermayer Jan 2015

Legal Tools For Local Control Of Oil And Gas Development: Successes, Challenges, And Opportunities – Focusing On Select Eastern And Western U.S. States With Current And Potential Oil/Gas Development, Gabrielle M. Ostermayer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In response to the rise in unconventional oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, coupled with concerns over local environmental, social, and health impacts, and weak state regulatory oversight, many communities have chosen to assert zoning or regulatory control over oil and gas development. However, the legal framework that enables and constrains local government powers varies by state, based on diverse statutory and constitutional language as well as the preemption of local control by state agency regulations governing industry development. Through a series of case studies, this article identifies successful, legally defensible strategies for local control of oil and gas …