How Communities Can Manage Fracking Risks

Unconventional oil and gas production methods such as fracking (hydraulic fracturing) have expanded rapidly in recent decades, accelerating production both from areas historically rich in oil and gas and from completely new regions.

This expansion has created challenges for local governments as they respond to overtures from oil and gas developers. Because the growth of fracking has outpaced full scientific understanding of its impacts, local officials must respond in a context of uncertainty about the facts and fragmented public opinion.

因为 local authority to regulate fracking is subject to legal limits that vary from state to state, municipal and county officials need to make use of all the tools at their disposal—regulatory, non-regulatory, 和财政. 我们2015年的报告， Managing the Risks of Unconventional 石油 and Gas Development，基于… interviews with local public officials, 强调监管, non-regulatory, 和财政 tools local officials and decision makers can use to manage the impacts and risks associated with oil and gas development.