The CLOSUP Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative Fracking Project
Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking," and new horizontal drilling techniques are creating significant opportunities to expand natural gas production across the United States. However, the absence of comprehensive federal legislation regarding hydraulic fracturing has placed the regulation of unconventional gas drilling primarily within the purview of state and local governments.
To improve understanding of state and local policy issues related to fracking, CLOSUP launched a multi-faceted research project on the topic as part of the Center's Energy and Environmental Policy Initiative (EEPI). The CLOSUP Fracking Project began in the fall of 2012 with a public opinion survey on a wide range of issues related to hydraulic fracturing in Michigan and Pennsylvania, two states that share many things in common, but that have significantly different recent experiences with fracking.
The CLOSUP Fracking Project will include survey research, case studies, web-based information resources, events, policy reports, and more, with the goal of informing policy debate around the issue of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.
See below for links to CLOSUP Fracking Project resources, including policy reports and additional web-based resources including a timeline covering the history and developments of hydraulic fracturing and a database of fracking-related legislation in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Most Recent Report:
- State of the Debate: Natural Gas Fracking in New York's Marcellus Shale (January, 2014)
- View the report
Additional Fracking Resources:
The timeline and database listed below were originally created as supplementary resources for the 2013 Issues in Energy and Environmental Policy report Public Opinion on Fracking: Perspectives from Michigan and Pennsylvania.
- Fracking Timeline
This site contains an interactive timeline of hydraulic fracturing, including developments in Michigan & Pennsylvania.
- Recent Michigan & Pennsylvania Fracking Laws and Bills
This database includes links to recent bills in both the Michigan & Pennsylvania legislatures on a range of issues related to hydraulic fracturing.
- Review of Policy Research: Conventional Politics for Unconventional Drilling? Lessons from Pennsylvania's Early Move into Fracking Policy Development
This article by Barry Rabe and Christopher Borick examines the development of fracking within the state of Pennsylvania.
Recent CLOSUP Events on Fracking:
- Jan. 13, 2014: A Vote of No Confidence? Why Local Governments Take Action in Response to Shale Gas Development
- Dec. 4, 2013: Using information disclosure to achieve policy goals: How experience with the Toxics Release Inventory can inform action on shale gas fracking
See the presentations from the event:
For more information on the CLOSUP Fracking Project, contact CLOSUP staff at 734-647-4091 or by email to firstname.lastname@example.org.
EEPI Fracking Project Resources
- See the Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative home page
- See the National Surveys on Energy and Environment home page
- See the Fracking Project home page
|Additional Fracking Resources|
| Policy Points Videos
More on the Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative
- EEPI activities in the news, media, & blogs