The Water We Drink: Free Articles for Your Publication–www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink
Contact: Sandra Fallon, National Environmental Services Center, The Water We Drink
Phone: 304-293-6897; Email: sfallon@mail.wvu.edu
Article Release Date: September 27, 2011
Article/References Word Count: 3,240
Communities, Water Sources and Potential Impacts of Shale Gas
Development
By Sandra Fallon, National Environmental Services Center at West Virginia University
The extraction of shale gas—natural gas found in deep layers of shale rock formations—is on the
rise in many states. Gas drilling companies will likely drill tens of thousands of wells by 2020.
The Obama administration’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future identifies shale gas reserves
as an important new energy source as the U.S. transitions from its heavy reliance on oil to a
“clean energy future.” Economic benefits and energy independence have been emphasized as
positive outcomes. Conversely, opponents have cited negative impacts to the environment, local
waters, and the public health, along with heavy demands on government services such as roads,
emergency response, schools, and law enforcement. If your community may become involved
with shale gas development or other energy extraction activities, careful planning and oversight
are critical for preventing potentially negative impacts and for protecting the community, the
environment, and local residents’ health, safety, and quality of life. To do this, communities need
to become knowledgeable about the process.
Not the Gas Wells of the Past
Two new technologies in use for about a decade, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, are
making gas extraction from deep rock formations economically feasible. In contrast to the oldstyle backyard pump jack, shale gas drilling is a large, complex, industrial operation. A shale gas
well, for example, requires a site of four to six acres in size. Construction of this well pad site
and access roads involves extensive earth moving and surface disturbance. The drilling rig can
sit 70 feet high and be equipped with bright lights for round-the-clock operation. The process
involves drilling as far as 10,000 feet or more down to the shale layer, then drilling horizontally
into the shale for up to another 6-8,000 feet. Hydraulic fracturing is then employed which entails
pumping millions of gallons of a water, sand, and chemical mixture (called frack water) into the
well at very high pressure to fracture the rock and release the gas. A portion of the injected frack
water flows back up the well, where it is captured and stored in tanks or pits until it can be
processed, disposed of, or recycled. Trucks, tanks, and other equipment on the well pad store
water and chemicals. Heavy truck traffic hauls these items to and from the site. Compressor
stations and miles of pipelines are installed in the area to move the gas to processing facilities
and to nearby and distant markets.
Potential Impacts from Shale Gas Development
Individuals and communities may realize economic gains as the gas industry builds the drilling
infrastructure, out-of-state workers arrive and use local services, some jobs are created, and
leaseholders receive payment for the natural gas or use of their land. Costs and challenges also
accompany these gains. Wells can produce natural gas for decades and managing the local
impacts can go on for a long time, and can include:
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Social impacts such as local population changes due to an influx of workers and residents
and the effects on housing, schools, law enforcement, and community services;
community disruption due to disagreements among lease-holders and surface property
owners, neighboring residents, and community members concerned about public health,
environmental, safety, and quality of life impacts (e.g. property value, noise and light
pollution, industrialization);
Economic impacts due to drilling operations and the local services required to support the
increase in activities and residents. How to pay for added services, impacts on tourism,
and impacts on attracting new economic development are also considerations;
Environmental impacts related to water quality and quantity, air quality, waste disposal,
forest and wildlife habitat, land and land use, and how these will be prevented,
monitored, and corrected;
Infrastructure impacts such as damage to roads and bridges, and demands on water and
sewer services;
Public health impacts due to accidents, spills, emissions, and injuries; increased truck
traffic and emissions; and potential aquifer depletion or contamination;
Legal and regulatory considerations such as local authority, enforcement capacity, taxing
and revenue, evolving case law, and jurisdiction issues.
Communities and Potential Impacts of Shale Gas Development
Although drilling companies may spend years obtaining leasing agreements and rights-of-way
from mineral and landowners in an area, drilling activities often get underway so quickly that
local officials can be caught off guard. In some states, public notification about gas well
development is not required although wells can be drilled as close as 200 feet to an adjacent
dwelling. If your community has the potential for shale gas activities, it‘s important to be aware
of the issues and protect against potential risks.
Two important first steps in understanding how to protect your community are to (1) educate
yourself about the issues, and (2) contact your state agency that regulates oil and gas drilling to
learn what has been permitted in your area. “If you don’t see it coming, you won’t be prepared,
and it can be overwhelming,” says Green County, Pennsylvania’s County Commissioner Pamela
Snyder. “However, it can be manageable if you stay ahead of the curve.” Communities around
the country use a variety of approaches to manage, regulate, and prevent drilling.
Task Forces Examine the Issues
Forming a task force, with broad stakeholder participation, can help identify key questions,
assess energy development issues, and investigate and recommend options for addressing them.
Conditions are different in every community, and addressing the impacts may fall within
multiple jurisdictions.
Regulating or Managing Local Drilling Activities
Natural gas development is mostly regulated at the state level. The tools available to local
governments to put additional requirements in place may differ in each state. Your town’s ability
to pass and enforce local ordinances, regulations, or zoning laws, for example, will likely depend
on the legislative authority granted to municipalities by your state, as well as legal precedent.
Communities have passed local ordinances and laws to address the wide variety of potential
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impacts, and have instituted permit fees, liability insurance requirements, and best management
practices. Local actions that attempt to supersede state law may face court challenges; these
cases have been heard in a number of states.
A Moratorium Can Provide Time to Examine the Issues
Many city and county governments have used moratoria as a way to pause gas development
activities. This allows time to review options related to well permitting, exploration, and
production; to update local ordinances; to amend planning documents and codes; and to gather
citizen input.
Developing or Updating Local Planning Documents is Fundamental
Updating or developing a comprehensive plan, official maps, and other planning tools to address
potential energy development activities provides the framework for local government actions and
a vehicle for addressing land use, environmental or sensitive areas designations, and other
relevant concerns.
We Can Learn from Other States and Communities
Communities in southern and western states, where horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing
have been underway for about a decade, have adopted numerous strategies to handle the impacts.
Their experiences, as well as those of eastern states experiencing Marcellus shale drilling, offer
many lessons learned. Visiting areas where shale gas wells are in operation to see local impacts
for yourself and talking to local residents, in addition to hearing the drilling company’s
perspective, can provide more complete information about what to expect.
Public Health, Environmental, and Economic Impact Studies are Needed
Few comprehensive studies about shale gas development risks and impacts have been conducted.
This raises concerns among many who want more complete assessments before drilling activities
move ahead. States such as New York and Maryland have placed a moratorium on drilling in
order to conduct such studies.
The Public Needs to be Engaged and Educated
Local citizens will likely want to know about the type of industrial development that may be
permitted in their town or near their homes or water supplies. Seek input from local residents
about their concerns, and make sure that people are fully aware of what the community may be
facing.
Local Self-Governance to Ban Drilling
Instead of trying to regulate or manage shale gas activities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and
Mountain Lake Park, Maryland (population 2,500) have adopted ordinances banning shale gas
development in their towns. This approach relies on the concept of local self-governance, and
boils down to the question of “Who gets to decide about an activity in your community? The
local citizens or corporate officials?” says Shireen Parsons with the Community Environmental
Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), a nonprofit, public interest law firm. CELDF assists communities
and municipal governments in moving from “merely regulating corporate harms to preventing
those harms by asserting their right to self-government through local lawmaking.”
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Mountain Lake Park Mayor Leo Martin thinks CELDF has the right idea. “It’s our responsibility
as local leaders to protect the health and safety of our residents. We see the devastation from
hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania” he says, “and we don’t want it here.” Although the CELDF
approach is relatively new and untested, Mayor Martin says, “We’re willing to take the chance to
protect our citizens.”
Parsons says self-governance ordinances challenge the unjust framework of the law in which
corporate rights supersede local citizens rights, such as the right to water. According to the
CELDF, more than 100 municipalities in five states have adopted similar ordinances preventing
corporations from setting up factory farms, dumping sewage sludge, pumping water from
aquifers, and mining.
Local Water Sources and Potential Impacts of Shale Gas Development
A primary concern regarding shale gas development is protecting local water sources. In some
places, a shale gas well can be drilled as close as 200 feet to a drinking water supply. According
to the U.S. Geological Survey, local waters can be impacted due to:
 the large amounts of water that may be withdrawn from local sources and used for well
construction and activities;
 damage due to heavy equipment and traffic on rural roads and the related degradation of
small watersheds and streams;
 improper disposal of large quantities of frack water.
In addition, surface runoff, spills, leaks, and accidents can occur in which potentially toxic frack
water makes its way to local waters. Citizens in many states already claim that their drinking
water wells have been contaminated as a result of gas development activities.
Three key steps to protecting water sources at the local level are to (1) monitor water quality and
quantity, (2) develop watershed or sourcewater protection plans, and (3) implement watershed or
sourcewater protection ordinances. Determining baseline water quality and quantity
characteristics for local water sources—including municipal and private wells, and surface
waters such as rivers and lakes—and in some cases continually monitoring these characteristics,
allows you to identify water quality changes and the level of water withdrawals due to gas
development or other industrial activities.
Sourcewater protection plans typically address potential threats to the local drinking water
supply, while watershed plans cover the entire watershed, the area of land where all water, both
above and underground, drains into the same place. Plans are usually voluntary guidance
documents. Ordinances are enforceable, regulatory tools. Plans can be strengthened if local
ordinances are implemented to support them.
A Watershed Protection Plan to Address Hydraulic Fracturing in Palisade, Colorado
In 2006, when mineral rights on the pristine, 14,000-acre watershed that provides drinking water
to the town of Palisade, Colorado (population 2,800) were leased to a natural gas drilling
company, local leaders knew they had to act. Palisade is known for its peaches, wine vineyards,
and prime location in the heart of Western Colorado’s recreational attractions. “We’re a rural
community, water is very important to our people; to our hunting, fishing, and outdoor lifestyle;
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and to making a living. Local leaders and residents are very protective of our water,” says Frank
Watt, Palisade’s Public Works Director. “We were concerned that drilling would impact the
quality of our spring water sources, interfere with the geology and natural processes that provide
it, and force an increase in customers’ water bills to cover additional treatment, development of
new water sources, or other impacts.”
Local leaders in Palisade teamed up with all parties affected by the shale gas leasing
agreement—including the mineral rights owner, the federal Bureau for Land Management; the
U.S. Forest Service; the nearby town of Grand Junction; Mesa County; ranchers and private
property owners; and the natural gas drilling company—to develop a comprehensive watershed
protection plan. The Community College in Grand Junction facilitated the process, and public
input was solicited. “We were unable to undo the lease agreement, but the collaborative
watershed plan put strategies in place to protect our environment,” says Watt. “We were
fortunate that the natural gas drilling company was a willing partner and wanted to do things
right.”
The stakeholders worked closely with hydrogeologists and other technical experts to craft the
plan. Although the plan is voluntary and non-binding because, at the time, there was no legal
basis for enforcing its provisions, all parties agreed to comply. Plan components include
(a) communicating and coordinating with local communities, and keeping the public informed of
drilling activities and handling their complaints and concerns; (b) conducting risk analyses to
address possible surface water and groundwater contamination; (c) using third parties to conduct
water studies and monitoring; (d) commitments by the gas company that go beyond mandated
requirements; and (e) best management practices for risk mitigation to protect watersheds. The
team also conducted an extensive study of the watershed and attained an “Outstanding Water”
quality designation from the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission, which requires the
waters to be maintained and protected at their existing quality. As of summer 2011, Watt says,
no drilling has occurred in the watershed.
Morgantown, West Virginia Citizens Respond to Drilling Near Their Drinking Water Plant
In May 2011, when Morgantown’s Dominion Post newspaper announced “Gas Drilling OK’d
Near City” and a follow-up headline eleven days later proclaimed, “Morgantown Utility Board
(MUB) Concerned About Drilling,” local residents were caught completely off guard. State law
does not require the WV Department of Environmental Protection to notify the public when it
permits these operations. Two shale gas wells were being drilled on a hillside above the
Monongahela River–which supplies water to 90,000 area residents– about 3,000 feet away and
1,500 feet upstream from the local drinking water plant. “These proximities,” according to MUB,
“are a cause for unique concern.” It took concerted public pressure on the city council, county
commission, and state government to raise key questions and focus statewide attention not only
on local concerns, but also on updating the state’s oil and gas regulations to address Marcellus
shale gas development. Although new regulations are not yet enacted, some interim emergency
regulations are now in place. The issue remains controversial as some residents welcome
economic benefits from drilling, while others want to prevent potential industrialization of their
community and rural areas and pollution of their water, air, and land.
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A Foundation for Making Informed Decisions
Across the country, many questions remain about shale gas activities and their current and future
impacts on small and rural communities and water sources. The American Water Works
Association, the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world, recently
published an article in its July 2011 Opflow magazine in which Paul R. Easley, environmental
manager for the Fort Smith, Arkansas Utility cautions, “Communities stand to benefit
enormously from profits associated with natural gas exploration. However, the wealth may come
at the cost of one of the most precious commodities on earth–clean, safe drinking water.”
Understanding how shale gas development and other industrial activities may affect your
community and environment; what costs and services will be borne by the local government and
residents; how to monitor, manage, or prevent these problems; as well as the strategies available
to do so provides a foundation for informed decision making.
References and Resources
Recommendations for Local Officials
Brasier, K., Fogel, N. Schramm, B., Kelsey, T. (2009).
Marcellus Education Fact Sheet: Questions Citizens and
Local Leaders Should Be Asking. Pennsylvania State
University, Agricultural Research and Cooperative
Extension.
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ua459.pdf
City and Regional Planning Department at Cornell
University. (2009). New York State Government Local
Government Guide to Marcellus Shale Gas Development.
http://cce.cornell.edu/EnergyClimateChange/NaturalGasDe
v/Documents/PDFs/CRPMS_Workshop_Fall2009_Excerpt.pdf
Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension.
Local Government: Community Impacts Website.
http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/local-government
Rea, K.S., Esq. (March 30, 2009). A Legal and Practical
Guide to Protecting Your Citizens and the Environment in
the Face of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Drilling. Specific
to New York but may offer information of interest to other
states.
http://www.tcgasmap.org/media/Rea%20on%20How%20T
owns%20Can%20Prepare.pdf
Rodgers, M., Fogle, N., Kelsey, T., Lembeck, S., Pifer, R.,
Whitmer, W., Wulfhorst, P. (2008). Marcellus Shale: What
Local Government Officials Need to Know. Pennsylvania
State University, Agricultural Research and Cooperative
Extension.
http://downloads.cas.psu.edu/naturalgas/pdf/MarcellusShal
eWhatLocalGovernmentOfficialsneedtoknow.pdf
Cornell University. Green Choices Website. Includes
Working Papers/Policy Briefs and an Online Toolkit for
Local Policy.
http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/development/marcellu
s/
Task Force Resources
Tioga Investigates Natural Gas. (Winter 2010). Resource
Binder: Natural Gas Exploration and Development.
Developed by Tioga County, NY steering committee. Offers
information about shale gas development, its potential
impacts, and how to manage them. Instructive model for
local officials in other counties and states.
http://www.tiogacountyny.com/images/stories/PDFs/govern
ment/TING/TING_RevisedResourceBinder_5_2_11.pdf
Whitmer, W., Brasier, K. (2008). Marcellus Education Fact
Sheet: Marcellus Shale Exploration and Development:
Organizing a Community Task Force. Pennsylvania State
University, Agricultural Research and Cooperative
Extension.
http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ua451.pdf
Sample Watershed/Sourcewater Protection Plans
Watershed Plan for the Town of Palisade and the City of
Grand Junction, Colorado. (August 2007). Includes
watershed ordinances in Appendix 3.
http://genesispalisadecdp.org/Assets/PDF%20files/200708
01_watershed_plan.pdf
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (March 2008).
Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and
Protect Our Waters.
http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/handbook_index.cfm
Sample Watershed/Sourcewater Protection Ordinances
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Model Ordinances
to Protect Local [Groundwater and Surface Water]
Resources Website.
http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS/ordinance/mol7.htm
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The Water We Drink: Free Articles for Your Publication–www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink
Watershed Plan for the Town of Palisade and the City of
Grand Junction, Colorado. (August 2007). Includes
watershed ordinances in Appendix 3.
http://genesispalisadecdp.org/Assets/PDF%20files/200708
01_watershed_plan.pdf
http://celdf.org/downloads/COMMON%20SENSE%20%20Banning%20Fracking%20at%20the%20Local%20Leve
l.pdf
Impacts on Water Resources
Easley, P.R. (July 2011). “Hydrofracking: Is it Worth the
Risk.” In American Water Works Association’s Opflow.
http://wren.palwv.org/newsletters/HydrofrackingJuly2011O
pflowAWWA.pdf
Local Ordinances Addressing Shale Gas Activities
Arkansas Public Policy Panel. (March 2011). Model Oil and
Gas Laws, Regulations, and Ordinances.
http://arpanel.org/content/Model%20Gas%20Laws.pdf
Morgantown Utility Board. (2011). Unpublished letter to WV
Department of Environmental Protection. (May 10).
http://www.mub.org/pdfs/MIP/May%2010th.pdf
Pennsylvania State University School of Law. The
Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center,
Marcellus Shale Resource Area Website. Links to
municipal ordinances regulating shale gas activities in
Pennsylvania.
http://law.psu.edu/academics/research_centers/agricultural
_law_center/resource_areas/marcellus_shale/municipal_or
dinances
Riha, S., Rahm, B.G. (December 2010). Framework for
Assessing Water Resource Impacts from Shale Gas
Drilling. In Working Paper Series: A Comprehensive
Economic Impact Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction in the
Marcellus Shale. Cornell University.
http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/downloads/developme
nt/marcellus/Marcellus_Riha_Rahm.pdf
Guardino, A.S. (September 22, 2010). “Marcellus Shale
‘Gas Rush’ Raises Local Zoning Issues.” In New York Law
Journal. http://www.farrellfritz.com/doc/article-412.pdf
Soeder, D.J., Kappel, W.M. (2009). Factsheet: Water
Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus
Shale. U.S. Geological Service.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3032/pdf/FS2009-3032.pdf
Local Ordinances Banning Shale Gas Activities
Town of Mountain Lake Park: Natural Gas Extraction
Ordinance (No. 2011-01). (2011)
http://celdf.live2.radicaldesigns.org/downloads/OrdinanceMt.pdf
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hydraulic
Fracturing Website.
http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/hydraulicf
racturing/index.cfm
An Ordinance to Protect the Health, Safety, and Welfare of
Residents and Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh by Banning the
Commercial Extraction of Natural Gas within the City;
Establishing a Bill of Rights for Pittsburgh Residents; and
Removing Legal Powers from Gas Extraction Corporations
Within the City. (2010).
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district5/assets/marcellus/2
010_aug17_Marcellus_Bill.pdf
Maps of Shale Plays in the United States
U.S. Energy Information Administration. North American
Shale Plays Map.
http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/northamer_gas.pdf
U.S. Energy Information Administration. Lower 48 states
shale plays.
http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/rpd/shale_gas.pdf
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Common
Sense: Banning Fracking at the Local Level.
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Author Bio: Sandra Fallon is a training specialist with the National Environmental Services
Center at West Virginia University. About the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and the National
Environmental Services Center (NESC):
RCAP (www.rcap.org; 800-321-7227) and its
programs across the country offer water and wastewater training and assistance to small and rural
communities, tribes, and water utilities. NESC (www.nesc.wvu.edu; 800-624-8301) offers
information, technical assistance via telephone, educational resources, and magazines and
newsletters addressing water and wastewater issues for these same audiences.
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