1st Edition
The Politics of Fracking Regulatory Policy and Local Community Responses to Environmental Concerns
Over the last decade, the oil and gas industry has garnered a lot of support from the United States federal and state governments in the name of energy independence and economic prosperity. More specifically, hydraulic fracturing or fracking is said to not only make the production of affordable energy possible but also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by substituting coal with natural gas in the utility sector. Behind the façade of many socio-economic and political benefits, the process of fracking causes serious environmental concerns. Dismissing the negative externalities of fracking simply raises the question, to what extent have communities close to fracking sites been adversely impacted by it?
In this book, Sarmistha R. Majumdar studies four communities close to fracking well sites in Texas to help illustrate to what extent fracking regulations have been developed in Texas and how effective these regulations have been in safeguarding the interests of individuals in local communities amidst the lure of economic gains from the extraction of oil and natural gas from shale formations. Majumdar has developed a model to show stage by stage community actions to regain their quality of life and the consequences of their actions, if any, on state and local regulations and ordinances, and the oil and gas industry.
This book will be an important resource for scholars of environmental and natural resource politics and policy in the United States.
Preface 1. The Method of Inquiry 2. Fracking for Oil and Natural Gas in Texas and its Impacts on the Economy 3. Environmental Federalism and Federal Regulations on Fracking 4. Factors Affecting States’ Decision to Frack and State of Texas’ Regulations on Fracking 5. Fracking and Its Impacts on The Environment 6. Case Studies on Communities Oppositions to Fracking 7. Oil and Gas Industry’s Responses to Communities Oppositions 8. In Retrospect: Implications of Fracking Regulations and Communities Oppositions
Biography
Sarmistha R. Majumdar is an associate professor at Texas Southern University where she specializes in the analysis of public policies, mainly those related to transportation and environment. She teaches classes on public policies, research methods and in public administration.
'Unconventional oil and gas production has challenged the ability of states and localities to balance environmental protection with economic development and energy security. Sarmistha R. Majumdar's engaging book examines in great detail many of the politics, issues, and tensions related to fracking in Texas, a critical energy-producing state. This book offers an in-depth look at the politics of oil and gas and offers important lessons as fracking continues to reshape America's energy portfolio.' - Jonathan M. Fisk, Assistant Professor, Auburn University
'Focusing on Texas, this book establishes Professor Majumdar as the expert on the political, technical and economic factors of fracking. For future students and scholars, this will become the benchmark.' - David Howard Davis, Professor University of Toledo and author of Energy Politics 4th ed
