Page 191 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

In New York, the state maintained a de facto moratorium
on hydrofracking until 2012, when Governor Andrew Cuomo
and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
proposed banning fracking in the watersheds of New York
City and Syracuse while allowing it in the rest of the state.
Over 140 upstate New York towns responded by using their
zoning powers to enact local bans on fracking, potentially set-
ting up struggles among the governor, the legislature, and the
towns to determine policy. Cuomo retreated from his stance in
the face of widespread anti-fracking protests, and held off on a
decision through much of 2013, as his administration assessed
new scientific reports and as polls showed his state’s citizens
split evenly on whether to allow fracking.
For political leaders in New York, Pennsylvania, and 30
(a) Monitoring water quality other states across the country, the benefits of shale gas devel-
opment have been alluring. Development means jobs for rural
Wells drilled communities, and proponents told New York policymakers that
1405 Environmental fracking could generate 50,000 jobs and $11 billion in economic
60 1248 violations output for their state. Moreover, because natural gas burns more
50 Percent of cleanly than coal, it has gained wide appeal. Many advocates of
wells with sustainable energy view natural gas as a “bridge” between fos-
40
environmental
Percentage 30 710 violations sil fuels and cleaner renewable sources, although others think
pursuing shale gas will simply commit us more deeply to fossil
fuels. Policymakers must weigh all these considerations along
20
286 428 331 with the potential risks to health and water supplies.
10 170 State laws cannot violate principles of the U.S. Constitu-
99 tion, and if state and federal laws conflict, federal laws take
0
2008 2009 2010 Jan.–Aug. 2011 precedence. Federal policymakers may influence environ-
Year mental policy at the level of the states by:
(b) Is fracking pollution decreasing or increasing? • Supplanting state law to force change. (This is uncommon.)
• Providing financial incentives to encourage change. (This
Figure 7.6 State and local governments administer a great can be effective if federal funding is adequate and states
deal of environmental policy. Technicians take water samples
from a home (a) to give regulators from Pennsylvania’s Department need the money.)
of Environmental Protection (DEP) data on impacts of fracking. DEP • Following an approach of “cooperative federalism,”
staff also cite gas drillers for environmental violations. These data whereby a federal agency sets national standards and then
(b) showing a decline in the percent of wells cited for environmental works with state agencies to achieve them in each state.
violations were used by researchers to argue that fracking problems (This is most common.)
in Pennsylvania were decreasing as a result of effective regulation
by the DEP. However, the researchers did not disclose that they Sometimes relations between federal and state govern-
received funding from the gas industry and that the report did not ments grow testy. When the U.S. EPA came in to test Dimock’s
receive peer review (p. 40). In response, The State University of water, the head of Pennsylvania’s DEP complained that this
New York at Buffalo shut down the researchers’ institute there. Data was undue interference in state affairs. In recent years, pres-
from Considine, T., et al. 2012. Environmental impacts during Marcellus Shale gas sure to weaken federal oversight and hand over power to the
drilling: Causes, impacts, and remedies. Shale Resources and Society Institute, states has grown, but political scientists argue that retaining
State University of New York at Buffalo.
strong federal control over environmental policy is a good
idea for several reasons:
local programs. Governor Tom Corbett signed the bill into
law, but he had also asked legislators to prevent municipalities • Citizens of all states should have equitable protection
from regulating drilling. The legislators refused, and in the against environmental and health impacts.
resulting compromise, the law forced towns to permit drill- • Dealing with environmental problems often requires an
ing in all areas, including residential zones, but allowed them “economy of scale” in resources, such that one strong
to use their zoning standards to regulate noise, lighting, and national effort is far more efficient than 50 state efforts.
structures. • Many issues involve “transboundary” disputes that cross
Ideally, states and localities can act as laboratories for state lines, and nationwide efforts minimize disputes
experimenting with novel policy concepts, so that ideas that among states.
succeed may be adopted elsewhere. Because Pennsylvania
and New York have pursued different approaches to hydraulic As we proceed through our discussion of federal policy,
fracturing so far, we will be able to compare results from the keep in mind that environmental policy is also created at the
190 two approaches. state and local levels.

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