Written by Chloe Marie – Research Fellow
The Global Shale Law
Compendium series addresses legal development and other issues related to the
governance of shale oil and gas activities in various countries and regions of
the world. In this article, we will focus on the legal policy, and governance
issues related to shale gas development in the United States, and more
specifically in the New England states.
Connecticut
According to the U.S. EIA, Connecticut does not possess
natural gas resources, however, “natural gas produced from the Appalachian
shales, particularly the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, is now arriving in
the state.” In February 2013, the Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection released a Comprehensive Energy Strategy for Connecticut in which the state agency highlighted the fact that, through the establishment
of a pipeline infrastructure, “new and abundant shale gas supplies presents
Connecticut residents and businesses with a rare opportunity to capture
significant benefits at modest costs that can be recouped quickly.”
Expressing a different viewpoint, on February 21, 2014, state
Representatives introduced and sent to the Joint Committee on Environment
Senate Bill No. 237 whose purpose is to
prohibit the storage or disposal of materials produced as a result of hydraulic
fracturing activities. The Bill also directs the Connecticut Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to adopt regulations addressing a
schedule of penalties for violations. The Bill was signed into
law on June 12, 2014.
Maine
In the Maine Energy Profile Analysis, the U.S.
EIA stated that Maine does not have any oil and natural gas resources and
production. It also added that Maine relies on imported natural gas from Canada.
Earlier this year, House Representative John L. Martin introduced Bill LD 1453; HP 1003 entitled “An Act to Regulate
Hydraulic Fracturing To Prevent Threats to Maine’s Drinking Water” and sent it to the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Environment and
Natural Resources. The proposed legislation would required the Maine Department
of Environment Protection (DEP) to adopt regulations addressing hydraulic
fracturing by December 31, 2017, “in order to prevent threats to drinking water
resources from hydraulic fracturing.” According to a media report,
Representative John Martin (said he originally hoped to ban the practice after
a northern Maine television station aired a story about potential efforts to
use fracking in neighboring New Brunswick.” The Bill, however, did not advance
through a Senate committee.
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Geological Survey stated that the geologic
conditions of the Hartford Basin underlying the Connecticut Valley in western
Massachusetts are not “optimum” for shale gas extraction based on available
scientific data. The U.S. EIA also declared that “Massachusetts has no
natural gas reserves or production, but, in proportion to its population, the
state consumes nearly half of the natural gas used in New England” before
adding that “deliveries of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania
through New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island and on to Massachusetts have
increased significantly in recent years.”
The Massachusetts State Legislature has attempted many times to prevent
or limit shale gas extraction in the state in the event that such development
could become possible even though energy companies have expressed no interest
in exploring for or developing shale gas in Massachusetts. In November 2013,
the Massachusetts State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Environment, Natural
Resources and Agriculture introduced Bill H. 3796 that would have banned the
use of hydraulic fracturing in Massachusetts until December 21, 2024. The bill
did not advance through the legislative process.
New Hampshire
According to the U.S. EIA, the state of New Hampshire
does not have any oil or natural gas resources or production; and thus no shale
gas development is currently occurring in the state. New Hampshire is an
importer of natural gas from Maine, Massachusetts and Canada, and
interestingly, “with the growth of natural gas production in the Marcellus
Shale in Pennsylvania, Maine – which used to ship Canadian natural gas to New
Hampshire – may now receive more natural gas through New Hampshire than it
ships to the state.”
Rhode Island
Just like New Hampshire, the state of Rhode Island does not hold any oil
or natural gas resources and received most of its natural gas supply fthrough
Connecticut and Massachusetts. The U.S. EIA states that “historically, natural gas has arrived in Rhode
Island from producing areas in Canada and from the U.S. Gulf Coast and
Mid-Continent regions, but increasing amounts of natural gas are coming from
Appalachian shales, particularly the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania.”
Vermont
On May 16, 2012, former Governor Peter Shumlin approved and signed into
law Bill H. 464 entitled “An act relating to hydraulic fracturing wells for
natural gas and oil production,” which prohibits
the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas development in the state as
well as the transportation, storage and disposal of hydraulic fracturing waste.
The Act also directs the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to prepare a
report providing recommendations on how hydraulic fracturing should be
regulated statewide as well as a report assessing the environmental and public
health impacts of hydraulic fracturing in Vermont.
The Agency addressed those issues in a unique report submitted to the
Senate House Committees on Natural Gas Resources and Energy and the House Committee
on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources in February 2015. The report concludes
that “at the present time, the Agency of Natural Resources – Department of
Environmental Conservation does not have sufficient evidence that hydraulic
fracturing for oil and gas can be conducted without risk of contamination to
the groundwater of Vermont,” and thus recommends that the prohibition on the
use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas development remain.
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