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1 J. Int'l & Comp. L. 1 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/jintcl1 and id is 1 raw text is: 







REGULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING


                    David L. Callies* and Chynna Stone**

   Abstract: Recent technological advancements in hydraulic fracturing have
   enabled the oil and gas industry to access shale gas. While it is estimated that
   shale gas, a clean source of energy, will account for 20% of the total U.S. gas
   supply by 2020, there have been serious concerns about potential adverse
   impacts of fracking on the environment and public health. Consequently, a
   patchwork of regulations has evolved in the United States to cope with the
   competing concerns of environmentalists and the oil and gas industry. After
   an overview of the technical aspects of the fracking process and environmental
   concerns, this article examines the successes and shortcomings of the state-
   centric regulatory system and the potential application of America's regulatory
   scheme as a model for entrants into fracking. It reviews federal regulation of
   fracking and the comprehensive regulatory systems that vary from state-to-state.

   Keywords: Constitutional demarcation of state and municipal competence;
   environmentalprotection; federal legislation; fracking; hydraulic fracturing;
   land use regulation; natural gas; preemption of municipal legislation;
   regulation

Hydraulic fracturing has transformed the United States' energy outlook in recent
years. President Obama dubbed the United States the Saudi Arabia of natural
gas because [w]e've got a lot of it.' In fact, the US Department of Energy's
(DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that the US has over
2,214 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable shale gas reserves.2 By 2020, the EIA
projects that shale gas will comprise over 20 per cent of the total US gas supply.3
Thus, the fracking process has been touted in the US as the key to a clean energy


* FAICP, Benjamin A. Kudo Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of
   Hawai'i at Manoa. College of Fellows, American Institute of Planners; American College of Real Estate
   Lawyers. BA, DePauw University, JD, University of Michigan, LLM, Nottingham University, Life
   Member, Clare Hall, Cambridge University.
** Managing Editor, 36 U. Haw. L. Rev. (2013); JD Candidate 2014, William S. Richardson School of Law;
   BA Southern Methodist University.
1 Barack Obama, President of the United States, President Obama Discusses the Blueprint for
   American-Made Energy (White House Press), available at <http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-
   video/video/2012/01/26/president-obama-discusses-blueprint-american-made-energy#transcript>
   (accessed 18 Jan 2014).
2 Mason Inman, Estimates Clash for How Much Natural Gas in the United States (29 Feb 2012) National
   Geographic News, available at <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/03/120301-
   natural-gas-reserves-united-states/> (accessed 18 Jan 2014).
3 United States Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2009 With Projections to
   2030 [2009], available at <htp://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/archive/aeoO9/pdf/0383/282009 /29.pdf>
   (accessed 18 Jan 2014).

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