Environmental Considerations Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing Operations
by James A. Jacobs, Stephen M. Testa
1Introduction
1.1 Energy and the Shale Revolution
As a nation, and since the 1970s, energy independence has been more of a dream than a reality as we have witnessed the ups and downs of the oil and gas industry over the past several decades. The history of the oil and gas industry is that of ups and downs, but also one of technological innovation and ingenuity since the first well for gas was drilled in 1825 in the Marcellus Shale of Devonian age in the village of Fredonia, Chautauqua County, New York, and the first successfully drilled oil well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake in 1859. In the twenty‐first century, technological advances continue to drive the energy landscape and have significant benefit beyond just energy policy. Our nation’s independence and reemergence as an energy leader largely reflects technological advances in the extraction of oil and natural gas from shale formations.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the oil and gas industry has been vital to our energy needs. This industry and the infrastructure that supports it employ more people than any other industry. As of 2013, the entire natural gas and oil industry supported 9.2 million US jobs, accounted for 7.7% of the US economy, and delivered $86 million per day in revenue to the federal government. Between 2007 and the end of 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 2013 reported that total US private sector employment increased by more than one million jobs, or ...