Environmental Considerations Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing Operations
by James A. Jacobs, Stephen M. Testa
10Ecological Resources
10.1 Introduction
During the production and processing of unconventional oil and gas resources, impacts to ecological resources and, in particular, to wildlife habitat can occur. The two main areas of wildlife impact are (i) habitat destruction or fragmentation by oil and gas production and associated development and (ii) ecosystem damage by spillage and leakage of solid‐, liquid‐, or gas‐phase contaminants. For production facilities such as well pads, access roads, and other infrastructure, ecological resources can be degraded. However, wildlife habitat damage can be limited by reducing surface disturbances and minimizing production footprints, limiting hours of operation in sensitive areas, limiting excessive noise and light, and minimizing habitat fragmentation. Monitoring endangered or protected species, especially on lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management, US Park Service, and other public lands, provides the scientific baseline for evaluating energy development impacts to ecological resources and mitigation measures.
Resources are areas to protect and issues are areas to mitigate. Ecosystem resources and issues are discussed as follows.
10.2 Ecosystem Resources
Wetlands and other natural habitats, which may be the location for access roads, well sites, or mine sites, can provide a variety of important ecosystem resources.
10.2.1 Regulating Services
- Climate regulation
- Disturbances regulation
- Water regulation
- Waste regulation