Conventional Politics for Unconventional Drilling? Lessons from Pennsylvania's Early Move into Fracking Policy Development

TLDR

Hydraulic fracturing has spurred rapid expansion of domestic natural gas development in the U.S. and abroad, raising cross‑boundary environmental challenges while federal constraints grant states significant policy latitude, exemplified by Pennsylvania’s early, resource‑driven legislation in the Marcellus Shale. The study tests whether the emphasis on innovative state environmental and energy policies applies to the rapidly expanding fracking sector by examining Pennsylvania’s policy approach. The authors analyze Pennsylvania’s policy framework, focusing on its extraction‑maximizing design and environmental trade‑offs.

Abstract

Abstract The emergence of hydraulic fracturing techniques is generating a dramatic expansion of the development of domestic natural gas resources in the U nited S tates and abroad. Fracking also poses a series of environmental protection challenges that cut across traditional medium and program boundaries. Formal constraints on federal government engagement thus far devolve considerable latitude to individual states for policy development. This provides an important test of whether recent scholarly emphasis on highly innovative state environmental and energy policies can be extended to this burgeoning area. P ennsylvania has moved to the epicenter of the fracking revolution, reflecting its vast Marcellus Shale resource and far‐reaching 2012 legislation. This article examines the P ennsylvania case and notes that the state's emerging policy appears designed to maximize resource extraction while downplaying environmental considerations. The case analysis generates questions as to whether this experience constitutes an influential state early mover that is likely to diffuse widely or is instead an aberration in a rapidly diversifying state policy development process.