Over the past year and a half as NAEP president, I have been privileged to witness some great accomplishments in NAEP. I am extremely thankful to the preceding presidents, who made the Association a working machine of innovation, imagination, and growing influence. The board members have facilitated the cooperation to make things happen. I am fully aware now that the progress of the Association depends entirely on the volunteers and their vision. Whereas a president has the title, the board of directors determines whether things get done.

Development of unconventional natural gas reserves has been made possible by the combination of hydraulic fracturing (or hydrofracturing) and horizontal drilling technologies and has expanded at a feverish pace over the last several years in the United States (US) and around the world. Hydrofracturing involves injecting large volumes of fluid, including water, chemicals, and proppant, under high pressure into a deep geologic formation to open fissures that then allow natural gas to flow up the wellbore. Technically recoverable shale gas reserves are estimated to exceed 600 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in the US (US Department of Energy, 2009), and, given the increasing demand for domestic energy production, the extraction of unconventional shale plays will continue to expand and intensify. Research on the environmental and human-community impacts of unconventional shale gas development are beginning to emerge, and this special issue of Environmental Practice contributes to that growing body of knowledge.

My term as lead editor is coming to an end, and I will soon hand over the reins to my coeditor and colleague Kelly Tzoumis for volume 15. Kelly has lined up an exciting suite of thematic issues for 2013. The year 2012 has been exciting and successful for Environmental Practice (ENP), with thematic issues devoted to green infrastructure, professional ethics, and fracking (this issue!). As always, the June issue was devoted to the theme of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) annual conference. This year's theme was Science, Politics and Policy: Environmental Nexus. With the exception of the conference issue, the task of collecting manuscripts for the thematic issues was codirected by me and several diligent guest editors to whom I am extremely grateful. The editorial office of ENP employs a coeditor approach that alternates lead editorship annually between a natural scientist (James Montgomery) and a social scientist (Kelly Tzoumis), both of whom have practitioner experiences in environmental science and policy in the private and public sectors. The lead editor focuses on development of thematic topics, whereas the coeditor engages in strategic planning, including reaching out to authors, for his/her lead year. This model is vital to maintaining the three “ships” that are vital to sustaining NAEP: membership, authorship, and readership. In addition, this model of shared leadership has been quite effective in bringing in new perspectives and topics on environmental issues to achieve greater interdisciplinarity, as well as maintaining the mission of NAEP by providing quality manuscripts that balance interests of both the practitioner and the scholar in the environmental profession. The daily operations of the journal are handled by our managing editor, Dan Carroll, who has developed an efficient peer-review process and continues to reach out to potential reviewers. We have an active editorial advisory board (EAB) of 15 members, who represent a mixture of scholars and practitioners from across the United States (US). EAB members have all reviewed or written manuscripts for the journal. We hope to expand the EAB to include more international representation.

The development of large-scale shale gas production has been described as a game-changer for the US energy market and has generated interest in expanding the use of natural gas in sectors such as electricity generation and transportation. This development has been made possible by improvements in drilling technologies—specifically utilizing hydraulic fracturing in conjunction with horizontal drilling—that have enabled the production of natural gas from unconventional formations. However, the environmental implications of natural gas production and its use have been called into question. Environmental impacts associated with shale gas development can occur at the global and local levels and include impacts to climate, local air quality, water availability, water quality, seismic events, and the local community. A variety of technologies and practices are available to operators to reduce these impacts. Policies are currently under development at the federal, state, and local level to mitigate environmental impacts. In this document, we discuss the technologies involved in shale gas production, the potential abiotic impacts of shale gas production with an emphasis on air and water issues, and the practices and policies currently being developed and implemented to mitigate these impacts.

Environmental Practice 14:249–261 (2012)

In response to growing concerns about the impact of shale gas development, Pennsylvania's Act 13 of 2012 established an unconventional gas well fee and required the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to report on the number of such wells. In this article, we analyze the extent to which the DEP complied with its reporting requirements under Act 13. Using publicly available data, we find that the DEP likely omitted between 15,300 and 25,100 unconventional gas wells from its Act 13 report. Left uncorrected, we estimate that Pennsylvania's state, county, and municipal governments could forfeit fees of $205–$303 million in 2012 and up to $0.75–$1.85 billion cumulatively over the expected life of these wells. Rather than an isolated incident, evidence suggests that information management is a systemic and recurring problem within the DEP and its predecessor agencies. We propose the implementation of a relational database and geographic information system as a way for the DEP to fulfill its Act 13 obligations.

Environmental Practice 14:262–277 (2012)

The increasing world demand for energy has led to an increase in the exploration and extraction of natural gas, condensate, and oil from unconventional organic-rich shale plays. However, little is known about the quantity, transport, and disposal method of wastes produced during the extraction process. We examined the quantity of waste produced by gas extraction activities from the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania for 2011. The main types of wastes included drilling cuttings and fluids from vertical and horizontal drilling and fluids generated from hydraulic fracturing [i.e., flowback and brine (formation) water]. Most reported drill cuttings (98.4%) were disposed of in landfills, and there was a high amount of interstate (49.2%) and interbasin (36.7%) transport. Drilling fluids were largely reused (70.7%), with little interstate (8.5%) and interbasin (5.8%) transport. Reported flowback water was mostly reused (89.8%) or disposed of in brine or industrial waste treatment plants (8.0%) and largely remained within Pennsylvania (interstate transport was 3.1%) with little interbasin transport (2.9%). Brine water was most often reused (55.7%), followed by disposal in injection wells (26.6%), and then disposed of in brine or industrial waste treatment plants (13.8%). Of the major types of fluid waste, brine water was most often transported to other states (28.2%) and to other basins (9.8%). In 2011, 71.5% of the reported brine water, drilling fluids, and flowback was recycled: 73.1% in the first half and 69.7% in the second half of 2011. Disposal of waste to municipal sewage treatment plants decreased nearly 100% from the first half to second half of 2011. When standardized against the total amount of gas produced, all reported wastes, except flowback sands, were less in the second half than the first half of 2011. Disposal of wastes into injection disposal wells increased 129.2% from the first half to the second half of 2011; other disposal methods decreased. Some issues with data were uncovered during the analytical process (e.g., correct geospatial location of disposal sites and the proper reporting of end use of waste) that obfuscated the analyses; correcting these issues will help future analyses.

Environmental Practice 14:1–10 (2012)

Produced water from oil and gas development requires management to avoid negative public health effects, particularly those associated with dissolved solids and bromide in drinking water. Rapidly expanding drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania has significantly increased the volume of produced water that must be managed. Produced water management may include treatment followed by surface water discharge, such as at publically owned wastewater treatment plants (POTWs) or centralized brine treatment plants (CWTs). The use of POTWs and CWTs that discharge partially treated produced water has the potential to increase salt loads to surface waters significantly. These loads may cause unacceptably high concentrations of dissolved solids or bromide in source waters, particularly when rivers are at low-flow conditions. The present study evaluates produced water management in Pennsylvania from 2006 through 2011 to determine whether surface water discharges were sufficient to cause salt or bromide loads that would negatively affect drinking water sources. The increase in produced water that occurred in 2008 in Pennsylvania was accompanied by an increase in use of CWTs and POTWs that were exempt from discharge limits on dissolved solids. Estimates of salt loads associated with produced water and with discharges from CWTs and POTWs in 2008 and 2009 indicate that more than 50% of the total dissolved solids in the produced water generated in those years were released to surface water systems. Especially during the low-flow conditions of 2008 and 2009, these loads would be expected to affect drinking water.

Environmental Practice 14:1–13 (2012)

Coal-mining activities in the Appalachian Basin have left behind an environmental legacy of acid mine drainage (AMD), which collectively discharges more than 1.2 billion liters of low-pH contaminated water per day into freshwater streams. Meanwhile, concerns over the use of freshwater for hydraulic fracturing applications in the Appalachian Basin are rising, where an average daily withdrawal of freshwater for hydraulic fracturing may approach 60 million liters per day. The use of AMD as a substitute for freshwater has the joint advantages of mitigating existing environmental damage to surface waters and relieving some pressures on freshwater withdrawals, but the practice faces technical, economic, and regulatory hurdles. To reduce sulfate levels, coal-mine drainage that is currently treated to meet Clean Water Act standards may need additional treatment for hydraulic fracturing applications. Reducing sulfate levels without the use of additional freshwater may involve costs of several dollars per barrel versus less than one dollar per barrel for freshwater purchased directly. The cost of treatment to remove sulfates would need to decline by perhaps a factor of 4 in order to be cost-competitive with the purchase of fresh water. So-called abandoned (untreated) mine drainage poses a larger environmental challenge, but treatment and transportation costs may be orders of magnitude larger. Issues regarding handling liability and storage costs for abandoned-mine waters in particular represent significant regulatory barriers. We find that treatment, transportation, and storage costs are the most important factors affecting water-utilization decisions in shale-gas development. While Pennsylvania has proposed policy reforms to address environmental liability issues associated with AMD use, implementation itself will likely raise costs for its use in hydraulic fracturing as compared to the use of freshwater. AMD use may become cost-competitive with the development and use of low-cost AMD treatment technologies in centralized locations designed for long-term use, along with efficient water transfer and storage facilities.

Environmental Practice 14:301–307 (2012)

Extensive shale gas development is expected throughout the Appalachian Basin, and implementing effective avoidance and mitigation techniques to reduce ecosystem impacts is essential. Adoption of best management practices (BMPs) is an important approach for standardizing these techniques. For BMPs to be credible and effective, they need to be strongly supported by science. We focused on 28 BMPs related to surface impacts to habitat and wildlife and tested whether each practice was supported in the scientific literature. Our quantitative assessment produced four general conclusions: (1) the vast majority of BMPs are broad in nature, which provides flexibility in implementation, but the lack of site-specific details may hamper effectiveness and potential for successful conservation outcomes; (2) relatively low support scores were calculated for a number of BMPs, most notably those relating to noise and light pollution, due to existing research documenting effects on behavior rather than directly on species' survival and fitness—an indication that more research is needed; (3) the most commonly and strongly supported BMPs include landscape-level planning and shared infrastructure; avoidance of sensitive areas, aquatic habitats, and core forest areas; and road design, location, and maintenance; and (4) actions to enhance the development and implementation of BMPs should include public education, increased communication among scientists, improved data sharing, development of site-specific BMPs that focus on achieving ecological outcomes, and more industry collaboration.

Environmental Practice 14:308–319 (2012)

High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a new technology that poses many threats to biodiversity. Species that have small geographic ranges and a large overlap with the extensively industrializing Marcellus and Utica shale-gas region are vulnerable to environmental impacts of fracking, including salinization and forest fragmentation. We reviewed the ranges and ecological requirements of 15 species (1 mammal, 8 salamanders, 2 fishes, 1 butterfly, and 3 vascular plants), with 36%–100% range overlaps with the Marcellus-Utica region to determine their susceptibility to shale-gas activities. Most of these species are sensitive to forest fragmentation and loss or to degradation of water quality, two notable impacts of fracking. Moreover, most are rare or poorly studied and should be targeted for research and management to prevent their reduction, extirpation, or extinction from human-caused impacts.

Environmental Practice 14:1–12 (2012)

Building on prior research on the housing effects brought on by the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania which found that a lack of water and sewer infrastructure served as a significant barrier to developing new housing needed to alleviate the shortage and resulting high rents in affected communities, this article focuses on the connections between natural gas development, housing need, and provision of water and sewer infrastructure. Through case studies of two water and sewer providers in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, it was found that supplying infrastructure is complicated by the timing and the costs involved with the Chesapeake Bay cleanup, enforcement of the Clean Water Act, and other regulatory hurdles facing suppliers of water and sewer services. These added costs, and their resulting effects on needed housing development, serve as challenges both in areas served by older providers charged with maintaining aging facilities and newer providers who must balance capacity with cost. Both adequate and affordable housing and a healthy environment are vital needs, but at least in the short run, there is a tension between these two needs and their costs for to taxpayers, rate payers, service providers, and developers. Potential solutions for overcoming these challenges are discussed.

Environmental Practice 14:1–10 (2012)

FracTracker is a participatory geographic information system (PGIS) and website that was designed to address concerns surrounding the process of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) by enabling registered users to make visual connections by using raw data and mapping technologies. An electronic survey (n = 147) and case studies (n = 3) of registered users were conducted in 2011–12 to better understand FracTracker's usage, outcomes, and barriers. Results indicate that PGISs like FracTracker, while difficult for some users to operate, can effectively provide information about UNGD to engaged nonexperts—or regular users. User contributions via volunteered geographic information or crowdsourcing remain limited on FracTracker, but are a barrier that could be overcome with targeted training, by facilitation of a user intermediary, and by diversifying site features. Future PGIS research should assess individuals' concept of space, investigate the interaction between PGIS and digital discourse, and search for the proper balance between the system's technological capacities and ease of use.

Environmental Practice 14:1–10 (2012)

This article proposes a framework for addressing societal costs—psychological, social, community, and human health risks and uncertainties—associated with natural gas extraction and production from tight shale, tight sand, or coal-bed methane formations that use hydraulic fracturing processes. The US Environmental Protection Agency's 2011–14 study of hydraulic fracturing and the risks posed to drinking-water resources is used as a case study of how such a framework could be applied. This report also discusses some of the current regulatory and institutional barriers that make incorporation of societal costs into science-based and proactive decisions regarding unconventional oil and gas exploration and production in the United States more difficult and recommends some general steps for getting past those barriers.

Environmental Practice 14:1–14 (2012)

Shale gas development may involve trade-offs between energy development and benefits provided by natural ecosystems. However, current best management practices (BMPs) focus on mitigating localized ecological degradation. We review evidence for cumulative effects of natural gas development on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and conclude that BMPs should account for potential watershed-scale effects in addition to localized influences. The challenge is to develop BMPs in the face of uncertainty in the predicted response of brook trout to landscape-scale disturbance caused by gas extraction. We propose a decision-analysis approach to formulating BMPs in the specific case of relatively undisturbed watersheds where there is consensus to maintain brook trout populations during gas development. The decision analysis was informed by existing empirical models that describe brook trout occupancy responses to landscape disturbance and set bounds on the uncertainty in the predicted responses to shale gas development. The decision analysis showed that a high efficiency of gas development (e.g., 1 well pad per square mile and 7 acres per pad) was critical to achieving a win-win solution characterized by maintaining brook trout and maximizing extraction of available gas. This finding was invariant to uncertainty in predicted response of brook trout to watershed-level disturbance. However, as the efficiency of gas development decreased, the optimal BMP depended on the predicted response, and there was considerable potential value in discriminating among predictive models through adaptive management or research. The proposed decision-analysis framework provides an opportunity to anticipate the cumulative effects of shale gas development, account for uncertainty, and inform management decisions at the appropriate spatial scales.

Environmental Practice 14:1–16 (2012)

Development of unconventional natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale region of the northeastern United States has progressed rapidly over the last decade. The discourse surrounding such development recalls quarter-century-old debates about positive and negative implications for the well-being of such energy boomtowns. Potential support or opposition relates to trust in the industry and its regulators, perceived knowledge, and perceived impacts. Our research project takes advantage of the opportunity for a natural experiment in comparing these elements between two spatially adjacent sites with contrasting approaches to gas development: in Pennsylvania, drilling of unconventional natural gas reserves has been proceeding for nearly a decade, whereas, at the time of this writing, drilling has not begun in New York. A mail survey of a random sample of New York and Pennsylvania residents within the Marcellus region revealed important differences between sites. New York residents were more opposed to development, characterized the industry in a more negative light, and were more likely to have engaged in various forms of public participation. In contrast, respondents did not differ by state on their perceived level of knowledge, even though gas development is more advanced in Pennsylvania. Potential explanations for these findings are offered, as are implications for understanding newly emerging energy boomtowns.

Environmental Practice 14:287–298 (2012)

Energy production presents numerous challenges to both industry and land managers across the globe. The recent development of unconventional (shale gas) plays around the world [US Energy Information Administration (USEIA), 2011] has brought attention to the potential for rapid change in affected landscapes and associated ecosystem services. While shale-gas development specifically has been the focus of recent research on how landscapes are changing (Drohan et al., 2012; Entrekin et al., 2011; Johnson, 2010), continued scientific investigation can lessen the resulting ecosystem disturbance across all energy infrastructure.