Law Mapping: Health Issues in Oil and Gas Development

Advances in extractive technologies (hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling) have enabled a rapid expansion in oil and natural gas production through development of tight shale formations in rural, suburban and urban areas. While there is still little research on the health impacts of oil and gas development (e.g., from toxic air pollutants, ground-level ozone, chemical pollution of potable aquifers, etc.), public concern has prompted regulatory review at all levels of government. This project is designed to convey what legal requirements and prohibitions may help protect public health during oil and gas development activities by building upon on a 2013-2014 law mapping project that used LawAtlas to map state-level oil and gas law in 11 states. The project will expand that initial effort to include additional states as well as federal and local laws.