Shale Guidebook

Addressing community health issues for shale development

A 2013 Wall Street Journal analysis determined that over fifteen million Americans now live within a mile of a shale well that has been drilled since 2000. In 2013, RESOLVE’s Solutions Network convened a group of industry, agency, and civil society leaders and identified a need: Information on public health issues related to shale development was available but not easy to access. As shale energy development, also known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” takes place in a number of communities in the U.S. and other countries, local public health officials and other stakeholders are seeking guidance on the issues that can accompany development.

Public officials and stakeholders benefit when they have easy access to information and guidance on these issues. RESOLVE identified other sectors, such as metals mining, where consolidation of guidance on community health issues helped improved performance. To fill the gap in the shale development space, RESOLVE convened a cross-sector working group consisting of members from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the Pew Trusts Health Impact Assessment Project, Shell Oil Company, and a former Newmont Mining Corporation senior official to develop a guidance document to serve as a resource for public health officials, companies, and communities. In 2015, we published the Community Health and Shale Development Guidebook, as an easily accessible web-based resource. We were assisted by contributions from expert advisors and reviewers from the public health, nongovernmental, and industry sectors.

The Guidebook draws from a variety of perspectives and experiences. It provides information on health issues throughout the lifecycle of the shale development process, from initial assessment to project closure, and provides health officials, communities, and those in industry with information about potential health issues and responses, including case examples, good practice guidance, and research.

The Guidebook is maintained and updated by RESOLVE. It was funded by RESOLVE, Shell, and Talisman Energy.

The Community Health and Shale Development Guidebook represents what is possible when industry, the public sector, and nonprofits collaborate. The result is a practical, useful, and resource-rich guidance document helpful in the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of the risks associated with the energy sector.

David Dyjack, Executive Director of the National Environmental Health Association

Summary Points

RESOLVE’s Solutions Network allows us to scope emerging issues and identify solutions to environmental and health challenges related to shale development.
Written with public health officials in mind, the Community Health and Shale Development Guidebook is a resource for community leaders, companies, and others.
The Guidebook remains a credible, current source of information for all stakeholders.