Understanding the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Gas Exploration and Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF GAS EXPLORATION AND DRILLING IN THE MARCELLUS SHALE

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

COMPLETE

Funding Source

HATCH

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

0220618

Grant No.

(N/A)

Cumulative Award Amt.

(N/A)

Proposal No.

(N/A)

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Project Start Date

Oct 1, 2009

Project End Date

Sep 30, 2013

Grant Year

(N/A)

Program Code

[(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
ITHACA,NY 14853

Performing Department
Earth & Atmospheric Science

Non Technical Summary
Gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale (MS) in the Southern Tier of NYS is a topic of great interest to gas companies, landowners, and communities. Reserves are worth billions of dollars. Many landowners are being approached by gas companies and have questions about fair compensation and property impacts. Municipal officials and citizens are concerned about impacts on environment, watersheds, landscape, infrastructure, and tourism. It is critical and timely to study NYS-specific socio-economic and environmental costs and benefits of future drilling and to share this information with citizens and leaders of the region. We propose urgently needed research on the socio-economic impact in NYS of MS drilling, and to use this and existing resources to develop a stakeholder outreach plan. Beneficiaries of this work include: Extension educators, who will be trained to work with external stakeholders; landowners, citizens; and municipal officials. This is an outstanding chance for Cornell and CCE to serve NYS through integrated research and outreach, and to work with Land Grants in PA, OH, and WV who are facing similar issues. We propose to: a) review the impact literature for other areas of intensive recent drilling, b) weigh costs and benefits through interviews and group discussions with the external stakeholders described above and other experts in economic, technical, legal, and financial aspects of drilling c) develop and employ training based on this. To design the outreach we will recruit/integrate a team of internal stakeholders (CCE educators/faculty) and key partners from DEC, Farm Bureau, government, and industry. Outreach will center on county Extension educators who will work with external parties. Training will address the extraction of the gas resource, storm water pollution prevention, water withdrawal issues, waste water disposal, and economic and community costs/benefits. Training will be provided via expansion of CCE's gas leasing website, printed materials, public meetings, webinars, and a statewide summit with stakeholder groups. This project is also relevant in other states where MS drilling is occurring. The project squarely meets the purpose of Hatch funds: promoting sound and prosperous rural life, and preserving environmental quality. The project matches guidelines for Smith-Lever funds by enhancing Extension's capacity within the priorities "Community & Economic Vitality" and "Natural Resources & Environment." We will develop a thorough understanding of the socio-econo-environmental costs and benefits of gas production in the MS. Through application of this research, the project will enhance long-term benefits of gas leasing to regional stakeholders. We expect: 1) a better educated citizenry, and landowner leasing decisions that balance long-term benefits and costs; 2) communities with sustainable land-use and economic development policies that account for likely costs and benefits of gas leasing; 3) communities with apt watershed management policies relating to gas leasing, 4) better industry and regulator drilling decisions; and 5) better relations among the public, industry, and regulators.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
111	0210	2050	15%
112	0320	2030	10%
112	0320	2050	15%
605	6099	3010	15%
605	6099	3080	15%
803	6099	3010	15%
803	6099	3080	15%

Knowledge Area
803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
0320 - Watersheds; 0210 - Water resources; 6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
2030 - Geology; 2050 - Hydrology; 3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;

Goals / Objectives
Research: 1. In order to estimate the socio-ecological-economic impacts of gas drilling of the Marcellus Shale in the Southern Tier of New York State, the project team will develop (10/2009 - 1/2010) a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of gas drilling in other analogous contexts (e.g., northern Texas, Northern Tier of Pennsylvania). 2. We will develop (10/2009 - 3/2010) a preliminary framework for assessing social, economic, and environmental impacts of Marcellus gas development. The framework will additionally identify the appropriate methods to conduct this research. 3. We will preliminarily assess (3/2010 - 7/2011) social, economic and environmental impacts of Marcellus gas development. We will collect information and perspectives from community residents, landowners, and municipal officials on the anticipated, perceived, and actual socioeconomic and environmental costs and benefits of natural gas drilling in their communities. We foresee a sequence of publications (7 -9/2011) for both technical (research) and lay (outreach) audiences. 4. Over the course of the project (10/2009 - 9/2011) we will identify information needs that would help individual landowners and municipal officials achieve better outcomes in their leasing arrangements, municipal regulations, and planning regimes. We will also provide contacts for expertise in technical, legal, and financial aspects of development. Determination of information needs and contacts will be closely integrated with Outreach programming. Outreach: 5. the project team will develop an outreach plan on Marcellus Shale gas development for major stakeholders. It will integrate up-todate information from research, data from summer 2009 outreach "Road shows," and scientific information from Earth and environmental research. Outreach will be made available through a range or vehicles, including forums and presentations (e.g., 6 and 7 below), project website, published booklet of key information, and a wide variety of printed materials for meetings with each stakeholder group. 6. We will host an annual New York Natural Gas Drilling Summit, starting in November 2009, to provide information on various aspects associated with gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, to inform stakeholders on the issues, and to help them prepare for opportunities. 7. From 10/2010 onward CCE Educators and other parties will be trained to provide outreach to landowners, municipal officials, and other concerned citizens, and to organize an efficient dissemination system. The trainings will take place through semi-annual webinar and face-to-face trainings. With municipal officers we will schedule follow-up quarterly meetings to discuss developing issues.

Project Methods
We are bringing together a project team of faculty, staff and Extension employees; this team and associated collaborators have diverse expertise in the socio-economic and environmental impacts of natural resource development, rural sociology, Earth and environmental sciences, and education and outreach. We will seek input from the spectrum of individuals who are stakeholders in Marcellus Shale gas development. The proposed project will employ half-time research staff and half- time Extension staff members. Research: The project team will conduct literature review on socio-economic-environmental impacts of gas exploration and drilling and analyze it with regard to applicability to Southern Tier of NYS. Through the literature review, investigation of impacts from other areas, and through meetings with collaborators, we will articulate an integrated research framework that explores the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of natural gas development. The framework will identify specific research priorities common to many impacted locations in an environmental and socioeconomic cost/benefit analysis. We will conduct interviews and group discussions with community residents, landowners, and municipal officials on the anticipated, perceived, and actual socioeconomic and environmental costs and benefits of natural gas drilling in their communities. The interview and group discussion questions will emerge from our literature review and from topics that have arisen in encounters between stakeholders and CCE personnel. The interview protocols will be approved by Cornell University's IRB. We will distill preliminary research results into information of use for local residents and devise mitigation strategies where applicable. We will work through the region to determine centers of expertise in technical, legal, and financial aspects of development that would be appropriate to provide as contacts. Outreach: We will develop and implement training, based on literature, interviews, collaborator expertise, and existing outreach resources. We will use information from the applied research to tailor the resources for different stakeholder groups. We will deliver training via 1) CCE's gas development website, which will be enhanced and marketed to engage education-supporting technology, 2) printed materials (e.g., fact sheets and booklets), 3) public, meetings/presentations, onsite and as webinars, and 4) a statewide summit with representatives from multiple stakeholder groups. We will undertake formative evaluation of programming that we create through 1) questionnaires given out at each outreach event we hold and 2) ongoing feedback from our CCE Marcellus Shale Team, based on the reactions of the groups with which they come into contact. We will undertake summative evaluation through 3) questionnaires distributed to each of the stakeholder groups at the end of the project, made available online and distributed in hardcopy to stakeholder groups by the CCE Team.

Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Researchers and decision makers interested in socioeconomic impacts and public perceptions of Marcellus drilling. Efforts included presentations and publications for professional audiences. Cooperative Extension educators, who need professional development for meeting the needs of interested parties in their own counties, Efforts included webinars and many other resources available from the CCE website. Municipal decision makers. Efforts included materials available on the CCE Marcellus website. General public in the Southern Tier of NYS who have questions about Marcellus shale development. Efforts included (1) talks to a wide variety of stake holders, (2) the CCE and Museum of the Earth Marcellus websites; (3) written briefs on science topics associated with Marcellus drilling, available on the web science, and a new book, The Science beneath the Surface: A very short guide to the Marcellus Shale (Duggan-Haas et al,, 2013). Colleagues who do Marcellus outreach; Efforts included (1) a conference for Marcellus educators in March 2013, (2) presentations and attendance at conferences such as the Marcellus Academic Research Conference, (3) national meetings of geoscience educators. The conference for educators, Best Practices in Marcellus Shale Education,was hosted by PRI and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). The 60 participants came from five states and the District of Columbia. They included high school, college, and university faculty; cooperative extension educators; curriculum developers; attorneys; municipal government employees; journalists; activists; and a playwright. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Our project has reached a broad variety of stakeholders with several generations of content for the public, Cornell Cooperative Extension and other educators, students, and municipal officers. This research-based outreach included increasingly comprehensive and detailed content, based in part on taking into account increasingly knowledgeable audiences. We completed research that has been integrated into outreach activities, based on public understanding and perception of drilling costs and benefits. This included the following: We completed analysis and wrote reports on two Pennsylvania-New York surveys and disseminated results at conferences, meetings, and in publications. We contributed to several versions of a white paper with a Marcellus Systems team at Cornell University, with the goal of understanding the full system of interactions associated with Marcellus gas drilling. The group includes systems engineers, geologists, landscape ecologists, economists, sociologists, and others, and also includes our outreach team specialists. Jeffrey Jacquet completed his Ph.D. (Landowner Attitudes and Perceptions of Impact from Wind and Natural Gas Development in Northern Pennsylvania: Implications for Energy Landscapes in Rural America) based in part on work he did as part of this project. Jacquet and Stedman have written numerous manuscripts based on their results. We developed new information about the fall 2011 draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) for regulations of (high-volume slickwater hydrofracturing and horizontal) drilling, including gathering of comments on the dSGEIS from Cornell faculty and staff that these individuals sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We completed a set of online briefs on science topics (10 total) and published a book in both hard-copy and ebook form, compiling an evidence-based overview of science issues (Science Beneath the Surface, 252 pp.). We wrote a wide variety of technical publications on socio-economic issues around the Marcellus shale based on CCE Marcellus team research. We compiled a large set of resources at the CCE Marcellus website (http://naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu). The CCE Marcellus Team website (naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu) was expanded and reorganized. Content was also added to the website museumoftheearth.org/marcellusshale by team members working on Marcellus science issues. We created a set of webinars that were recorded and are available at the CCE website for additional viewings. We also hosted 9 full-day workshops for educators in the Southern Tier, held numerous shorter workshops for teachers at State and national conferences, and spoke to groups as diverse as municipal officers at Albany Law School and high school students in Ithaca. We hosted the conference "Best Practices in Marcellus Shale Education Agenda" March 18 and 19, 2013 on the Cornell campus and at PRI. More than 50 educators from around the Marcellus region attended. This included approximately two dozen Cooperative Extension staff from both New York and Pennsylvania. The project, along with related NSF-funded work, served to germinate professional development programming that continues. After the granting period (April 2014), but using approaches developed in part through the award, PRI hosted a workshop for 18 teachers, "I want to teach about hydrofracking, but I don't know where to start!" This was done in concert with the release of the book Science Beneath the Surface in e-book format for the Kindle, Nook, and on the iTunes Store. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We disseminated results to communities of interest through a wide variety of approaches, depending on the needs of the stakeholder audiences. We communicated with Cornell Cooperative Extension educators and with municipal offiers through mailing lists that reach large fractions of those communities. We used a mailing list that reaches research and extension colleagues throughout the Marcellus region, including, e.g., in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, to disseminate information of broad interest. We recruited K-12 educators and disseminated information via teacher listservs, particularly the very active New York State Earth science teacher listserv. We reached through public with announcements about presentations through marketing associated with Cornell University and the Paleontological Research Institution, and through response to special requests made by community groups. We presented sociological and other research data, and also approaches to Marcellus education, to colleagues at professional conferences and in a variety of journals. We also disseminated information through media coverage. There are numerous examples of printed, audio, and video interviews, but a few include: David, Javier E. Is NY fracking a good idea? Look at Pennsylvania, D. Kay quoted in CNBC story at http://www.cnbc.com/id/101081814 Sunday, 6 Oct 2013 Kay, D. 2013. Invited guest, Community Conversation: The New Norm of Climate Change, WSKG Radio interview, http://www.wskg.org/episode/new-norm-climate-change April 23, 2013. Kay, David. Interview with Chris Remington, PBS, April 9, 2013. Differing views on fracking’s impact, PBS Need to Know, April 24, 2013. http://to.pbs.org/YVpUCc. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact High volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing, or simply “fracking,” in the Marcellus Shale in the Southern Tier of New York State has become a topic of great interest to communities, landowners, gas companies, and others. The project Understanding the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impacts of Gas Exploration and Drilling in the Marcellus Shale has: (1) greatly increased understanding of needs for stakeholder understanding of potential socio-economic and environmental impacts from New York State of Marcellus drilling; and (2) through this research enabled us to aid a diverse set of stakeholders, particular Cornell Cooperative Extension educators (who themselves work with external stakeholders), landowners and other citizens; educators; and municipal officials. Among accomplishments of the project are surveys to thousands of New York State landowners that provide the first in depth systematic analysis of public understanding and perception of drilling and its impacts, helping us to design relevant outreach tools. Through the course of the project we gave dozens of interactive presentations to the public, and trained extension educators and municipal officers throughout New York State. We organized trainings for extension educators on topics such as storm water pollution prevention, water withdrawal issues, waste water disposal, and economic and community costs/benefits. Resources created include an extensive Marcellus shale website, printed materials, and webinars. We hosted a statewide summit with stakeholder groups at the start of the project, and hosted a regional conference for educators at the end. We increased public understanding of proposed gas extraction regulations and of science and resource issues associated with drilling, toward better decision making about drilling and policies. The project can take credit for helping: increase public understanding of landowner issues; increase awareness and capacity among local and state officials to engage and mitigate impacts; greater availability of data on social, economic, and environmental impacts; and increased collaboration among Pennsylvania and New York researchers. Objectives and outcomes 1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of gas drilling in other analogous contexts (e.g., northern Texas, Northern Tier of Pennsylvania): The research team completed a literature review of shale gas, wind energy, and biomass, in order to contrast these sources of local energy development. We also worked within a Marcellus Systems team at Cornell University, with the goal of understanding the full system of interactions associated with Marcellus gas drilling. The group includes systems engineers, geologists, landscape ecologists, economics, sociologists, and others, and also includes our outreach team specialists. This resulted in a white paper outlining a systems approach to understanding Marcellus drilling and impacts. 2. Develop a preliminary framework and research methods for assessing social, economic, and environmental impacts of Marcellus gas development: We designed a survey on public perceptions of shale gas development via hydraulic fracturing that we disseminated; for Cornell’s Survey Research Institute, we designed questions on shale gas development for the “Empire Poll” of NY State residents and constructed questions on shale gas development for inclusion on the Cornell National Social Survey. 3. Preliminarily assess social, economic and environmental impacts of Marcellus gas development. We disseminated a survey to 5000 residents in southern NY and northern PA, collecting information and perspectives from community residents, landowners, and municipal officials on the anticipated, perceived, and actual socioeconomic and environmental costs and benefits of natural gas drilling in their communities. We also acquired data through the “Empire Poll” of 6000 NY State residents and through the Cornell National Social Survey. We conducted primary data collection, analysis, and reliability analysis for a mass media content analysis of regional newspaper coverage on shale gas development in the Marcellus Shale region. 4. Identify information needs to help individual landowners and municipal officials achieve better outcomes in their leasing arrangements, municipal regulations, and planning regimes. Our research of public attitudes toward drilling in the Southern Tier of NY and northern PA indicated that resident attitudes differ significantly between New York and Pennsylvania. A brief published by Stedman and Jacquet (Jan 2011) summarized some of the findings: "Although significant numbers of survey respondents in both states expressed feelings of uncertainty or neutrality, New York residents were more likely to oppose development, more concerned about specific negative impacts of development, and less trusting of information sources. These differences are especially stark given the low levels of knowledge reported by both groups about potential impacts. We believe that these findings suggest the need for continued dissemination of information on the processes and impacts of gas development." 5. Develop an outreach plan on Marcellus Shale gas development for major stakeholders: At the start of this project we made a plan to reach CCE educators and municipal officials through meetings, teleconferences, webinars, and resources and the general public through interactive presentations and information resources. We communicated regularly with extension educators about stakeholder needs. We later also added other educators as stakeholders, hosting workshops and resource sharing. 6. Host a New York Natural Gas Drilling Summit: We hosted a Marcellus Summit in November, 2009 for over 300 individuals in the Southern Tier. This conference was instrumental in networking among a wide range of stakeholders that interacted throughout the project. In 2013 we hosted a conference for about 60 educators on best practices in Marcellus outreach. 7. Train CCE Educators and other parties to provide outreach to landowners, municipal officials, and other concerned citizens, and to organize an efficient dissemination system: From January 2010 for over two years we organized and held approximately bimonthly meetings of extension educators to discuss Marcellus shale issues being faced in communities that are likely to see Marcellus drilling. These meetings were instrumental in choosing many of our outreach activities. We held community task force meetings, focused on providing help to, and facilitating communication among, task forces being set up in Marcellus communities. One of these, at the Museum of the Earth, offered a "toolkit" for providing information to local communities. We facilitated a series of ten webinars (online presentations using PowerPoint and audio) for extension educator staff and others on key Marcellus issues. Several people on the Marcellus project team each year of the project participated in the Marcellus Summits at Penn State. Several also attended the EPA hearings in Binghamton and several annual Marcellus Research conferences. Through the project we have greatly expanded the CCE Natural Gas Resource Center website, posted additional science content materials to the PRI’s Museum of the Earth Marcellus website, and printed associated collateral.

Publications

Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Duggan-Haas, D., R. M. Ross, and W. D. Allmon, with K. E. Cronin, T. A. Smrecak, and S. Auer Perry. 2013. The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale. Paleontological Research Institution (Special Publication 43), Ithaca, New York, 252 pp.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Duggan-Haas, D. 2013. There's No Such Thing as a Free Megawatt: The Marcellus Shale as a Gateway Drug to Energy Literacy. Science Teachers' Association of New York State. Rochester, NY.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Duggan-Haas, D., Cronin, K.E., and Ross, R.M. 2012. Hydraulic fracturing and the Marcellus Shale: A case study for emergent issues and for teaching controversial issues. Technical session T74. Teaching Controversy in the K16 Earth Science Classroom.. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. Charlotte, NC.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Duggan-Haas, D., Ross, R.M., and Cronin, K.E. 2013. What do you need to understand to teach about hydrofracking? Technical session T136. Training, Assessment, and Outreach That Enhance Communication of Geosciences for Formal and Informal Audiences. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Evensen D, Clarke C, Stedman R. 2014. A New York or Pennsylvania state of mind: social representations of gas development in the Marcellus Shale. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 4(1):65-77, 2014.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Jacquet, J, Kay, D. Forthcoming 2014.The Unconventional Boomtown: Updating the impact model to fit new spatial and temporal scales, Journal of Rural Community Development.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Blair, A, Howe R. Kay, D. Transitioning to Renewable Energy: Development Opportunities and Concerns for Rural New York. Government, Law and Policy Journal, NY Bar Association 15(1):35-41, 2013.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Henderson, J, Duggan-Haas, D. 2014. Drilling into controversy: the educational complexity of shale gas development. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 4(1):87-96, 2014.
Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D. 2013, 12 August. Science, philosophy both matter in fracking decision. Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, and Elmira Star-Gazette, and Ithaca Journal (three regional newspapers).
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D, Clarke C, Stedman R. 2013. Social representations of shale gas development in New Brunswick, New York, and Pennsylvania. Paper presented at: Rural Sociological Society Annual Mtg. August; New York, NY.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D, Stedman R, Clarke C. 2013. Social representations of natural gas development via hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. Paper presented at: Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences Conference. June; Pittsburgh, PA.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D. 2013. The ethics of fracking: philosophys contributions to policy. Paper presented at: International Symposium on Society and Resource Management. June; Estes Park, CO.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D. 2013. Shale gas development: the limits of science, the role of philosophy. Paper presented at: Marcellus Shale Educators Conference. March; Ithaca, NY
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Evensen D, Clarke C. 2012. Social representations of hydraulic fracturing in mass media. Paper presented at: Society for Risk Analysis Annual Mtg. December; San Francisco, CA.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, David et al. 2013. Conference organization, Local and Regional Options for Energy Climate Change Resiliency, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY, September 13, 2013.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, David and George Frantz. Tour of Bradford County Fracking Sites, for researchers involved in W3001: The Great Recession, Its Aftermath, and Patterns of Rural and Small Town Demographic Change, September 28, 2013.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, D. 2013. Renewable Energy and Residential Property Values: What Do Researchers Conclude? New York State Assessors Association, Lake Placid Crowne Plaza, October 2, 2013.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Evensen D. 2013. Public perceptions of shale gas development in the Twin Tiers. Chenango County Municipal Leaders Conference. November 14; Norwich, NY.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, D. 2013. Natural Gas: Patterns. Chenango County Municipal Leaders Conference. November 14; Norwich, NY.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay D, Evensen D. 2013. Natural gas: Valuation and related topics. Rural Schools Association. January 9; Alfred, NY.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, D, Howe, R. 2013. Energy Efficiency, Conservation, and Renewable Energy: Community Decision Making Processes, Tools and Resources, Presentation CaRDI Community Development Institute, July 17, 2013
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, D. 2013. Pathways to Transformative Change: A Long and Winding Road to a Low Carbon Future? Polson Institute for Global Development, An Engaged Conversation with Liz Walker, Ecovillage, April 25, 2013
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, D. 2013 Community Planning, Climate Change and Uncertainty in a Home Rule State, Panelist: Climate Impacts and Local Response, Climate Smart, Climate Ready Conference, Ithaca NY, April 20, 2013
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Anderson, S, Kay, D and Howe, R. Public Issues Education. Best Practices in Marcellus Shale Education Conference, Ithaca NY, March 19, 2013.
Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kay, David. The Big Picture and Fiscal Considerations, panel on Shale Gas Drilling Natural Gas Development, NYS Association of Towns Annual Meeting, February 19, 2013.
Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Duggan-Haas, D. 2014, March 23. Hydrofracking is a gateway drug to energy literacy, The Buffalo News, http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/viewpoints/hydrofracking-is-a-gateway-drug-to-energy-literacy-20140323

Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our project in the past year has reached a broad variety of stakeholders with another generation of content for the public, CCE and other educators, students, and municipal officers. This research-based outreach included increasingly comprehensive and detailed content, based in part on understanding of increasingly sophisticated audiences. * We completed research that has been integrated into outreach activities, based on public understanding and perception of drilling costs and benefits. This included the following: - We completed analysis and wrote reports on two Pennsylvania-New York surveys and disseminated results at conferences, meetings, and in publications. - We contributed to several versions of a white paper with a Marcellus Systems team at Cornell University, with the goal of understanding the full system of interactions associated with Marcellus gas drilling. The group includes systems engineers, geologists, landscape ecologists, economics, sociologists, and others, and also includes our outreach team specialists. - Jeffrey Jacquet completed his Ph.D. (Landowner Attitudes and Perceptions of Impact from Wind and Natural Gas Development in Northern Pennsylvania: Implications for Energy Landscapes in Rural America) based in part on work he did as part of this project. Jacquet and Stedman have written numerous manuscripts based on their results. * We developed new information about the fall 2011 draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) for regulations of (high-volume slickwater hydrofracturing and horizontal) drilling, including gathering of comments on the dSGEIS from Cornell faculty and staff these individuals sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We completed the first set of briefs in science (10 total) and wrote a wide variety of technical publications on socio-economic issues around the Marcellus shale based on CCE Marcellus team research. We continued to add significant numbers of links to resources at the CCE Marcellus website (http://naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu). We began planning for a Marcellus education conference that will be held in March 2013; the conference is technically outside the time frame of the funded project, but builds upon its foundation. We made connections at other land grant universities, particularly Penn State, such as at the Marcellus Summit in State College, PA (fall 2011) and the Marcellus research conference in Pittsburgh, PA (spring 2012). * The CCE Marcellus Team website (naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu) was expanded and reorganized. Content was added to website museumoftheearth.org/marcellusshale by team members working on Marcellus science issues. In the past year we ran another webinar, which provides professional development for CCE educators, and this was added to the set of webinars created in previous project years that are then available at the CCE website for additional viewings. We also hosted 9 full-day workshops for educators in the Southern Tier, held numerous shorter workshops for teachers at national conferences, and spoke to groups as diverse as municipal officers at Albany Law School and high school students in Ithaca. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals PIs, co-PIs, others with one month effort per year: ALLMON, Warren D.: PI, Prof. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS), Cornell Univ., and Director of Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and its Museum of the Earth; supervisor of staff on Marcellus team involved in science outreach from PRI. CRONIN, Kelly E.: Geoscience Resource Developer, PRI and its Museum of the Earth; coordinates meetings and website development for CCE Marcellus outreach team, provides written content and presentations for Marcellus science outreach. JACQUET, Jeffrey: PhD candidate under co-PI Richard Stedman; does research on socioeconomic impacts of Marcellus drilling and makes presentations for wide variety of stakeholders. RIHA, Susan: co-PI, Prof. of EAS, Cornell Univ. and Director, NYS Water Resources Institute; involved in research and outreach on water quality issues associated with Marcellus drilling. ROSS, Robert M.: Associate Director for Outreach at PRI, adjunct Assistant Prof. of EAS, Cornell Univ.; oversees PRI contribution to science outreach on Marcellus drilling, participates in outreach with CCE Marcellus outreach team. STEDMAN, Richard C: Associate Prof. of Natural Resources, Cornell Univ., co-PI and in charge of socioeconomic research on Marcellus drilling. Collaborators: BRASIER, K.: Associate Prof. of Rural Sociology, PA State Univ., works with Stedman and Jacquet on public perceptions of Marcellus drilling Chedzoy, Brett: Senior Extension Resource Educator, Schuyler County Cooperative Extension Association, provides presentations to public throughout Southern Tier. CHRISTOPHERSON, Susan, Prof. of City and Regional Planning, Cornell Univ., does research on social impacts of Marcellus drilling. DUGGAN-HAAS, Don: Senior Education Research Associate, PRI. HOWE, Rod: Director of CaRDI, Senior Extension Associate, Development Sociology, Cornell Univ., works closely with CCE Marcellus Team on Marcellus-related rural issues. KAY, David: Extension Associate, Development Sociology, Cornell Univ.: works closely with CCE Marcellus Team on Marcellus-related rural issues KELSEY, Timothy: Prof. of Agricultural Economics, Penn State, and State Program Leader, Economic & Community Development, works with Stedman and Jacquet on public perceptions of Marcellus drilling. LADLEE, James: County Extension Director, Clinton County; and Director of Special Initiatives, Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center (MSETC), Penn State; works on a variety of issues regarding public and Marcellus drilling. MCLEOD, Poppy: Department of Communications, Cornell Univ., contributed expertise on the nature of word choice in communicating about contentious issues. O'BRIEN, Thomas: Professor, Graduate Science Teacher Education, Binghamton University. SMRECAK, Trisha: Global Change Projects Manager, PRI and its Museum of the Earth: collaborated with staff at PRI on science issues and with rest of CCE Marcellus team. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Our project focuses particularly on providing knowledge and resources to CCE educators. In year 3 we also provided professional development to high school and college educators and educators at informal venues such as museums. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences: -- Researchers and decision makers interested in socioeconomic impacts and public perceptions of Marcellus drilling. Efforts include: socio-economic issues and 13 presentations to professional audiences. -- Cooperative Extension educators, who need professional development for meeting the needs of interested parties in their own counties: Efforts include five Webinars; the webinars are available in "real-time," when participants can interact with presenters, after which the webinars are then available at the CCE website; -- Municipal decision makers. Efforts include: (1) the Energy Transitions conference (spring 2011), which reached about 200 people, including a variety of decision makers, as well as other extension educators; (2) Community Task Force conversations in winter 2010; and (3) materials available on the CCE Marcellus website. -- General public in the Southern Tier of NYS who have questions about Marcellus shale development. Efforts include: (1) talks to a wide variety of stake holders, (2) the CCE and Museum of the Earth Marcellus websites; (3) written briefs on science topics associated with Marcellus drilling, available on the web science; (4) questions answered at "marcellusshale@cornell.edu." -- Educators within communities, including high school and college teachers, and educators at informal venues. Efforts include (1) 9 full-day workshops and (2) numerous shorter workshops locally and at national conferences. -- Colleagues who do Marcellus outreach. Efforts include (1) presentations and attendance at conferences such as the Marcellus Summit, (2) the Marcellus Academic Research Conference, (3) national meetings of geoscience educators, and (4) a conference for Marcellus educators in 2013. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Research of public attitudes toward drilling in the Southern Tier of NY and northern PA (our primary audiences) indicates that resident attitudes differ significantly between New York and Pennsylvania. A brief published the the previous project year by Stedman and Jacquet (Jan 2011) summarized some of their findings: "Although significant numbers of survey respondents in both states expressed feelings of uncertainty or neutrality, New York residents were more likely to oppose development, more concerned about specific negative impacts of development, and less trusting of information sources. These differences are especially stark given the low levels of knowledge reported by both groups about potential impacts. We believe that these findings suggest the need for continued dissemination of information on the processes and impacts of gas development." While observations in the most recent year of the project suggest continuing evolution of public understanding and opinion, the basic result that dissemination of the latest information of this quickly changing issue is critical. * We have observed increases in public understanding of issues surrounding Marcellus drilling, based on the questions asked at public presentations and based on the kind of presentations requested. While this CCE project is not of course responsible for all this increase in sophistication, we expect our efforts are having an impact based on evaluations and anecdotal evidence from discussions and feedback. Outcomes of the past year, building on previous years, include the following: -- Increased public understanding the dSGEIS and of science and resource issues associated with drilling, leading to better decision making about drilling and regulations. -- Increased public understanding of landowner issues affecting decisions about leasing and protection from environmental impacts. -- Increased awareness and capacity among local and state officials to engage and mitigate social and economic impacts from energy development. -- Greater availability of data on social and economic impacts generated from this project. Increased workforce training programs implemented in New York State. -- Increased collaboration among Pennsylvania and New York researchers, including on several new grants and research projects. -- Expansion of the project to include a variety of educators (high school, college, museums, and others), with related grants from the National Science Foundation, and planning for a conference on best practices in Marcellus outreach to take place in spring 2013. -- Working toward an important new phase of research on landowner leases, spatial and temporal variations in lease terms, and the impact of such variation on drilling and impacts. This will be accompanied by outreach to land owners and municipal officers.

Publications

Brasier, K. J., McLaughlin, D. K., Rhubart, D., Stedman, R.C., Filteau, M.R., Jacquet, J. B. 2013 (in press) Risk Perceptions of Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale Under Review at Environmental Practice
Charles A., J. Drohan,B. Rahm, J. Jacquet, J. Becker, A. Collins. A. Klaiber, G. Poe, and D. Grantham. 2012. Water's Journey Through the Shale Gas Drilling and Production Processes in the Mid-Atlantic Region Mid-Atlantic Water Program. State College, PA: Penn State Extension
Clarke, C.E., Evensen, D.N, Jacquet, J. and Stedman, R.C., 2012 Emerging Risk Communication Challenges Associated with Shale Gas Development . European Journal of Risk Regulation 3: 424-430
Cronin, K.E., 2012, Beyond Water, Marcellus Shale No. 9, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY, 11 pp.
Duggan-Haas, Don, Cronin, Kelly E., and Ross, Robert. 2012. Hydraulic Fracturing and the Marcellus Shale: A Case Study for Emergent Energy Issues and for Teaching Controversial Issues. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs.
Duggan-Haas, D., 2012 The Marcellus Shale and the Geography of Energy. New York State GeoFest, Rochester, NY
Duggan-Haas, D., Ross, R., & Cronin, K. 2011 There's no such thing as a free megawatt: the Marcellus Shale, energy and the environment. The Science Teachers' Association of New York State Annual Meeting, Rochester, NY.
Duggan-Haas, D., Ross, R., & Buckler, C.. 2011 The Marcellus Shale: A case study for energy issues. North American Environmental Education Association Annual Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina
Duggan-Haas, D., Henderson, J., Cronin, K., & Ross, R. 2012 The Marcellus Shale as a Gateway Drug to Energy Literacy North American Environmental Education Association Annual Conference, Oakland, CA.
Duggan-Haas, D. 2012 Complexifying the Seemingly Simple and helping people tolerate it. Get Real Science, Rochester, NY
Henderson, J., & Duggan-Haas, D. 2013 (in press) Drilling Into Controversy: The Educational Complexity of Marcellus Shale Development, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences
Jacquet, J.B. and R. C. Stedman 2013 The risk of social-psychological disruption as an impact of energy development and environmental change under review at the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
Jacquet, J. 2013 (in press) The rise of Private Participation in energy development . Under Review at Society and Natural Resources
Jacquet, J.B. and R.C. Stedman. 2013 (in press) Perceived impacts from wind farm and natural gas development in northern Pennsylvania. Under review at Rural Sociology
Jacquet, J. B. 2012. Landowner attitudes toward natural gas and wind farm development in northern Pennsylvania. Energy Policy, 50:677-688
Jacquet, J. B. 2012 Landowner Attitudes and Perceptions of Impact from Wind and Natural Gas Development in Northern Pennsylvania: Implications for Energy Landscapes in Rural America PhD dissertation. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Kinchy, A., R. Stedman, S. Perry, K. Braiser, J. Jacquet 2013 (in press) New Natural Gas Development and Rural Communities in North America. Book Chapter under review at the Rural Sociological Association
Ross, R.M., Duggan-Haas, D., & Smrecak, 2011 'Teaching Energy Sources and the Environment Together,' National Science Teachers' Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California
Stedman, R.C., Jacquet, J.B., Filteau, M., Willits, F., Brasier, K., McLaughlin, D. 2012. Marcellus Shale Gas Development and New Boomtown Research: Views of New York and Pennsylvania Residents Environmental Practice December 2012

Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In year two we reached a broad variety of stakeholders with a second generation of content for the public, CCE educators, and municipal officers. This research-based outreach included more comprehensive and detailed content than in year one, tailored to a more informed public. These included the start of development of information about the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) for regulations of (high-volume slickwater hydrofracturing and horizontal) drilling. It also included the commencement of gathering of comments on the dSGEIS from Cornell faculty and staff that will be sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In year 2 we made major progress in a wide range of publications: we released a number of briefs in science (8 papers) and socio-economic (3 papers) issues around the Marcellus shale, and wrote technical publications based on CCE Marcellus team research (3 papers). We continued to play an important role in drawing people together to discuss Marcellus-related issues, e.g., for the Energy Transitions conference in spring 2011 (200 attendees) and Community Task Force conversations in winter 2010. We also made good progress in making connections at other landgrant universities, particularly Penn State, such as attendance at the Marcellus Summit in State College, PA (fall 2010) and the Marcellus research conference in Altoona, PA (spring 2011). We continued research that will inform year 3 outreach activities, based on public understanding and perception of drilling costs and benefits. This included the following: -- Completed mail survey of 1051 landowners in Northern Pennsylvania. Completed reports that analyze results, finding support for gas drilling is heavily stratified by perceived economic benefit, and that traffic, aesthetics, and health concerns are greatest. -- Continued analysis of the 6,000 person Pennsylvania-New York survey and disseminated results at conferences, meetings, and in publications. -- Continued work within a Marcellus Systems team at Cornell University, with the goal of understanding the full system of interactions associated with Marcellus gas drilling. The group includes systems engineers, geologists, landscape ecologists, economists, sociologists, and others, and also includes our outreach team specialists. The CCE Marcellus Team received the CaRDI 2011 community and economic vitality award. The CCE Marcellus Team website (naturalgas.cce.cornell.edu) was greatly expanded. Content was added to website museumoftheearth.org/marcellusshale by team members working on Marcellus science issues. Also, "marcellusshale@cornell.edu" received regular inquiries for information and speakers through the year. We ran five Webinars, which provide professional development for CCE educators, but are open to others, with a total of about 120 "real-time" attendees; these webinars are then available at the CCE website for additional viewings, where hundreds more watch them. We made 26 presentations over the course of the year, to a wide variety of audiences, to a total of about 1940 individuals. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals PIs, co-PIs, others with one month effort per year: ALLMON, Warren D.: PI, Prof. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS), Cornell Univ., and Director of Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and its Museum of the Earth; supervisor of staff on Marcellus team involved in science outreach from PRI. CRONIN, Kelly E.: Geoscience Resource Developer, PRI and its Museum of the Earth; coordinates meetings and website development for CCE Marcellus outreach team, provides written content and presentations for Marcellus science outreach. JACQUET, Jeffrey: PhD candidate under co-PI Richard Stedman; does research on socioeconomic impacts of Marcellus drilling and makes presentations for wide variety of stakeholders. RIHA, Susan: co-PI, Prof. of EAS, Cornell Univ. and Director, NYS Water Resources Institute; involved in research and outreach on water quality issues associated with Marcellus drilling. ROSS, Robert M.: Associate Director for Outreach at PRI, adjunct Assistant Prof. of EAS, Cornell Univ.; oversees PRI contribution to science outreach on Marcellus drilling, participates in planning for outreach with CCE Marcellus outreach team, and provides presentations to CCE educators and other audiences. STEDMAN, Richard C: Associate Prof. of Natural Resources, Cornell Univ., co-PI and in charge of socioeconomic research on Marcellus drilling. Collaborators: BRASIER, K.: Associate Prof. of Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State Univ., works with Stedman and Jacquet on public perceptions of Marcellus drilling Chedzoy, Brett: Senior Extension Resource Educator, Schuyler County Cooperative Extension Association, provides presentations to public throughout Southern Tier. CHRISTOPHERSON, Susan, Prof. of City and Regional Planning, Cornell Univ., does research on social impacts of Marcellus drilling. HOWE, Rod: Director of CaRDI, Senior Extension Associate, Development Sociology, Cornell Univ., works closely with CCE Marcellus Team on Marcellus-related rural issues. KAY, David: Extension Associate, Development Sociology, Cornell Univ.: works closely with CCE Marcellus Team on Marcellus-related rural issues KELSEY, Timothy: Prof. of Agricultural Economics, Penn State, and State Program Leader, Economic & Community Development, works with Stedman and Jacquet on public perceptions of Marcellus drilling. PERRY, Sara Auer, Geoscience Resource Developer, PRI, wrote two briefs on science of Marcellus drilling with PRI Marcellus group. LADLEE, James: County Extension Director, Clinton County; and Director of Special Initiatives, Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center (MSETC), Penn State; works on a variety of issues regarding public and Marcellus drilling. MCLEOD, Poppy: Department of Communications, Cornell Univ., contributed expertise on the nature of word choice in communicating about contentious issues. SMRECAK, Trisha: Global Change Projects Manager, PRI and its Museum of the Earth: collaborated with staff at PRI on science issues and with rest of CCE Marcellus team. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Our project focuses particularly on providing knowledge and resources to CCE educators, who themselves provide outreach to their local communities. TARGET AUDIENCES: Researchers and decision makers interested in socioeconomic impacts and public perceptions of Marcellus drilling. Efforts include: 3 papers on socio-economic issues, contributions to a "white paper" on energy systems, and 13 presentations to professional audiences. -- Cooperative Extension educators, who need professional development for meeting the needs of interested parties in their own counties: Efforts tailored to this audiences include five Webinars; the webinars are available in "real-time," when participants can interact with presenters, after which the webinars are then available at the CCE website. -- Municipal decision makers. Efforts include: (1) the Energy Transitions conference (spring 2011), which reached about 200 people, including a variety of decision makers, as well as other extension educators; (2) Community Task Force conversations in winter 2010; and (3) materials available on the CCE Marcellus website. -- General public in the Southern Tier of NYS who have questions about Marcellus shale development. Efforts include: (1) 13 talks to a wide variety of public stake holders, (2) the CCE and Museum of the Earth Marcellus websites; (3) written briefs on issues related to Marcellus drilling, including 3 on socioeconomics and public perception and 8 on science topics; and (4) questions answered at "marcellusshale@cornell.edu." PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Research of public attitudes toward drilling in the Southern Tier of NY and northern PA (our primary audiences) indicates that resident attitudes differ significantly between New York and Pennsylvania. In a brief published by Stedman and Jacquet (Jan 2011) summarized some of their findings: "Although significant numbers of survey respondents in both states expressed feelings of uncertainty or neutrality, New York residents were more likely to oppose development, more concerned about specific negative impacts of development, and less trusting of information sources. These differences are especially stark given the low levels of knowledge reported by both groups about potential impacts. We believe that these findings suggest the need for continued dissemination of information on the processes and impacts of gas development." We have observed increases in public understanding of issues surrounding Marcellus drilling, based on the questions asked at public presentations and based on the kind of presentations requested. While this CCE project is not of course responsible for all this increase in sophistication, we expect our efforts are having an impact based on evaluations and anecdotal evidence from discussions and feedback. Expected outcomes include the following: -- Increased public understanding the dSGEIS and of science and resource issues associated with drilling, leading to better decision making about drilling and regulations. -- Increased public understanding of landowner issues affecting decisions about leasing and protection from environmental impacts. -- Increased awareness and capacity among local and state officials to engage and mitigate social and economic impacts from energy development. -- Greater availability of data on social and economic impacts generated from this project. Increased workforce training programs implemented in New York State. -- Increased collaboration among Pennsylvania and New York researchers, including on several new grants and research projects.

Publications

Smrecak, T.A., 2011, Jointing and Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale, Marcellus Shale No. 5, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 8 pp.
Smrecak, T.; Ross, R.M., Cronin, K.E., Auer, S.L., Howe, R.L. March 20, 2011, Thirst for knowledge: Meeting public Earth system science outreach needs in a rapidly emerging shale gas play (abst.). Geological Society of America northeast conference, Pittsburgh, PA, Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 43, No. 1, p. 55
Stedman, R., F. Willits, K. Braiser, D. McLaughlin, and J. Jacquet 2011. Natural Gas Development: Views of Pennsylvania and New York Residents in the Marcellus Shale Region Cornell University Community and Rural Development Institute Research and Policy Brief Number 41.
Brasier, K., Filteau, Jacquet, J., M, Goetz, S., Kelsey, T., McLaughlin, D. and Stedman, R. 2011. "Residents' Perceptions of Community and Environmental Impacts from Development of Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale: A Comparison of Pennsylvania and New York Case Studies" Journal of Rural Social Sciences 26(1):32-61
Cronin. K.E., 2011, Water: Into the Wells, Marcellus Shale No. 7, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 16 pp.
Cronin, K.E., 2011, Water: Out of the Wells, Marcellus Shale No. 8, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 12 pp.
Duggan-Haas, D., 2011, Sources and Uses of Energy: A brief overview, Marcellus Shale No. 11, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 12 pp.
Jacquet, J., 2012, "Environmentalism and Experience: resident attitudes toward wind and natural gas developments in Northern Pennsylvania" Energy Policy, Submitted/under review
Jacquet, J., Brundage, T., Ladlee, J., Michaels, L., and Kelsey, T., 2011. Statewide Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment Pennsylvania College of Technology Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center
Jacquet, J. and R. Stedman 2011 "Natural Gas Landowner Coalitions in New York State: Emerging Benefits of Collective Natural Resource Management" Journal of Rural Social Sciences 26(1):62-91
Ladlee, J. and Jacquet J. 2011. Implications of Multi-Well Pad Development in the Marcellus Shale Cornell University Community and Rural Development Institute Research and Policy Brief, Number 43, September
Marcellus Systems Team, 2010, A Systems Research Approach to Regional Energy Transitions: The Case of Marcellus Shale Gas Development http://www. sustainablefuture. cornell.edu/attachments/ETransitions-WhitePaperMaster-22Sep20 1 0.pdf (project members participated as part of a larger group of Cornell researchers and outreach providers)
Perry, S.A., 2011, Understanding Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material in the Marcellus Shale, Marcellus Shale No. 4, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 12 pp.
Perry, S.A., Smrecak, T.A., Cronin, K.E., 2011, Making the Earth Shake: Understanding Induced Seismicity, Marcellus Shale No. 3, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 8 pp.
Smercak, T.A. 2011 Introduction to the Marcellus Shale, Marcellus Shale No. 1, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 4 pp. Smercak, T.A., 2011 Why the Geology Matters, Marcellus Shale No. 2, Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY 8 pp.

Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research: -- The research team completed a literature review of shale gas, wind energy, and biomass, in order to contrast these sources of local energy development. We began to work within a Marcellus Systems team at Cornell University, with the goal of understanding the full system of interactions associated with Marcellus gas drilling. The group includes systems enginners, geologists, landscape ecologists, economics, sociologists, and others, and also includes our outreach team specialists. -- The research team interviewed about 60 landowners in the Northern Tier of PA and Southern Tier of NY to study leasing behavior, perceived risk and reward, and concerns in context of other energy initiatives and alternative land uses. In addition, we purchased a NY component on multistate (N=6000) household survey of communities in the Marcellus Shale region. Outreach: -- At the time of submitting the proposal the Marcellus CCE team was in the process of delivering Road Shows, presentations and Q&A sessions giving an overview of Marcellus drilling issues. We gave 7 presentations in Southern Tier communities, in most cases to audiences of about 60 to 80. The associated slide set has since been updated and posted to the CCE Marcellus website for CCE educators to use. -- About the time the proposal officially received funding, we helped host a Marcellus Summit (Nov 30, 2009) for over 300 individuals in the Southern Tier. Since the proposal was funded we have continued as part of the project to provide presentations as requested, e.g., to the New York Grange annual meeting (Cortland), the New York State Republican Assembly (Albany), regional airport managers conference (Corning), the 92nd Street YMCA (NYC), and a NYS Energy Development Forum (Sullivan County). We also helped host several events on the Cornell campus in Ithaca. -- Beginning in January 2010 we organized and held approximately bimonthly meetings of CCE educators to discuss Marcellus shale issues being faced in communities that are likely to see Marcellus drilling. These meetings have been instrumental in choosing many of our outreach activities. -- We held several community task force meetings, focused on providing help to, and facilitating communication among, task forces being set up in Marcellus communities. One of these, at the Museum of the Earth, offered a "toolkit" for providing information to local communities. -- We facilitated a series of webinars (online presentations using PowerPoint and audio) for CCE staff and others on key Marcellus issues. Topics have included impact on economic and social implications; local roads; geology; community economics; personal finances; and water quality. -- Most people on the Marcellus project team participated in the Marcellus Summit at Penn State in fall 2010 and observed the EPA hearings in Binghamton. -- We have greatly expanded the CCE Natural Gas Resource Center website, and posted additional science content materials to the Museum of the Earth Marcellus website, and printed associated collateral. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: -- Warren D. Allmon (PI, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University and Director, Paleontological Research Institution): Allmon supervises the Marcellus outreach team individuals at the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth. -- Richard C. Stedman (co-PI, Associate Professor of Natural Resources, Cornell University): Stedman heads the research team on the socio-economic-environmental impacts of Marcellus drilling. -- Susan J. Riha(co-PI, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University and Director, NYS Water Resources Institute): Riha participates in providing the team with direction on water quality issues associated with Marcellus shale drilling. -- Jeffrey Jacquet (Research Assistant and Graduate Student, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University): Jacquet assists Stedman with research on the relative impacts of Marcellus shale drilling and other local energy development. -- Robert M. Ross (Associate Director for Outreach, Paleontological Research Institution): Ross runs the outreach program at the Museum of the Earth and participates in the CCE Marcellus shale outreach team. -- Trisha A. Smrecak: Smrecak (Global Change Projects Manager at the Paleontological Research Institution) project manages the content development for Marcellus shale outreach at the Museum of the Earth and participated in revising the Road Show slide set. -- Kelly E. Cronin: Cronin (Outreach Associate at the Paleontological Research Institution) provides logistical support for the CCE Marcellus Team. -- Sara Perry: Perry (Geoscience Resource Developer at the Paleontological Research Institution) helps develop geological content for Marcellus shale outreach. -- Rod Howe (Assistant Director for Community and Economic Vitality and Executive Director of the Community and Rural Development Institute, Cornell): Howe provides overall leadership on Marcellus shale outreach for CCE. Partner organizations: -- Pennsylvania State University: Numerous individuals at Penn State collaborate on Marcellus shale research and outreach. For example, Kathy Brasier works with Stedman on community perceptions of Marcellus drilling impacts, and Tom Murphy provides input on Penn State Marcellus outreach. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target Audiences: -- Target audiences for both outreach and research include particularly decision makers in communities impacted by Marcellus drilling, e.g., municipal officers and community task forces, and Cooperative Extension Educators who provide outreach to their local communities. We also serve more generally the general public, e.g., landowners and environmentally concerned citizens. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Research: -- Preliminary research results of case studies of 4 counties in Pennsylvania and New York to document perceptions of the impacts in the early stages of development show that rapid development in areas with low population density led to a broader awareness of natural gas impacts, both positive and negative. For instance, one county with larger population size and higher population density, is undergoing extensive natural gas development, yet many participants were unaware of specific drilling locations or activities. Another county with similarly high levels of activity, but low population density, was very aware of drilling activity, locations of development, and its current and potential impacts on the community and landscape. -- People interviewed described several different types of local economic impacts, including wealth creation from leasing activity and business growth, tax impacts, potential for a state severance tax, and were generally supportive if the revenues were returned to the areas experiencing growth and increased demand for services. The social impact concerning most participants was the potential for rapid population growth and the potential for increased inequality among residents was also a concern. Many people are concerned about the impacts of development on agriculture. -- Participants in our project reported severe strain on roads and other physical infrastructure, even during the early stages of development. Participants in counties with histories of energy development reported heightened awareness of and concern for the negative environmental impacts of development. These respondents were especially concerned about preventing legacy effects, or environmental problems (such as acid mine drainage) that continue long after active drilling is completed. These respondents encouraged regulations that would prevent such future problems. -- These results indicate mixed levels of awareness and concern about multiple issues, ranging from environmental to economic to social impacts, influenced by the area's previous experience with extraction as well as population size and density. We will continue to track these impacts over the life of the play, especially as development increases and spreads across the Marcellus Shale region. We will report additional results from this research as we analyze the data. Outreach: -- The impact of Marcellus outreach is manifested in part through the development of community task forces that grow in ways facilitated by forums to bring representatives of community task forces together from different counties. We get ongoing feedback regarding needs for outreach from CCE educators working directly with landowners in their respective communities; some of these individuals are now preparing to offer a second phase of Road Shows in the Southern Tier of NYS aimed at land owners being approached for leasing. -- We continue to grow networks of individuals from PA and WV who are also involved in Marcellus research and outreach. To date, much of this interaction is through teleconferences, but a research conference held jointly by individuals from all three states will be held in May 2011.

Publications

Jacquet, Jeffrey 2010 Workforce Development Challenges in the Natural Gas Industry Cornell City and Regional Planning Working Paper Series: A Comprehensive Economic Impact Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction in the Marcellus Shale December 2010
Jacquet, J.,Brundage, T., Ladlee, J., Michaels, L., Kelsey, T., 2010 Southwest Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Workforce Needs Assessment Pennsylvania College of Technology Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center
Jacquet, J., and R.C. Stedman. 2009. Emerging trends in the Marcellus Shale. Research & Policy Brief Series, Community and Rural Development Institute. 30.
Stedman, R.C., F.K. Willits, K. Brasier, M. Filteau, D. McLaughlin, J. Jacquet. 2010 Natural Gas Development: Views of Pennsylvania and New York Residents in the Marcellus Shale Region. Community and Rural Development Institute