Concern has been raised in the scientific literature about the environmental implications of extracting natural gas from deep shale formations, and published studies suggest that shale gas ...development may affect local groundwater quality. The potential for surface water quality degradation has been discussed in prior work, although no empirical analysis of this issue has been published. The potential for large-scale surface water quality degradation has affected regulatory approaches to shale gas development in some US states, despite the dearth of evidence. This paper conducts a large-scale examination of the extent to which shale gas development activities affect surface water quality. Focusing on the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, we estimate the effect of shale gas wells and the release of treated shale gas waste by permitted treatment facilities on observed downstream concentrations of chloride (Cl ⁻) and total suspended solids (TSS), controlling for other factors. Results suggest that (i) the treatment of shale gas waste by treatment plants in a watershed raises downstream Cl ⁻ concentrations but not TSS concentrations, and (ii) the presence of shale gas wells in a watershed raises downstream TSS concentrations but not Cl ⁻ concentrations. These results can inform future voluntary measures taken by shale gas operators and policy approaches taken by regulators to protect surface water quality as the scale of this economically important activity increases.
Millions of abandoned oil and gas wells are scattered across the United States, causing methane emissions and other environmental hazards. Governments are increasingly interested in decommissioning ...these wells but want to do so efficiently. However, information on the costs of decommissioning wells is very limited. In this analysis, we provide new cost estimates for decommissioning oil and gas wells and key cost drivers. We analyze data from up to 19,500 wells and find median decommissioning costs are roughly $20,000 for plugging only and $76,000 for plugging and surface reclamation. In rare cases, costs exceed $1 million per well. Each additional 1,000 feet of well depth increases costs by 20%, older wells are more costly than newer ones, natural gas wells are 9% more expensive than wells that produce oil, and costs vary widely by state. Surface characteristics also matter: each additional 10 feet of elevation change in the 5-acre area surrounding the well raises costs by 3%. Finally, we find that contracting in bulk pays: each additional well per contract reduces decommissioning costs by 3% per well. These findings suggest that regulators can adjust bonding requirements to better match the characteristics of each well.
Designing Climate Mitigation Policy Aldy, Joseph E.; Krupnick, Alan J.; Newell, Richard G. ...
Journal of economic literature,
12/2010, Letnik:
48, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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This paper provides (for the nonspecialist) a highly streamlined discussion of the main issues, and controversies, in the design of climate mitigation policy. The first part of the paper discusses ...how much action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the global level is efficient under both the cost-effectiveness and welfare-maximizing paradigms. We then discuss various issues in the implementation of domestic emissions control policy, instrument choice, and incentives for technological innovation. Finally, we discuss alternative policy architectures at the international level.
Inactive oil and gas wells present an environmental hazard if not properly plugged. Upon drilling a well, operators are required to post a bond, which ensures that the operator has an incentive to ...plug and abandon (P&A) at the end of the well’s life, and that, if the state is left with the liability of managing “orphaned” wells, it can cover the cost of P&A. Using data from 13 state agencies on their orphaned well plugging expenditures, we provide new estimates of P&A costs in the United States and compare them to bond amounts. Current state bonding requirements are insufficient to cover the average P&A cost of orphan wells in 11 of these 13 states. These should be reviewed and revised where necessary. We also examine the factors influencing P&A costs using detailed data on orphaned wells in Kansas. Given the variability of P&A costs, bonds would be more effective if they varied by factors that are meaningful in explaining P&A costs, such as well depth, location, and proximity to groundwater. State regulators can use the statistical approach developed in this paper to improve bonding requirements and to better predict the P&A costs of their orphaned wells.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies can provide ancillary benefits in terms of short-term improvements in air quality and associated health benefits. Several studies have analyzed the ancillary ...impacts of GHG policies for a variety of locations, pollutants, and policies. In this paper we review the existing evidence on ancillary health benefits relating to air pollution from various GHG strategies and provide a framework for such analysis.
We evaluate techniques used in different stages of such research for estimation of: (1) changes in air pollutant concentrations; (2) avoided adverse health endpoints; and (3) economic valuation of health consequences. The limitations and merits of various methods are examined. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for ancillary benefits analysis and related research gaps in the relevant disciplines.
We found that to date most assessments have focused their analysis more heavily on one aspect of the framework (e.g., economic analysis). While a wide range of methods was applied to various policies and regions, results from multiple studies provide strong evidence that the short-term public health and economic benefits of ancillary benefits related to GHG mitigation strategies are substantial. Further, results of these analyses are likely to be underestimates because there are a number of important unquantified health and economic endpoints.
Remaining challenges include integrating the understanding of the relative toxicity of particulate matter by components or sources, developing better estimates of public health and environmental impacts on selected sub-populations, and devising new methods for evaluating heretofore unquantified and non-monetized benefits.
Highlights • Vaccinations can have important non-health consequences for productivity and economic well-being. • Value of statistical life (VSL) is a measure of willingness to pay for small ...reductions in the probability of death through interventions such as vaccines. • Typical health measures like DALYs and QALYs do not capture the full long term benefits of vaccines. • VSL can be used as complement to DALYs and QALYs to better inform priority setting across vaccines.
Public discourse suggests a lack of consensus in the United States regarding the environmental impacts of shale gas development. Newly available shale gas has reduced the cost of electricity and ...heating and replaced coal, but public fears about the environment threaten to curtail those gains. We designed the first survey-based analysis of the views of government, industry, academic, and nongovernmental experts to identify their priorities for regulation and voluntary action among 264 routine and 14 accidental environmental risk “pathways.” We find that nongovernmental experts select many more problems but that there is considerable agreement on the most important ones, which can guide research, policies, and practices so that shale gas benefits continue and environmental impacts are limited.
Controversy over the value of statistical life (VSL) centers on whether a single value should be applied to all age groups, as currently done by US government agencies, or whether lower values should ...be used for the elderly, recognizing that their life expectancies are shorter than those of younger people. Surveys of different age groups' willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality-risk reductions can potentially help resolve this issue.This paper reports on an analysis of this survey literature. Of some 36 studies reviewed, the literature is split on whether older people have a lower WTP for mortality-risk reductions. Even among the studies that find such a discount, its size varies widely. A simple statistical analysis of this literature reveals that larger samples and samples with a higher fraction of older people are significantly associated with finding this effect, suggesting that conducting a larger, more thorough study may help resolve this issue. The paper also raises the possibility that the WTP estimated when all factors related to age are allowed to vary may be more useful to policy than the WTP estimated when all such factors are held constant. A clear finding is that there is no evidence to support use of a uniform value of statistical life year. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.
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