Contentious Baselining: The Politics of “Pre-Drilling” Environmental Measures in Shale Gas Territory

• In Event: 3146 - Regular Session on Rural Sociology

Abstract

Baselining--the process of establishing prior environmental conditions--can be a form of contentious politics that has significant implications for the distribution of power and authority in environmental disputes. In the case of Marcellus Shale natural gas development, baseline measures of water quality data have become highly valued by scientists, regulators, and the general public. Power struggles play out through baselining processes, as drilling companies and their critics dispute whether water quality problems were present before gas drilling began. Laws governing water quality have led some baselining efforts to be collective and public-spirited (such as volunteer water monitoring) while others are private and secretive (such as well water testing). This case study brings visibility to baselining as an arena of political struggle and suggests the need for alternative governance processes in which conflicting values and interests could be more openly deliberated.

Author

• Abby J. Kinchy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute