The Energy Gateway Communities
ENERGY GATEWAY COMMUNITIES - ABOUT THE PROJECT
Oil and Natural Gas
The onset of the 21st century coincided with significant increases in demand for energy world-wide. Within the U.S. higher prices spurred a wave of oil and natural gas (O&NG) activity on previously marginal fields or in areas of untapped potential. Many of these potential areas are found on the vast stretches of public lands. Recent figures estimate some 279 million acres of federal public land contain 31 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil and 321 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. For many economically depressed gateway communities increased O&NG activities on adjacent public lands has provided a much needed boost. Typical of these energy gateway communities was an inability in the late 20th century to make the transition to an economy based upon recreational tourism. This phase of the gateway community project explores the implications of the current energy extraction boom upon these towns as well as the adjacent public lands. It likewise analyzes the roles and performance capacity of regulatory agencies and industry.
The project seeks to answer several basic questions. First, what impact has escalation in O&NG activities had upon energy gateway community economies and citizen quality of life? Will energy gateway communities be able to balance economic growth pressures with citizen quality of life concerns? What new public-private and intergovernmental partnerships can gateway communities develop to mitigate changes resulting from the resurgent energy economy? Do current federal and state statutes provide policy guidelines sufficient to ensure public lands protection and gateway citizen safety? Likewise, do agency regulations allow for an expedited process of O&NG extraction and transportation? Do oversight agencies have authority and expertise sufficient to ensure protection and safety compliance during periods of heightened drilling activity? Can the O&NG industry avoid the negative impacts attributed to past resources extraction activities?