Assessing the Present and Future of Fracking Governance: Science, Expertise and Policy of Fracking in ColoradoÕs Denver Julesburg Basin

Assessing the Present and Future of Fracking Governance: Science, Expertise and Policy of Fracking in ColoradoÕs Denver Julesburg BasinThe shale oil and gas boom in the United States, which has been driven by advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, or fracking, has highlighted long term questions over the role that fracking should play in the energy transition, and short term questions over the public health and environmental impact of these extraction techniques. To address these questions, Colorado state government and regulators have had to collaborate and

The shale oil and gas boom in the United States, which has been driven by advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, or Òfracking,Ó has highlighted long term questions over the role that fracking should play in the energy transition, and short term questions over the public health and environmental impact of these extraction techniques. To address these questions, Colorado state government and regulators have had to collaborate and interact with industry and the scientific communities to assess the impacts. This dissertation examines both the long term and short term questions of fracking and the role that science and expertise play in decision-making. For his doctorate, David Oonk was advised by Max Boykoff, professor of environmental sciences and director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.