EMLS Fracking Forum

Last Friday, the EMLS sponsored a live simulcast of a forum on hydraulic fracturing at the Appalachian School of Law. The forum was held at Case Western University, and featured some of the best legal minds from throughout the country. (Click here for more information about the forum.)

EMLS members and other students from the Appalachian School of Law provided some interesting onservations on the current state of the law. Some of the more interesting student observations are below, along with commentary from EMLS President Matthew Hardin:

"One of the things that surprised me in the seminar was the fact that in Washington County, Pa., property values have increased where fracking is taking place..."
              -Misti Napier-Burton, 2nd year law student from West Virginia

President Hardin responds: Hydraulic Fracturing provides economic benefits for property owners. Royalties are paid to property owners, usually based on the volume of natural gas produced from the wells. This payment system incentivizes production while encouraging the energy industry to eliminate any possibility for leaks. The environmental risks of fracking involve the possibility of fluids or gases escaping from the well casing, but everyone involved in the process has strong financial incentives to maintain well integrity. Hydraulic fracturing benefits everyone. Landowners see royalty payments and increased property values, energy companies make a profit and hire additional workers, and the US becomes more energy independent every day due to this technology.

"Could you explain to me how fracking will eliminate nuclear plants, as the opening speaker stated?"
              -Sherra Kissee, 2nd year law student from Missouri, EMLS Treasurer

President Hardin responds: Fracking has driven the price of natural gas down. Nuclear power was already among the most expensive means of energy production, prior to the natural gas boom which is now underway across the United States. Twenty years ago, some energy analysts predicted that natural gas prices would skyrocket and nuclear power would become an economical option for power generation. Exactly the opposite has occured. Natural gas is cheaper and safer than nuclear power. The last nuclear power plant in the U.S. opened in 1974, and it is difficult to imagine another being built in the coming years due to both economic and political factors. Why build a nuclear plant when clean-burning natural gas is abundant and cheap?