WATERSHED KNOWLEDGE MAPPING PROJECT Abby Kinchy, Kirk Jalbert, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

WATERSHED KNOWLEDGE MAPPING PROJECT

Abby Kinchy, Kirk Jalbert, Simona Perry, Sarah Parks, and Elise Wilbourn Science and Technology Studies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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HOW ARE THE EFFECTS OF GAS DRILLING BEING MONITORED?

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• Produce a comprehensive database and map of efforts to monitor

watershed impacts of shale gas development in NY and PA.

• Identify regions and watersheds that may require greater monitoring

by governments, researchers, and the public.

• Explain why water monitoring efforts are unevenly distributed across

the region.

• Analyze the relationships and tensions between government,

academic, and private (volunteer) research efforts.

Objectives

THE SHALE GAS “BOOM”

• Shale gas is

accessible using:

• High-volume hydraulic

fracturing

• Horizontal drilling

Shale gas wells in NY and PA

• Create map of gas wells

To date, New York has not allowed the use of high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

Opposing views on shale gas

IMPACTS ON SURFACE WATER QUALITY

Both government agencies and non-government

• rganizations (mostly volunteers) are producing

environmental knowledge

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Water quality impacts of shale gas development

• Underground migration of methane and fluids
• Accidental and intentional releases of salty, hazardous

waste water into soil and streams

• Water withdrawals
• Spills of toxic chemicals used in drilling
• Increased runoff and sedimentation due to clearing of

forests, new roads

Surface water monitoring by government agencies

• Who monitors?
• US Geological Survey
• Multi-state river basin

commissions

• State environmental

agencies

• County conservation

districts

• Municipal water

authorities

• Limitations:
• Budget cuts
• Programs not designed

to monitor gas drilling impacts

• Headwaters and smaller

tributaries not typically monitored

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Survey of watershed protection groups

• Mailed to 219 non-governmental
• rganizations in NY and PA (all

known to be involved in watershed protection)

• 188 responses in total
• 76 are doing watershed monitoring of

some kind

• 24 monitoring effects of shale gas

development or gathering baseline data in anticipation of shale gas development

Typical volunteer monitoring group

• Budget: less than $1,000
• Indicators monitored: specific conductance, pH, temperature, visible

disturbances, benthic macroinvertebrates

• Frequency of monitoring: monthly (BMI less frequently)
• Time investment: 1-5 hours per month
• QA/QC: tool calibration, some split samples sent to a lab

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VOLUNTEERS ARE FILLING GAPS LEFT BY GOVERNMENT MONITORING PROGRAMS

Compare the next two maps

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VOLUNTEERS ARE MORE ACTIVE IN SOME REGIONS THAN OTHERS

Compare the two regions on the next map

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CONTINUING QUESTIONS

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WHY ARE GOVERNMENT MONITORING EFFORTS UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED?

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WHY DO SOME WATERSHEDS HAVE MORE VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY THAN OTHERS?

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HOW DOES THE PRESENCE OF VOLUNTEER MONITORS AFFECT THE GOVERNANCE OF THE GAS INDUSTRY?

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Research team

Abby J. Kinchy

Is an assistant professor in the RPI Science and Technology Studies department, and PI for the Watershed Knowledge Mapping Project. She specializes in the study of political controversies surrounding changes in the systems that produce food and

• energy. She received her PhD in

sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Simona Perry

Is a consultant working to develop dispute mechanisms to address social and environmental conflicts from energy development projects across North America. Simona was also a Mellon Post-Doctoral Scholar at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.

Kirk Jalbert

Is a third year doctoral student in the Science and Technology Studies Department at RPI, and research assistant for the Watershed Knowledge Mapping Project. Kirk’s research examines social and political tensions that arise when civil society groups use complex data to support local knowledge about polluting industries.

Sarah Parks

Is the president and founder of Amala Consulting, LLC, a consulting company specializing in geographic information systems (GIS). Sarah is also a PhD graduate from the RPI Ecological Economics Department.

Elise Wilbourn

Is a junior in the RPI Environmental Science program. Elise has assisted the Watershed Knowledge Mapping team throughout the entire data collection and analysis process.

Project funding

• Funding for the Watershed Knowledge Mapping Project is

provided by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences of the National Science Foundation (Award Number:1126235).

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