ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study of Pennsylvania in the United States (US). Pennsylvania is a state rich in natural resources, including the largest shale gas formation, the Marcellus Shale, in the US. Estimates are that the Marcellus Shale can provide national energy security as well as economic growth for the state, particularly in the largely rural areas where gas drilling activity is concentrated. The state has a long history of extraction, but the rapid expansion of the industry over recent years has triggered many concerns, particularly at the local scale with respect to environmental and social impacts. The Marcellus Shale Formation is a unit of sedimentary rock which lies beneath the Appalachian Mountain range across the states of Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland in the US. Approximately 64 per cent of Pennsylvania lies over the Marcellus Shale. Regulation of gas development in the Marcellus Shale crosses federal, state and local government levels.
