Wastewater and Shale Formation Development

Sheila Olmstead, PhD, joined the LBJ School as an associate professor of public affairs in 2013. Before joining the LBJ School, Olmstead was a Fellow (2010-2013) and Senior Fellow (2013) at Resources for the Future in Washington, DC, as well as an assistant professor of environmental economics at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (2002–2007) and an associate professor (2007–2010), where she was the recipient of three teaching awards. Dr. Olmstead is an environmental economist whose current research projects examine the environmental externalities associated with shale gas development in the United States, regulatory avoidance under the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act, the influence of federal fire suppression policy on land development in the American West, and free-riding in dam placement and water withdrawals in transboundary river basins. She has worked extensively on the economics of water resource management, focusing on water demand estimation, water conservation policy, and access to drinking water services among low-income communities. Climate and energy policy are additional topics of her research, especially with regard to the application of market-based environmental policy instruments.

Introduction. Part I: Water Use and Wastewater Production in Shale Gas Development. Part 2: Potential Environmental Effects of Fracking Wastewater. Part 3: The Quest for Mitigation. Part 4: Fracking Wastewater Regulations. Index.