! that!prompt!enforcement!actions!in!most!states!and!the!small!sizes!of!most!of!the!fines!that!are! levied.397! ! These!characteristics!of!regulatory!practice!in!many!states!could!be!evidence!of!regulatory! capture!–!or!it!could!be!due!to!more!legitimate!reasons!such!as!the!necessity!of!having!industry! insiders!represented!among!regulatory!officials!due!to!the!technical!expertise!that!they! contribute!and!a!regulatory!strategy!of!working!collaboratively,!rather!than!confrontationally,! with!industry.!!Enforcement!data!too!could!be!a!reflection!of!the!cooperative!regulatory! strategy!that!states!generally!employ!and!it!could!also!be!an!artifact!of!the!sharp!increase!in! drilling!activity!in!recent!years!combined!with!budgetary!constraints!that!state!governments! face.! ! Ultimately,!the!author!is!unable!to!determine!whether!regulatory!capture!has!occurred!in! some,!all,!or!none!of!the!states.!!As!is!illustrated!in!Table!1,!in!Chapter!3,!which!summarizes!the! presence!of!state!regulation!at!each!stage!of!the!shale!gas!development!process,!almost!all!of! states!reviewed!in!this!paper!have!promulgated!regulations!covering!almost!all!of!the!stages!of! the!shale!gas!development!process.!!As!noted,!while!some!commentators!have!raised!questions! about!the!presence!of!industry!representatives!amongst!regulatory!officials!and!have!argued! that!current!enforcement!practices!are!inadequate!to!protect!public!and!environmental! wellbeing,!these!practices!could!be!in!place!because!of!the!regulatory!strategy!that!states! employ!–!ultimately,!a!result!of!policy!preference!as!opposed!to!regulatory!capture.! ! Further!research!needs!to!be!conducted!on!the!question!of!capture,!particularly!when!it!comes! to!regulatory!enforcement!by!the!states.!!The!divergence!between!regulations,!as!they!are! written,!and!regulations,!as!they!are!enforced,!is!striking!and!the!causes!of!this!divergence! merit!investigation.!!Until!such!research!is!conducted,!however,!and!the!findings!indicate!that! industry!has!captured!state!regulatory!agencies,!the!federal!government!should!err!on!the!side! of!allowing!the!states!to!continue!exercising!primary!regulatory!authority,!not!least!because!of! the!various!arguments!in!favor!of!state!regulation!articulated!above.! ! Conclusion+ In!the!American!federalist!system,!regulatory!authority!over!shale!gas!development!could!be! exercised!by!either!the!federal!government!or!the!states.!!This!analysis!took!a!level\neutral! approach!to!ask!whether,!considering!the!particular!characteristics!of!shale!gas!development! and!the!capacities!and!capabilities!of!federal!environmental!regulators!and!state!environmental! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 397
!Mike!Soraghan,!“Oil!and!Gas:!Puny!Fines,!Scant!Enforcement!Leave!Drilling!Violators!with!Little!to! Fear.”!
Chapter!5!–!Regulatory!Federalism!
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