The Aspen Institute

The 2015 Modern Shale Gas and Oil Production Forum, “Regulation, Conversation, and Impact of Shale Gas and Oil in a Low Price Environment,” convened about 60 invited energy leaders, including regulators from leading producing states and representatives from industry and the environmental community. The discussions covered a broad range of environmental and community effects related to shale gas and oil production, including water use and availability, surface and groundwater contamination, air emissions, land use impacts, induced seismicity, and local nuisance issues. The Forum also benefited this year from a meeting of state regulators that took place in the days immediately preceding the Forum. The focus of this meeting was to discuss the concept of a regulatory consultation and assessment process to promote continual regulatory improvement – an idea initially discussed during the 2014 Modern Shale Gas and Oil Production Forum.