Assessing, monitoring, and addressing boomtown impacts in the US: evaluating an existing public health model

Abstract

Identifying strategies for conducting impact assessment (IA) suited to unconventional fossil fuel (UFF) development, and practical opportunities to apply them, is an important activity given the continued importance of shale and other UFF energy resources. This paper offers a case study of an iterative public health planning process – Mobilizing Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) – that produced a version of integrated IA over a 10-year period in the Bakken region in the US. Through mixed qualitative methods, including focus groups, Ripple Effect Mapping and interviews, this study assessed the applicability of the MAPP process in the UFF development environment. The assessment draws on evaluation frameworks offered in theoretical and applied IA literatures. We found evidence to recommend MAPP as a possible solution to the lack of mandated, formal IA practices in UFF regions in the US based on three benefits: (1) MAPP aligns closely with IA best practices in form and approach; (2) our case study suggests that MAPP creates the for direct linkages between assessment, monitoring, and mitigation that are frequently absent in IA processes; and (3) participants in the process in our study note its utility in helping them negotiate the specific challenges of UFF development.

Keywords:

• Bakken
• boomtown
• social impacts
• integrated assessment
• public health
• MAPP

Notes

1. During boom periods from 2004–2008 and from 2009–2012, US onshore oil and gas regions such as the Bakken, the Permian and the Eagle Ford experienced average monthly increases in rig counts between 5 and 12. Each rig is associated with hundreds of employees not only in the crew, but the fracking crews and in-town support services. (U.S. Energy Information Administration 2017).

2. VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service for America (see https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista).