TALLAHASSEE — Florida State University College of Law Professor Hannah Wiseman has co-authored a national report released today that explores state regulation of shale gas development. The report, The State of State Shale Gas Regulation, describes, analyzes, and compares 25 regulatory elements related to shale gas development across 31 states. It is the most comprehensive review to date of state shale gas regulations.

Professor Wiseman collaborated for two years with Washington, DC-based Resources for the Future (RFF) on the project. She helped RFF locate the regulations that apply to the many stages of development in 31 states and to assess variability and dynamism within these regulations. This collaborative research produced the recently released report and regulatory maps, which allow viewers to quickly compare regulations among states. The maps, an executive summary of the report, and the full report are available at http://www.rff.org/shalemaps.

“Working with skilled economists and other experts on shale gas issues has been very rewarding,” said Wiseman. “Developing a shale gas well requires many stages, such as seismic exploration, drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and waste disposal, and all of these stages are, to varying degrees, regulated by state agencies. Making sense of this complex array of directives and identifying gaps in and differences among the regulations has been one of my core research priorities, and RFF made it happen.”

Professor Wiseman is a national expert on hydraulic fracturing. Her research explores the role of public law in protecting the character of living spaces and environmental quality, from the sublocal to the national level.