In addition to these findings, we observe that the individual counties with the highest number of active wells by State in the Marcellus Shale region, that is, Carroll, OH Marshall, WV, and Bradford, PA have no routine air quality monitors. The increase in pollutant concentrations and potential onset of losses in Clean Air Act benefits started in the latter part of the 2000s, coincident with the onset of shale gas activities in the surrounding areas. We find a similar trend in Steuben County, New York in a forested area downwind of shale gas activities in PA, where ambient NO 2 concentrations have been increasing since 2008. In fact, some recent wintertime monthly average NO x concentrations have reached levels not observed since the implementation of the “Clean Air Interstate Rule” (CAIR) in 2009 (Figure 1). TTN air quality data indicates that at a monitor in Beaver County in western Pennsylvania, near several active wells in the Marcellus Shale region, monthly mean ambient NO x concentrations have been steadily increasing since 2010. However, in some areas a clear decrease is not evident and at a few locations the pollutant concentrations have been increasing in recent years. Ambient NO x (NO+NO 2) concentrations generally were decreasing since the mid 2000s in most Eastern U.S. An example is the Marcellus Shale Region of Western Pennsylvania where the amount of gas development activities has recently exploded (e.g., >6000 active wells in Pennsylvania alone). This improvement in air quality through reduction in ambient concentrations of a variety of criteria air pollutants represents a tremendous success of the Clean Air Act. (2) Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Technology Transfer Network (TTN) ( data downloaded on Septemand processed with R statistical software (3)), we find overall similar decreasing trends in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia for SO 2, CO, NO 2, NO x, and PM 2.5. (2012) find the rate of decrease in ambient NO 2 concentrations in the mid 2000s to be, on average, about 4.5% yr –1 for U.S. Throughout the United States, ambient concentrations of criteria pollutants have been decreasing in response to the implementation of the Clean Air Act. (1) The extent to which these increased emissions impact air quality, especially in highly developed shale gas regions where there are no air monitors represents a substantial data gap and hinders effective air quality management. Recently, air quality impacts have been measured in active oil and gas well areas. Discussion of the environmental impacts of these operations has largely focused on water quality issues, but air pollution is also an important potential impact due to emissions associated with drilling, extraction, and associated transportation activities. Primarily, gas production from horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing of shale and other low-porosity rock drives the favorable economics. The increased utilization of natural gas is driven by the supply and thus lower cost, which largely results from new advances in engineering techniques. ![]() ![]() is shifting to a greater reliance on natural gas to meet its energy needs, and a large part of this demand is being met by the development of shale gas formations.
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