Midwest Energy News – In mid-October, a trio of shale drilling states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — signed an agreement to grow the natural gas industry on a regional level, focusing on job training, infrastructure and other areas. Read
As that tri-state connection forms, a grassroots network of independent policy organizations and research groups located within the affected region are shaping a more holistic dialogue about the long-term consequences of hydraulic fracturing.
The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, with member groups in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, monitors economic development and the community impacts of energy extraction in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Affiliates of the coalition, launched in 2013, include the Fiscal Policy Institute (New York), Policy Matters Ohio, Keystone Research Center/Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Commonwealth (Virginia) Institute for Fiscal Analysis, and West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.