U.S. oil and natural gas production is on the rise, primarily driven by resources from tight formations. The United States surpassed Russia in 2009 as the world's largest natural gas producer. This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. Increased Tight Oil Production Raises Independence Possibility

The prospect of U.S. energy independence is grounded in the production growth from tight oil formations such as the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Montana and the Eagle Ford Formation in Texas. The United States added almost 1 million barrels per day (b/d) of oil production between 2012 and 2013 (see Figure 5 ). Potential direct risks may include impacts to groundwater and surface water quality, public and private water supplies, and air quality. In addition, some have raised concerns about potential long-term and indirect impacts from reliance on fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions and influence on broader energy economics. This report focuses primarily on measures to address potential direct impacts. The "hydraulic fracturing" debate also has been complicated by terminology. State groundwater protection officials have reported that development of shale gas and tight oil using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, in combination with directional drilling, has posed new challenges for the management and protection of water resources. Consequently, many of the major producing states have revised or are in the process of revising their oil and gas laws and regulations to respond to these advances in oil and natural gas production technologies and related changes in the industry. Some advocates of a larger federal role point to a wide range of differences in substance, scope, and enforcement among state regulatory regimes and assert that a national framework is needed to ensure a consistent baseline level of environmental and human health protection and transparency. Others, including many oil and gas states, argue against greater federal involvement and point to established state oil and gas programs and regulatory structures (which include a range of structures involving commissions, boards, or divisions within natural resource agencies working to varying degrees with, or within, state environmental agencies). In the 113 th Congress, as in recent Congresses, the federal role in regulating oil and gas production generally, and hydraulic fracturing specifically, was the subject of hearings, seminars, and legislation. Selected Federal Responses to Unconventional Resource Extraction

Provisions of several federal environmental laws and related regulations currently apply to certain activities associated with oil and natural gas production. While congressional debate has continued on legislative proposals, the Administration has been pursuing additional initiatives to regulate or otherwise manage activities related to unconventional oil and gas production. Additionally, some states require oil and gas operators on federal lands within their state to comply with various state rules; consequently, the debate over the federal role in regulating unconventional oil and gas production—and related concerns over possible overlapping, inconsistent, or duplicative rules—has extended to activities on federal lands. BLM does not provide for statewide exemptions from the hydraulic fracturing rule. In contrast to the above bills, several others proposed to expand federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing. Development of these resources has generated concern and debate over potential environmental and human health risks. These concerns have drawn scrutiny of regulatory regimes governing this industry and have led to calls for greater federal oversight of oil and gas development. Selected Federal Initiatives Related to Unconventional Oil and Gas Production
The United States has seen resurgence in petroleum production, mainly driven by technology improvements—especially hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling—developed for natural gas production from shale formations. Application of these technologies enabled natural gas to be economically produced from shale and other unconventional formations and contributed to the United States becoming the world's largest natural gas producer in 2009. Use of these technologies has also contributed to the rise in U.S. oil production over the last few years. In 2009, annual oil production increased over 2008, the first annual rise since 1991, and has continued to increase each year since. Between January 2008 and May 2014, U.S. monthly crude oil production rose by 3.2 million barrels per day, with about 85% of the increase coming from shale and related tight oil formations in Texas and North Dakota. Other tight oil plays are also being developed, helping raise the prospect of energy independence, especially for North America.
The rapid expansion of tight oil and shale gas extraction using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has raised concerns about its potential environmental and health impacts. These concerns include potential direct impacts to groundwater and surface water quality, water supplies, and air quality. In addition, some have raised concerns about potential long-term and indirect impacts from reliance on fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions and influence on broader energy economics. This report focuses mainly on actions related to controlling potential direct impacts.
States are the primary regulators of oil and gas production on non-federal lands. In recent years, many oil and gas producing states have revised laws and regulations governing oil and gas production in response to changes in production practices as producers have expanded into tight oil, shale gas, and other unconventional hydrocarbon formations. However, state rules vary considerably, leading to calls for more federal oversight of unconventional oil and gas extraction activities and hydraulic fracturing specifically.
Provisions of several federal environmental laws can apply to certain activities related to oil and gas production, and proposals to expand federal regulation in this area have been highly controversial. Some advocates of a larger federal role point to a wide range of differences among state regulatory regimes and argue that a national framework is needed to ensure a consistent minimum level of protection for surface and groundwater resources and air quality. Others argue against more federal involvement and point to the long-established state oil and natural gas regulatory programs, regional differences in geology and water resources, and concern over regulatory redundancy.
The federal role in regulating oil and gas extraction activities—and hydraulic fracturing, in particular—has been the subject of considerable debate and legislative proposals for several years, but legislation has not been enacted. While congressional debate has continued, the Administration has pursued a number of regulatory initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas development under existing statutory authorities.
This report focuses on the growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production driven primarily by tight oil formations and shale gas formations. It also reviews selected federal environmental regulatory and research initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas extraction, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule (finalized in March 2015) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions.