Member Highlight: FracTracker Alliance
Oil and gas development is a major issue across the country and something the Coalition has prioritized in our work. With issues like pipeline development and fracking in the news almost everyday, it is important now more than ever for the Coalition to be kept up-to-date on the threats we face. This is why we are excited to welcome FracTracker Alliance to the Choose Clean Water Coalition! Read on to learn how their expertise and tools may be able to help you in your future work!
Tell us about your organization and your mission:
FracTracker Alliance studies, maps, and communicates the risks of oil and gas development to protect our planet and support the renewable energy transformation. We got our start as a project of the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. Now a registered 501(c)3, FracTracker has offices in Camp Hill, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Washington, DC; Cleveland, OH; Ithaca, NY; and Oakland, CA.
As our tagline – insights empowering action – suggests, our work in communities aids local groups with information critical to their fights against the impacts of extreme energy extraction. We examine impacts and risks related to oil and gas wells, injection wells, pipelines, sand mines, landfills, refineries, and many other types of energy infrastructure. More recently, we have begun to investigate the data and opportunities that surround renewable energy. Learn more at fractracker.org.
What is one of your current projects you are the most excited about?
This spring we released a major update to our free mobile FracTracker app for tracking oil and gas development activities and associated impacts. We have been working on the update for some time, and I’m very excited to see it get off the ground. Oil and gas infrastructure - from wells to pipelines to refineries - has a variety of ways of affecting the communities and environment that surround it. The app facilitates the documentation and sharing of these experiences with others, serving as a tracking tool for reporters, residents, researchers, and groups concerned about the deleterious effects of this industry. In addition to an improved oil and gas map showing active wells and pipelines across the country, we have added an activity feed and a profile feature into the mobile app.
In the next few months we will be working with a variety of partners to crowdsource oil and gas infrastructure and impacts using the app. In Maryland, for example, we are partnering with a local non-profit this fall to help residents document health concerns. With National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) we hope to work with volunteers to document oil and gas pipeline risks and impacts along the Appalachian Trail, similar to work we did with NPCA in 2016 in Mesa Verde National Park. You can learn more about the app on our website: fractracker.org/apps
What issue area do you hope to focus on more of in the future?
FracTracker has covered oil and gas pipeline and pipeline rights-of-way issues, but we think the topic deserves even more of our attention. We hope to collaborate with more regional organizations to provide mapping and analyses that will benefit their advocacy and policy objectives. We also plan to look into ways we can highlight renewable energy opportunities so people better understand that there are safer, cleaner, and accessible alternatives to fossil fuels. Our mobile app may be a helpful tool in many of these exercises.
What do you hope to gain from being a member of the Coalition?
The Coalition is packed with talented, committed organizations doing impressive work to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In some cases, we may be able to supplement their work with the technical resources we provide, but we can also share and disseminate their successes or findings through guest blog posts and other means. Working in partnership, we know much can be accomplished. Through the Coalition, we can broaden our relationships, assist other groups, and aggregate knowledge to inform and inspire many.
For more information on the FracTracker Alliance, contact Sam Rubright.