Licenses for shale gas exploration in Poland have been issued since 2007, reaching its peak in 2012 (over 100), to drop to only 27 in December 2016. The highest number of drills was performed in 2012 (24) but it dropped to 7 in 2015. Then, once the global oil and gas prices sunk in 2015, shale gas exploration were no more economically attractive for companies, and these projects disappeared from their portfolios. Despite this downward trend, the number of wells (72) is still higher in Poland than in any other European country. Thus, it constitutes an interesting case for the investigation of institutional responses to challenges of governance of shale gas exploration.
We are going to focus on the environmental public agencies’ struggles to classify – and thus, make manageable – post-fracking waste. Both experts and environmental activists identified safe disposal of waste produced in the process of hydraulic fracturing as one of the most serious concerns in terms of risks for the environment and human health. In Poland, reported by the media cases of negligent waste disposal into rivers or abandoned fields made local activists more aware of this risks. However, so far, the environmental agencies did not make the decision to classify as industrial or communal waste. This classification is crucial for the stable and standardized procedures of waste disposal.
At the same time, the rigorous procedures regarding waste disposal may significantly raise the costs of the process of gas production and even render the investment unprofitable. Thus, the foreknowledge about the procedures and regulations is needed both for the public and the companies. What is more, the division of costs of waste disposal between the corporation and the public institutions is one of the important part of the “social contract”, deciding about the share of risks, costs and benefits between the state, local community, and the firm.
Basing on the analysis of interviews with experts and administration officials about post-fracking waste, we are going to present what challenges they faced to inscribe post-fracking waste in bureaucratic system of waste governance in Poland. Additionally, we are going to reflect on the consequences of this “organized irresponsibility” for the dynamic of communication between stakeholders, i.e. company representatives, local communities representatives, and public administration.