Gloria Wenman's article, "Hydraulic Fracturing: Considerations for Planners," appears in APA's Winter 2013 edition of The New Planner. The online quarterly publication is by and for students and new professional members.

The article is excerpted from a policy paper written for Scott Spak’s Environmental Policy Class during the Spring 2012 semester. The criteria for the paper was that it describe an emerging environmental policy issue, be suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed policy journal or law review. The course guidelines stated the students had to cover: the rationale for regulation on a scientific basis, proposed ethical and risk management approaches and rationale for their application; an explanation of existing regulation(s) and processes; proposed modifications to the regulatory text and process or new regulations; regulatory authority and roles; potential economic, political, and environmental impacts (costs and benefits) of regulation and its absence; and the effects on routine planning activities by regional and municipal planning organizations and state agencies. The original paper was peer reviewed by Gloria's fellow student, Jeremy Endsley, who gave such excellent recommendations that the paper went from being a moderately good paper to one that merited a request from Dr. Spak to submit for publishing as a primer for fellow planners.

Gloria enjoyed this process very much and would like to thank both Dr. Spak and Jeremy for their contributions. What started out as a paper for a grade is turning into an area of interest for her.