| Although the shale gas development has ignited the U.S Energy revolution, the increased shale gas production and related industrial activities may result in various potential risks, especially for the local communities in the Eagle Ford Shale (EFS) region. Because the infrastructure is not good enough to support the rapid growth in most of EFS counties, there may be a lack of a comprehensive risk management plan in this region for potential risks related to oil and gas industry. In this research, an extensive study has been conducted to develop a community risk evaluation plan for oil and gas related activities, and the EFS region is used as a case study. The methodology consists of systematic approach to quantify and grade risks that prevail in the community. The factors triggering the risks have been evaluated, and a detailed description of the procedures, strategies and techniques formulated to create the risk evaluation model has been provided and the concepts are further analyzed on social, environmental and economic fronts.;The results denoted the highest potential risks faced by the communities, risk assessment strategies and the readiness of the counties in the region. A few suggestions have been proposed in the chapter of Conclusions to help moderate the impact of risks on the community, following a realistic and reproducible approach. |
