The National Academies' National Research Council (NRC) is preparing to undertake a preliminary review of the potential human and environmental risks of shale gas development, and in particular hydraulic fracturing, following concerns from advisers that risk studies by EPA and other agencies have failed to address the process as a whole.

The Supreme Court may be more inclined to consider whether the Superfund law unconstitutionally bars pre-enforcement judicial review in the wake of its recent unanimous holding that Clean Water Act (CWA) compliance orders are subject to pre-enforcement judicial review on statutory grounds, legal observers say.