Crime, homelessness and neglect. Are these the hidden costs of development?

Not entirely, but years of boom and bust economic cycles have had an erosive effect on the quality of life for some Basin residents. And some experts suggest that the resulting uneven distribution of social and economic groups in the Basin could threaten the unprecedented growth of recent years.

“To promote stable growth we need to assess our overall community health,” said Rob Behunin, director of the Uintah Impact Mitigation Special Service District. “To do that, a $40,000 socioeconomic study of new development’s impact will be undertaken by USU-Uintah Basin.”

Speaking before a joint session of Vernal and Uintah County last month, Behunin asked officials for their input on the design of the study.

“To remain economically competitive and meet the demands of a future workforce, we will need to build a healthy community infrastructure,” Behunin explained.

The USU study will measure the impacts of periodic growth and identify socioeconomic gaps in the community. Where these pitfalls occur and how they can be avoided will be a critical aspect of strategic planning for the Basin’s future.

Criteria like population change, access to services, higher education rates, employment and income standards will be compiled by the study.

Education

In 2000, the US Census Bureau described the county populous as more than one third under 18 years of age. At that time, at least 80 percent of adults in the county described themselves as high school graduates.

Since then, the number of residents younger than 18 has grown to nearly 40 percent and so has the number of adult without a high school degree. The present dropout rate – now hovering near 7 percent in Uintah District – has increased substantially from around 4 percent at the start of the decade.

“An honest appraisal of the dropout rate is needed,” said Vernal Councilwoman JoAnn Cowan, who also sits on the the Uintah School Board. “Not the sugar-coated one that we’d like to see.”

Criteria relating to dropout rates such as income, minority status, or distance of travel or other measures will be integrated into the study.

Income

The rise in the dropout rate is attributed in part to oil field wages. The University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research stated that in 2006 the “average wage paid by companies in the oil and gas extraction industry was $84,795.” That’s 54 percent higher than the average non-field wage in Uintah County and 59 percent than wages in Duchesne County.

Residents are attracted to these kinds of wages, especially young people whose previous employment opportunities were low-paying and largely seasonal. The boom has brought long-term job opportunities with reasonably high wages.

However, opportunities are not there for every one. Aspects of age, travel distance, physical ability or health has left some persons outside the boom. The disparity in wages for persons left behind by the boom and access to other employment will be counted in the study.

Housing affordability

With near full employment in the area the energy industry has had to augment their workforce from the outside. This has worsened the situation for those already under-served, particularly in terms of housing affordability.

Rents along with housing prices have tilted in favor of the higher paid employees to the exclusion of others. Once affordable rents have tripled and quadrupled, forcing some people out.

“We need a thorough assessment of housing costs throughout the Basin,” said Sonja Norton, Vernal City council member.

Population growth has stressed existing housing facilities to the maximum. Typically, rural communities lack access to multi-family housing units like apartments, duplexes or townhouses.

The influx of temporary labor often brings in single workers rather than families. USU’s study will show whether single family dwellings house multiple individuals or families related to the workforce.

Demographics

Officials encouraged Behunin to measure poverty levels brought about by demographic changes. The impact of long hours and tight production schedules stress not only workers but families as well. Criteria such as divorce rates, incidents of child or adult abuse, mental health statistics, suicide rates and teen pregnancies may all be measures of community health.

That includes incidents of juvenile and adult crime, potentially associated with the boom. Increased use of meth among fieldhands points to an industry-wide problem. Most contractors provide substance abuse education for employees, but drug crime is not restricted to the field.

Law enforcement statistics and courts records are measures of the history of crime in the area. These data can also identify inequities and potential impacts among groups, such as adding more drug education programs in schools.

The study will map where economic prosperity occurs, where it lags and how the social well-being of the Basin can be improved for all residents.