California Needs to Call Time-Out on Fracking by Damon Nagami Oil and gas drilling has expanded at a breakneck pace nationwide in recent years as a controversial extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has allowed companies to reach previously inaccessible deposits. Unfortunately, safeguards have not kept pace. The oil and gas industry is operating with unprecedented exemptions from bedrock federal laws to protect communities, health and the environment — the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and toxic waste laws. And states have failed to fill in those gaps. As a result, every community where fracking is taking place has become a battleground. California is no exception. Millions here are living with the reality or threat of fracking or other harmful extraction methods in their communities. The threat is growing as oil companies look to further exploit the Monterey Shale formation, which stretches hundreds of square miles from Northern to Southern California. Yet, despite regulatory legislation the state passed last year, there are not sufficient safeguards to ensure California’s residents,
drinking water, air and communities are protected. In fact, Californians still face uncertainty about where fracking is happening in the state. The best path forward for California would be a statewide moratorium to give officials time to fully evaluate the risks and how to protect against them. That’s something polling shows a majority of Californians support. And it’s something the State of New York has already done.
Locals Act on Concerns About Water, Air and More Unwilling to wait for the state to act, however, local governments are increasingly taking their fracking fate into their own hands. Joining a growing nationwide trend, California communities — from the cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Culver City to Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and more — have been exercising their local authority to restrict or halt fracking. Why? The reasons include concerns about water, air quality and seismic activity. continued on page 31
Damon Nagami is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, based in the organization’s Santa Monica office. He can be reached at dnagami@nrdc.org.
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Western City, September 2014
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