Today, California Assembly Member Betsy Butler proposed legislation that would impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state pending adoption of regulations governing the oil and gas drilling practice. The new bill, Assembly Bill 972, would add two new sections to the state’s Public Resources Code. The first, Section 3017, would provide […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced three settlements totalling more than $6.6 million to help pay for groundwater cleanup at the South El Monte portion of the San Gabriel Valley Area 1 Superfund Site in Los Angeles. EPA has recovered a total of $25 million for the South El Monte cleanup, with the latest $6.6 […]
On May 30, California’s Department of Conservation will conduct the second in a series of seven public workshops to discuss hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The workshop will be held at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors chambers, 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, and is scheduled to run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Ventura workshop is expected […]
California’s Department of Conservation will conduct a series of workshops at locations throughout the state over the next three months to discuss hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The purpose of the workshops is to gather information as the Department considers the adoption of regulations governing fracking. Various news sources have reported on recent legislative action directed […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently added two Southern California sites to the National Priorities List. The newly-listed sites, located in South Gate, are the Southern Avenue Industrial Area site and the Jervis B. Webb Co. site. In a May 9 press release, EPA Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld said: These industrial plants are located in the […]
On May 4, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a proposed rule that would regulate the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” on federal and native American lands. The proposed rule, which can be found here, would (1) provide disclosure to the public of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing on public land and Indian land, (2) strengthen regulations […]
Late last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) filed an answer in an action challenging its sale of oil and gas leases in California. A copy of the answer may be found here. BLM’s answer was filed in a lawsuit on which we first reported in December. Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sierra Club, the lawsuit […]
In a letter published today in the Chico Enterprise-Record (and elsewhere), Tim Kustic, Director of California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOG), stated that concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, exaggerate the potential risks to California’s water supply, adding that “fracking has been used to stimulate [oil and gas] production in California for years without a single report of […]
Hydraulic Fracturing & Permitting – What You Need to Know About “Fracking” and What’s At Stake in California Friday, February 3, 2012, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Pacific Time. 1 Total Participatory MCLE Credits (No Ethics) The practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has dominated the environmental media landscape recently and with good reason: myths […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released draft findings of a ground water investigation conducted in Pavillion, Wyoming. The report is available here. According to an EPA release, “[t]he draft report indicates that ground water in the aquifer contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing.” Commenting on the investigation, Jim Martin, EPA’s regional […]