On December 11, 2014, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will host a public workshop to discuss and seek input on the development of model criteria for groundwater monitoring related to oil and gas well stimulation treatments, including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The workshop will be the third in a series of public meetings designed to assist the State […]
Three environmental groups sued California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) earlier this week, contending that DOGGR’s issuance of more than 200 oil drilling permits violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The suit (pdf) charges DOGGR with “turning a blind eye” to the claimed risks associated with oil drilling and associated hydraulic […]
A proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the City of Los Angeles recently stalled in the Department of City Planning. The proposed ban arose from a pair of motions adopted by the City Council earlier this year. The first motion, sponsored by Council Members Paul Koretz and Mike Bonin and adopted on February 28 […]
Yesterday, the California Department of Conservation (DOC) and its Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) released a second set of revisions to the proposed regulations that will govern hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The revisions and the associated public notice are available here (pdf) and here (pdf), respectively. SB 4, California’s landmark legislation governing […]
Today, the California Department of Conservation (DOC) and its Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) released additional “emergency” regulations governing the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other well stimulation activities. The proposed regulations may be found here, and the accompanying Notice of Proposed Emergency Rulemaking Action may be found here. These […]
Today, the California Department of Conservation (DOC) and its Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) released the text of proposed regulations (pdf) that will govern the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state. The release of the proposed regulations formally commences the rulemaking process (see our post here), and was accompanied […]
As previously noted here on the blog, Hinson Gravelle & Adair LLP attorney Eric Adair recently spoke at LSI’s hydraulic fracturing conference in Santa Monica. Mr. Adair’s topic was “Update on Regulatory Initiatives and Activities at the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).” The two-day conference brought together a variety of speakers and […]
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will continue in California for the foreseeable future as three moratorium bills pending in the Assembly — AB 649, AB 1301, and AB 1323 — recently went down to defeat. While each bill differed in its particulars, the practical effect of each would have been to impose a moratorium on fracking […]
On May 17, 2013, the California Department of Conservation (Conservation) and its Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) issued the following update on the status of the draft regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, currently under development: The California Department of Conservation and its Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources conducted five […]
On April 9, 2013, we reported (here) on allegations that Vintage Production California had improperly disposed of wastes from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, into a sump at a well near Shafter, California. Those allegations, which stemmed from a YouTube video, led to an order (pdf) from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Board). That […]