For decades, Californians have been unaware of the prevalence of fracking within their state. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a process of injecting thousands of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals into the earth at extreme pressure and speed to extract natural gas and oil from underground shale deposits. This has caused a range of environmental issues, such as contaminated drinking water, polluted air, and animal deaths.
The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) initially claimed that fracking was not widely used in the state, but later revealed that it is used to stimulate production of oil and gas wells. This was further confirmed by a report released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which showed that fracking is far more common in California than the regulators had suggested. Monterey County is one of the many locations in the state where fracking has taken place.
For decades, fracking has been a common practice in at least six California counties. According to Bill Allayud, California Director of Governmental Affairs for the Environmental Working Group, Halliburton estimates that 50 to 60 percent of oil wells in Kern County are fracked. This is supported by a 2008 paper by Halliburton’s Pinnacle Technologies. Now, Denver-based oil company Venoco has been given the green light to use fracking technology in Hames Valley, Monterey County.
The Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is unable to regulate fracking due to budget constraints. As such, drillers are able to employ techniques such as fracking without additional reporting. To address this, California legislators have introduced a bill that would make the state’s fracking laws among the most stringent in the country. Last week, the bill passed off the Assembly floor and is now being sent to the state Senate committee for approval.
