In the News Fracking Bills Focus on Oversight, Safety


Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the controversial process of extracting previ- ously unreachable underground petroleum deposits, is the focus of proposed new laws in the California Legislature as members aim to ensure the practice is properly overseen by the state.


“There is an emerging national consensus on the basic assurances the public needs around fracking operations,” said Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, in a written statement. “From chemical disclosure, to notifi cation, to water quality monitoring and an independent health study, this legislation brings the transparency and accountabil- ity needed in order to protect our air and water supply.” Fracking uses a high-pressure injection of a mix of fl uids and substances into a well that cracks the reservoir rock, allowing oil or natural gas to fl ow back to the well. Fracturing the rock is necessary to extract oil or natural gas from formations in which the pore space in the rock making up the oil or natural gas reservoir is too tight to allow the fl ow of fl uids or gasses to the well. Without an induced fracture, the oil or gas cannot be recovered (Read more about fracking in the September/ October 2012 issue of Western Water). Under current law, authorization from the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) must be obtained before an oil or gas well is drilled. The state evaluates proposed well construction and authorizes the depth and type of the well, which allows a well operator to con- duct fracking activities, as long as the well meets regular mechanical integrity tests. DOGGR has issued a draft rule for fracking that would require operators to evaluate the integrity of the well and provide notice before fracking, monitor the well during fracking and publicly disclose certain information when fracking is complete. Pavley’s SB 4 would require companies to obtain a state-issued permit to frack, and to notify neighboring property owners 30 days ahead of time. It also says they must disclose to the state all of the chemicals they use to frack in a particular location. The bill allows industry to claim trade secret protection for chemicals under specifi c circumstances. SB 4 passed the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on a 6-2 vote April 9.


AB 669 by Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Monterey, would require a regional water quality control board to approve an operator’s wastewater disposal plan before drilling. “Fracking potentially exposes Californians’ water supply to toxic chemicals,” Stone said in a statement. “Currently, there’s little governmental oversight to ensure that our groundwater supply doesn’t get contaminated by the large volume of toxic wastewater fracking produces.”


Assemblymembers Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, Holly Mitchell, D-


Culver City, and Adrin Nazarian, D-East San Fernando Valley, have introduced bills that would that would halt fracking until the state determines whether and under what conditions fracking can be done without threatening human health and the environment.


Such bills are “nonstarters for us,” wrote Tupper Hull, spokesman for the


Western State Petroleum Association, in an e-mail. “There are other measures that deal with reporting and disclosure that may have some merit,” he continued. “But our view is we should allow the [DOGGR] rulemaking process come to conclusion before we start talking about even more regulations.” Committee hearings on the bills are underway. They must pass their house of origin by May 31. ❖


– Gary Pitzer March/April 2013 3


Whe e We Are April 30


Anne J. Schneider Foundation Lecture Presentation


Anne J. Schneider Foundation, sponsor Professor Joseph Sax, UC Berkeley Law School, speaker Sacramento, CA


May 6 Water Education Foundation Board of Directors Meeting Bill Mills, President Sacramento, CA


May 7-9 Water Education Foundation Exhibit ACWA Conference Sacramento, CA


May 8-9 Project WET Workshop Twin Rivers USD


Brian Brown, California Project WET Coordinator McClellan, CA


May 11


Project WET Facilitator’s Training Chico Creek Nature Center Brian Brown, California Project WET Coordinator Chico, CA


May 15 State Scientist’s Day California Dept. of Water Resources Brian Brown, CA Project WET Coordinator Sacramento, CA


May 16-17 Water Education Foundation Flood Management Tour Renée Cashmere, Tour Director Sacramento, CA


June 12-14 Water Education Foundation Bay-Delta Tour Renée Cashmere, Tour Director Sacramento, CA


Read our 2012 Annual Report, www.watereducation.org


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