To: Brett Murdock, Mayor, City of Brea

Ban Extreme Oil & Gas Extraction Methods in Brea, California

Ban fracking, other unconventional extraction methods like acidizing, and wastewater injection wells in and around Brea. These technologies are not suitable for urban environments and pose serious health risks to residential neighborhoods as well as the Olinda Elementary School.

Why is this important?

Fracking and extreme oil extraction techniques like acidizing are taking place in and around Brea. These wells pose a direct threat to the safety and well-being of Brea residents. There are currently at least 24 cases of fracking and acidizing within Brea’s sphere of influence. The City of Brea owns fracking wells that are located just outside the Olinda Elementary School and near the new Sports Complex. There are more fracking wells in the Blackstone and Olinda Ranch Neighborhoods within a few feet of people’s homes.
Fracking is the process of injecting millions of gallons of water, sand, and tens of thousands of gallons of known toxic chemicals deep underground at extremely high pressures to blast open rock formation. This allows hard to reach oil and gas to flow more freely. Acidization is the process of using hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to stimulate wells as they melt rock layers that allow oil and gas to flow more freely. Hydrochloric and hydrochloric acid are air toxins that can cause illness and even fatalities if exposure is high enough.
Less is known about acidization because it is a newer technique and mainly employed in California, but fracking has a horrendous track record. Fracking has been linked to over 1,000 cases of water contamination including groundwater contamination in 4 states, increases in air pollution and smog, and finally fracking practices and waste disposal wells have been linked to earthquakes as large as a 5.7 in Oklahoma. Fracking is also exempt from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act making it impossible to hold the Oil & Gas Industry accountable to public health and the environment.
With the passing of SB4, the statewide fracking regulations bill, we still don’t have enough protections to ensure that the public health and environment will be safe from fracking. SB4 only requires the notification of fracking and disclosure of chemicals. It does nothing to protect ensure that fracking is safe for communities of the environment. This is why we need to take local action to ensure the safety and well-being of Brea residents.
This petition calls on the City of Brea to shut down their dangerous wells near schools and homes and to enact a permanent ban on all extreme and unconventional extraction methods as well as waste water injections wells within Brea City Limits.