To: The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom
Full disclosure on fracking sites and practices
Fracking has been known to seep dangerous chemicals into the earth, contaminating water supplies and causing potential health risks to those exposed. Additionally, fracking practices also increase the possibility for earthquakes, causing them to occur in states not typically prone to them. We demand that the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources establish regulatory practices to force oil and natural gas companies to fully disclose fracking sites in the state.
Why is this important?
While useful as a tool for extracting oil and natural gas from the earth, the process of horizontal drilling into unconventional oil and natural gas reservoirs – hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” – has been known to release dangerous chemicals (proppants) into the ground, exposing water supplies to contamination. These chemicals, in turn, pose both environmental risks by causing earthquakes or in the individual level by potentially affecting the brain and nervous system, the immune and cardiovascular system, or even causing cancer in people exposed to contaminated water.
While the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“Division”) imposes requirements for the construction of oil and gas wells, it does not require notification to the Division when hydraulic fracturing occurs and a gap exists in the information oil and natural gas companies provide to the Division about hydraulic fracturing operations and steps taken to protect the environment.
In an attempt to close this gap, we as Californian’s demand that the Division instill a regulatory process that holds oil and natural gas companies accountable for fully disclosing fracking sites within the state, as well as in providing information to the public about the chemicals being pumped into the earth.
While the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“Division”) imposes requirements for the construction of oil and gas wells, it does not require notification to the Division when hydraulic fracturing occurs and a gap exists in the information oil and natural gas companies provide to the Division about hydraulic fracturing operations and steps taken to protect the environment.
In an attempt to close this gap, we as Californian’s demand that the Division instill a regulatory process that holds oil and natural gas companies accountable for fully disclosing fracking sites within the state, as well as in providing information to the public about the chemicals being pumped into the earth.