To some, it’s a rude word. But “fracking” is the oil industry’s term short for “hydraulic fracturing,” a method of collecting oil and natural gas by injecting high-pressure chemicals into the ground.
The Federal Bureau of Land Management recently leased 18,000 acres in Monterey for just this purpose amid fears from opponents of the effects of fracking in and around the earthquake-prone Bay Area.
Tuesday, Governor Jerry Brown proposed regulations to fracking, requiring companies to disclose the state of their plans 10 days prior to drilling, and then publish the plans online including a list of the chemicals used.
As with anything, there are potential positives and negatives to both the drilling itself and to the new legislation.
Opponents of fracking say chemicals being rocketed into our water tables could be harmful, potentially including “carcinogens and other toxic chemicals.” According to the Oakland Tribune, a documentary on the subject showed tap water being lit on fire after being polluted by nearby fracking.
Fracking, though, has driven natural gas prices down, which has increased jobs and decreased the amount utilities rely on coal.
Food & Water Watch, a group opposed to this type of drilling, says that fracking in California been unregulated for years, and we cannot be sure that these practices are at all safe without proper “regulatory oversight.”
So then, environmental groups should be happy with these new proposed regulations, right? Not exactly.
Food & Water Watch recently helped stage a protest at Crissy Field because they believe that these regulations would not do enough. Part of the demonstration was in protest of these regulations coming down on the side of big oil companies.
Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity echoed the same sentiment, telling the Trib:
“These draft regulations would keep California’s fracking shrouded in secrecy and do little to contain the many threats posed by fracking.”
These rules as suggested were part of a “discussion draft,” and will remain under revision during public hearings over the next year.
Editor’s note: The position and actions of nonprofit group Food & Water Watch were erroneously attributed to Save the Bay, a separate nonprofit, in the original version of this story. SFBay regrets the error.
Last modified December 26, 2012 1:08 pm
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A good journalist should check his sources. Hydraulic Fracturing did not cause the tap water in the film to catch fire. The natural gas in their tap water occurs naturally. The gas was tested and determined to not be from the the gas wells, but naturally occurring sources in the area.
Hydraulic Fracturing does not put Chemicals into the water table. The gas formation is thousands of feet below the water table. The drill must penatrate the water table to get to the gas, but like all wells these are cased in steel and cement before the use of high water pressure. If there was a path to the water table, hydraulic fracturing would not work, the excess pressure would bleed off and you would not be able to open the rocks in the formation and get the oil and gas out resulting in a waste of the $5 + MM investment. Millions of wells have been drilled without contaminating the water table. The Industry has established excellent guideline for safe and effective drilling and fracking.
This could be a huge benefit for the State of California and the United States. At one time California was the largest oil producer in the US. This could reduce the cost of gasoline in California benefiting every driver.
Don't let those that spread fear scare you with the very small possibilities of this or that. Low cost energy has done more to improve the quality of life for every American than any Government Policy. Allow capitalism to work.