CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013, OR THEREAFTER
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“FRACKING: SENSIBLE REGULATION THE WAY
TO GO”
Fears abound as California faces the
reality that besides all its other natural wonders, it sits atop an
Arabian-sized oil and natural gas bonanza that can only be exploited via the
process of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking.
One fear is that when oil drillers
insert the mix of water, sand and chemicals used to force raw petroleum
products out of rock formations, they will pollute drinking water supplies and
water wells used by farmers atop the Monterey Shale formation. This rich
formation, containing an estimated 15 billion barrels of oil, stretches from
Monterey and San Benito counties south along the western side of the San
Joaquin Valley, roughly parallel to the Interstate 5 freeway.
So far, there is no evidence in
California to back the water pollution worries, although questions have been
raised near fracking operations in Wyoming.
Another fear is that that Gov. Jerry
Brown’s plan for two “peripheral tunnels” to help preserve the delta of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers while bringing more water south and aiding
endangered species is a Trojan horse. The real purpose, some say, is not to
slake the thirst of farmers or Southern and Central California cities, but to
provide massive amounts of water for use in fracking.
Then there’s the fear that massive new
oil and gas supplies emanating from California might destabilize the world’s
economic balance of power, bringing oil prices down as it makes the United
States the world’s largest oil producer by 2017. This could wreck economies
from the Arab world to Russia and South America, where oil revenues now prop up
regimes run by figures like Vladimir Putin and the heirs of Hugo Chavez. If oil
prices dropped precipitately, this theory goes, the governing systems of Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain and many other places could be upset and no one knows what forces
might try to bring them down.
None of these fears is the least bit
irrational, even if the oil industry steadfastly discounts them and fracking
has gone on for years in semi-depleted oil fields here, as well as in states as
varied as Virginia and North Dakota. So far, the only fear that has found its
way into California courts is the possibility of environmental and water table
damage from fracking fluids.
Exploratory drilling in Monterey
County was stopped in March when a magistrate judge in San Jose ruled the
federal Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Policy
Act by proceeding without in-depth environmental studies covering effects on
everything from water tables to livestock and earthquakes.
Meanwhile, moves to regulate fracking
abound in the Legislature, where the most sensible might be one by Democratic
Assemblyman Mark Stone of Scotts Valley, which would require companies to
disclose the source and amounts of water they use in fracking, as well as
getting approval from regional Water Quality Control Boards before disposing of
used chemical/water mixes.
Others bills moving through the
Legislature aim to halt the entire process up to five years for extensive
environmental studies.
But the oil industry strongly opposes
any kind of moratorium. “The industry supports a regulatory structure,” a
Western States Petroleum Assn. lobbyist told a reporter. “It’s in our best
interests that we have disclosure, transparency. But not a moratorium.”
The enormous potential economic impact
of all this petroleum might end up overwhelming all environmental concerns. The
California Manufacturers and Technology Assn. calls the Monterey Shale a “game
changer” that could provide more than 500,000 new jobs in some of the more
depressed parts of the state and nation, with billions of dollars in new tax
revenues coming to state, local and federal governments.
That means Congress, dollar signs in
its eyes and driven by companies that already seek to export fracked natural
gas in a liquefied form, might pass legislation to supersede any rules state
lawmakers could impose.
The trick here, then, is to exploit
the bonanza, but do it in a way that protects existing farms, industry and
water supplies. Oil wells and healthy people have coexisted for almost a
century in places like Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Why not also in the Coast
Range and the Central Valley?
Which means California should proceed
with this, but only if it can do it well and safely.
-30-
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It," is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net
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