Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, injects high
pressure volumes of water, sand and chemicals into existing wells
to unlock natural gas and oil. The technique essentially
fractures the rock to get to the otherwise unreachable deposits.
Cesar Aguirre first became aware of a potential methane leak in
Bakersfield about a month ago. He says that he heard the news
from a resident who reported hearing a “hissing” sound coming
from an oil well near their home. And sure enough, after
investigation, the California Geologic Energy Management
Division, or CalGEM, confirmed the report. They found dozens of
oil wells in need of remediation, with 21 leaking explosive
levels of methane gas in various neighborhoods in Bakersfield.
… When improperly abandoned, idle wells can contaminate
air and drinking water.
Environmentalists have been pushing for oil and gas permit
accountability in Kern County and a recent ruling will
implement new guidelines until a decision is finally made. The
county’s original environmental assessment in 2015 was approved
but complaints and lawsuits filed on appeal caused the courts
to order the county to stop issuing permits until it addressed
concerns. In 2021, the county approved the modified permit but
seven months later, a judge ordered the county to halt the
issuance of new oil and gas permits again until the court could
determine if the county’s ordinance met the California
Environmental Quality Act guidelines.
Los Angeles is able only to consistently draw from 41 of 115
wells in the San Fernando Basin, a collection of regional
underground aquifers that currently provide about 10% of city
water supply. This has caused a 50% reduction in its historical
groundwater supply. But the LA Dept. of Water and Power says
the basin has the potential to provide as much as 21% of city
water. As a result, the department is working with federal and
state officials, potentially responsible polluted site owners
and a slew of engineering and construction firms on multiple
remediation projects to return a more significant portion of
groundwater supply to the drinking water system.
On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss an
Inside Climate News Investigation about the use of wastewater
from oil wells to irrigate food crops in California. For
decades, farmers in California’s Kern County have turned to
wastewater from oil production to help irrigate their crops
during extended dry spells. The water irrigates 95,000 acres of
cropland in California’s southern San Joaquin Valley, according
to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. What
are the environmental and health effects of this practice?
Lawyers sparred Thursday over whether an amended environmental
review undergirding Kern County’s oil and gas permitting system
lives up to the standards of the California Environmental
Quality Act, an open question that continues to limit
in-state petroleum production. During a three-hour hearing
in front of Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp,
attorneys for three environmental groups pressed their case
that the county continues to fall short of CEQA requirements in
terms of cushioning the local oil industry’s impact on
farmland, people living near production wells, availability of
drinking water, noise, air quality and the Temblor legless
lizard.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, injects high
pressure volumes of water, sand and chemicals into existing wells
to unlock natural gas and oil. The technique essentially
fractures the rock to get to the otherwise unreachable deposits.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
It may surprise some people to know that California is the fourth
largest producer of crude oil in the United States and has a long
history of oil exploration. Since the 1860s, wells in Kern County
and Southern California have been tapped for more than 500,000
barrels of oil each day.
