Environmental activists, farmers, ranchers, and others in the tri-county area who want to keep their water and air clean will be attending en masse a hearing on the possibility of regulating extreme oil and gas extraction statewide at the National Steinbeck Center Jan. 8.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s oil & gas officials (DOGGR) just released their draft regulations for fracking & extreme extraction, but Brown’s regulations fall far short of protecting California’s air, water, wildlife, climate and communities.
So does the newly enacted Oil & Gas Ordinance approved by San Benito County supervisors last summer. It allows oil and gas drillers to grab drilling permits at bargain-basement give-aways in San Benito. Local activists like San Benito Rising members continue to educate their fellow San Benitoans and neighbors about the lack of protection our current local laws provide for our water and environment.
Fracking is tied to air and water pollution and releases huge volumes of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. New fracking and acidization technologies are opening up huge new sources of dirty oil in California’s Monterey Shale formation to extraction and combustion.Â
The hearing is from 3 to 7 pm at the National Steinbeck Center at One Main Street in Salinas, January 8.  San Benito Rising, will hold a rally with featured speakers at 5:30 pm.
Read the proposed DOGGR regulations here:Â http://www.conservation.ca.gov/index/Documents/Text%20of%20Proposed%20Regulations%20-%20SB%204%20Well%20Stimulation%20Treatment%20Regulations.pdf
For more information about the legacy of greed and its aftermath of water pollution, contact Kate Woods at rockturner8@yahoo.com. Or read the environmental memoir titled “Quicksilver Chronicles,” by Frances K. Woods, available at Lulu.com or Amazon.com.