Today advocates for California’s environment, public health and safety, and social justice applauded the introduction of a bill that would place a moratorium on fracking, acidizing and other risky oil drilling methods in California.
State Senators Holly Mitchell and Mark Leno introduced SB 1132 to protect Californians from the “potentially harmful consequences of unconventional well stimulation and drilling.”
Senator Mitchell, whose predominantly minority district includes the Inglewood Oil Field, described the purpose of the bill:
“There are a million Angelenos that live within a 5-mile radius of the largest urban oil field in the country. In my district vulnerable neighborhoods lie adjacent to drilling operations whose practices go largely unregulated. Complaints that residents are exposed to hazardous chemicals and toxic pollutants and which cause all kinds of health symptoms have been ignored. When industrial operations like fracking and acidization disproportionately impact minority communities, environmental justice has been breached and needs to be restored. SB 1132 will do that.”
Senator Mark Leno added:
“A moratorium on fracking is especially critical as California faces a severe drought with water resources at an all-time low,” said Senator Leno. “We are currently allowing fracking operations to expand despite the potential consequences on our water supply, including availability and price of water, the potential for drinking water contamination and the generation of billions of barrels of polluted water.”
CLCV is one of many groups in California and nationally that has been calling on Governor Brown to use his executive authority to place a moratorium on fracking and acidizing. We support the bill authored by Senators Mitchell and Leno and look forward to fighting for its passage in the coming months.
Want to help make this bill a law? Contact your state Senator and ask them to vote yes on the fracking moratorium.
“There are a million Angelenos that live within a 5-mile radius of the largest urban oil field in the country,” said Senator Mitchell, whose predominantly minority district includes the Inglewood Oil Field. “In my district vulnerable neighborhoods lie adjacent to drilling operations whose practices go largely unregulated. Complaints that residents are exposed to hazardous chemicals and toxic pollutants and which cause all kinds of health symptoms have been ignored. When industrial operations like fracking and acidization disproportionately impact minority communities, environmental justice has been breached and needs to be restored. SB 1132 will do that.”
Current California law does not regulate either fracking or acidization. Of the more than 750 chemicals used in fracking, at least 29 of them are known to be harmful to human health. These chemicals, including hydrofluoric acid and benzene, have been linked to cancer, respiratory, developmental, and neurological problems, yet the practice of fracking and other potentially dangerous methods of oil and gas extraction continue to spread.
A bill passed last year requires an independent study of fracking. SB 1132 would expand its scope to include health risks posed by chemicals used in other forms of well stimulation, the safety of industry workers and nearby residents, as well as the state’s water supply.
“A moratorium on fracking is especially critical as California faces a severe drought with water resources at an all-time low,” said Senator Leno. “We are currently allowing fracking operations to expand despite the potential consequences on our water supply, including availability and price of water, the potential for drinking water contamination and the generation of billions of barrels of polluted water.”
– See more at: http://sd26.senate.ca.gov/news/press-releases/2014-02-20-ca-state-sen-holly-mitchell-bill-would-impose-moratorium-fracking#sthash.3bypryP8.dpuf
“There are a million Angelenos that live within a 5-mile radius of the largest urban oil field in the country,” said Senator Mitchell, whose predominantly minority district includes the Inglewood Oil Field. “In my district vulnerable neighborhoods lie adjacent to drilling operations whose practices go largely unregulated. Complaints that residents are exposed to hazardous chemicals and toxic pollutants and which cause all kinds of health symptoms have been ignored. When industrial operations like fracking and acidization disproportionately impact minority communities, environmental justice has been breached and needs to be restored. SB 1132 will do that.”
Current California law does not regulate either fracking or acidization. Of the more than 750 chemicals used in fracking, at least 29 of them are known to be harmful to human health. These chemicals, including hydrofluoric acid and benzene, have been linked to cancer, respiratory, developmental, and neurological problems, yet the practice of fracking and other potentially dangerous methods of oil and gas extraction continue to spread.
A bill passed last year requires an independent study of fracking. SB 1132 would expand its scope to include health risks posed by chemicals used in other forms of well stimulation, the safety of industry workers and nearby residents, as well as the state’s water supply.
“A moratorium on fracking is especially critical as California faces a severe drought with water resources at an all-time low,” said Senator Leno. “We are currently allowing fracking operations to expand despite the potential consequences on our water supply, including availability and price of water, the potential for drinking water contamination and the generation of billions of barrels of polluted water.”
– See more at: http://sd26.senate.ca.gov/news/press-releases/2014-02-20-ca-state-sen-holly-mitchell-bill-would-impose-moratorium-fracking#sthash.3bypryP8.dpuf
“There are a million Angelenos that live within a 5-mile radius of the largest urban oil field in the country,” said Senator Mitchell, whose predominantly minority district includes the Inglewood Oil Field. “In my district vulnerable neighborhoods lie adjacent to drilling operations whose practices go largely unregulated. Complaints that residents are exposed to hazardous chemicals and toxic pollutants and which cause all kinds of health symptoms have been ignored. When industrial operations like fracking and acidization disproportionately impact minority communities, environmental justice has been breached and needs to be restored. SB 1132 will do that.”
Current California law does not regulate either fracking or acidization. Of the more than 750 chemicals used in fracking, at least 29 of them are known to be harmful to human health. These chemicals, including hydrofluoric acid and benzene, have been linked to cancer, respiratory, developmental, and neurological problems, yet the practice of fracking and other potentially dangerous methods of oil and gas extraction continue to spread.
A bill passed last year requires an independent study of fracking. SB 1132 would expand its scope to include health risks posed by chemicals used in other forms of well stimulation, the safety of industry workers and nearby residents, as well as the state’s water supply.
“A moratorium on fracking is especially critical as California faces a severe drought with water resources at an all-time low,” said Senator Leno. “We are currently allowing fracking operations to expand despite the potential consequences on our water supply, including availability and price of water, the potential for drinking water contamination and the generation of billions of barrels of polluted water.”
– See more at: http://sd26.senate.ca.gov/news/press-releases/2014-02-20-ca-state-sen-holly-mitchell-bill-would-impose-moratorium-fracking#sthash.3bypryP8.dpuf
