Ecosystems - Biology - Animals

Trump plan to allow new fracking on California coast, Central Valley moves forward

Photo: Hydraulic fracturing is currently used on between 10 to 20 percent of all oil and gas wells on public lands in Central California managed by the Bureau of Land Management Bakersfield Field Office. COURTESY OF BLM, BAKERSFIELD FIELD OFFICE.

The Trump administration moved forward Thursday with its plan to open up federal land in California’s Central Valley and Central Coast to more oil and gas drilling, including fracking.

The Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Office released new documents on its proposal for oil and gas leasing and development on the public land it administers. The field office’s boundaries stretch across 11 California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Stanislaus.

The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that opposes the plan, estimates that the proposal could open up roughly 725,000 acres of federally managed land and subsurface mineral estate to oil and gas leasing.

“From Monterey to the Bay Area, the president wants to let oil companies drill and spill their way across our beloved public lands and wildlife habitat,” Clare Lakewood, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “As we fight climate chaos, there’s no justification for any new drilling and fracking, let alone this outrageous assault on our pristine wild places.”

The administration insists it is abiding by the the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and […]

About fracking and public water quality:

Fracking linked to increased hospitalizations for skin, genital and urinary issues in Pennsylvania

Fracking wastewater accumulation found in freshwater mussels’ shells

Duke Study: Rivers Contaminated With Radium and Lead From Thousands of Fracking Wastewater Spills

It’s Official: Injection of Fracking Wastewater Caused Kansas’ Biggest Earthquake

Report: over half PA gas wells used ‘secret’ chemicals for fracking or drilling

New study examines impacts of fracking on water supplies worldwide

Summary
Article Name
Trump plan to allow new fracking on California coast, Central Valley moves forward
Description
Trump administration moves ahead with its plan to open federal land in California's Central Valley and Central Coast to more oil and gas drilling, fracking.
Author
Publisher Name
The Sacramento Bee
Publisher Logo

Recent Posts

Saltwater intrusion will taint 77% of coastal aquifers by century’s end, modeling study finds

Watersheds on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard will be among the areas most affected by underground…

1 week ago

A ‘Devil’ Seaweed Is Spreading Inside Hawaiʻi’s Most Protected Place

An invasive algae has wrecked huge sections of reef in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Scientists…

1 week ago

A meadow in the Tahoe National Forest was drying up with sagebrush. Now it’s a lush wetland.

Sardine Meadow is a key link in conservation efforts for the Sierra Nevada, north of…

2 weeks ago

Conservation & Sustainability: fertilizer nitrates

UC Davis researchers insert a device that continuously collects water samples underground, providing real-time data…

3 weeks ago

Drought Mitigation: Should We Be Farming in the Desert?

Irrigated farmland in the desert of the Imperial Valley. (Photo credit: Steve Proehl, Getty Images)…

3 weeks ago

Scathing report released detailing Navy’s handling of Red Hill fuel spill

The Inspector General of the Department of Defense released some scathing reports Thursday over the…

1 month ago