On Tuesday, May 19, 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) held a Public Workshop regarding the proposed Draft Model Criteria for Groundwater Monitoring (“Model Criteria”). In this meeting, the Water Board heard comments from stakeholders who voiced their support or concern regarding the Model Criteria. Dr. Steven Bohlen, the State Oil & … Continue Reading
On Thursday, May 7, 2015, two environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt to oil and gas wastewater injection at 2,500 wells across California. The suit, filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, claims that the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) should be prohibited from … Continue Reading
The City of Compton is being sued for its ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing, effective on April 22, 2014. (Western States Petroleum Association v. City of Compton, et al., Case No.BC552272.) Although Compton is not the first city in the state to enact such a ban, Compton is the first city to be sued over it. The Western … Continue Reading
Several members of the Western States Petroleum Association have agreed to share information about their fracking operations in response to the California Department of Conservation’s request for operators to report to a disclosure registry, FracFrocus (see May 8, 2012 post). Many, including Occidental Petroleum Corp. and XTO Energy/ExxonMobil, have already posted to the website, which … Continue Reading