Draft EIR on Well Stimulation (Fracking)

On January 14th, the Department of Conservation, through its Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, published a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) titled “Analysis of Oil and Gas Well Stimulation Treatments in California.”

Senate Bill 4 requires the Division to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in order to provide the public with detailed information regarding any potential environmental impacts associated with well stimulation treatments in California.

The public review period for this Draft EIR begins on January 14, 2015 and will end on March 16, 2015. Written comments on the Draft EIR may be submitted and must be received on or before March 16, 2015. During the comment period, the Department and the Division will conduct six public comment meetings throughout the State to receive verbal and written comments on the Draft EIR.

To access the Draft EIR and detailed information on how to provide comments, please see the following link to the Department of Conservation’s webpage:

http://www.conservation.ca.gov

Also:
On behalf of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), please see the following information:

Pursuant to Senate Bill 4, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) commissioned the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to conduct an independent scientific assessment of well stimulation, including hydraulic fracturing, in California.
On January 14, 2015, CCST released Volume I of the assessment to the public.

Volume I, which is titled “An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation Technologies in California: Well Stimulation Technologies and their Past, Present, and Potential Future Use in California”, provides the factual basis describing what well stimulation treatments are, how they are conducted in general and practiced in California, and where they have been and are being used for oil and gas production in the state. The full independent scientific assessment will be issued in three volumes. Volumes II and III will be released in July 2015.

To view or download the report, please visit the CCST website at: http://www.ccst.us/projects/hydraulic_fracturing_public/SB4.php