Re “With Muscle and Compromise, Weissman and Sahli-Wells Rescue an Evening”
[Editor’s Note: At a critical juncture in last night’s City Council meeting, when a roomful of partisans were demanding a hometown ban on fracking, Councilperson Ms. Sahli-Wells, their standard-bearer, proposed a midway path, saying “we need more information.” Here is her full statement.]
Thank you to all who are here – I admire your activism, your research, your tenacity. Like every truly important movement, this is not going to be quick nor is it going to be easy. I think all of us in this room know this, and I think you are ready to fight the good fight.
I've had so many conversations with members of the public who are concerned and committed to protecting our safety, our property values, and our future. I've heard about health issues, bad smells, explosions, toxic releases, damage to homes. I've heard questions: Is it going to get worse? Is what is being reported in other communities around the country going to happen here? How can you protect us?
Hydraulic fracturing has significant potential to affect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the very ground we stand on. In regions across the U.S., the EPA, U.S. Geological Survey, and countless peer-reviewed studies have shown that the fracking process has been the cause of water contamination, air pollution, and seismic activity.
To my knowledge, the largest urban oilfield in the U.S., the Inglewood Oil Field, has not yet been subject of comprehensive studies by the EPA or USGS that guarantee the safety of hydraulic fracturing. Yet the conditions on the ground should make our specific location subject to specific study:
• The largest urban oilfield in the country, the large population means that the slightest accident will have maximum impact on human health and welfare – and economic impact on our many homes and businesses
• Water supply: We live in a drought-prone area with a scarcity of local water sources, making those we do have all the more precious. Already largely dependent on imported water, we pay much more for water than most communities. If we lose the little water we have, we will be even more dependent on expensive water, that takes energy to transport to our city, which has both an environmental and monetary cost. Fracking is a water-intensive process using millions of gallons of water that are mixed with chemicals, and pumped into the ground. Some of the chemical-laced water is recycled, some stays in the ground, some will be deliberately injected back into the ground, and some will be shipped off to be treated. At every stage of this process there is a risk of leaks, spills and contamination. In every case, there is a large amount of water used that cannot be used for domestic needs.
• Watershed: Furthermore, we are part of the sensitive Ballona Creek Watershed, which has taken years and millions of dollars to begin restoring. This waterway empties into the Santa Monica Bay, which has equally been a focus point for major on-going clean-up efforts. The Inglewood Oil Field is adjacent this sensitive watershed. In fact, just this year there was a leak of a poorly abandoned well from a previous oil company, necessitating the closure of the Dog Park, uphill from the Creek. Further, PXP has previously submitted plans that include horizontal drilling directly under Ballona Creek and this very neighborhood. Ground water contamination from fracking as well as surface leakage in this extremely sensitive area must be studied thoroughly before fracking can take place.
• Earthquakes: the oil field is on an active 7.4 magnitude fault line. The U.S. Geological Survey has already linked earthquakes to water-injection that is part of the fracking process. Even if this weren't the case, it remains to be proven if the well casings can withstand the naturally or un-naturally occurring earthquakes in this region. We need to see real data in order to make the determination whether this practice is suitable for this area.
• Climate Change. Our city has taken considerable steps to improve our air and water quality, reduce greenhouse gases and introduce sustainable measures in its schools, public buildings and homes. How much C02 and methane released during the entire fracking process (trucking materials to and from the site, heavy machinery, chemical preparation and transport, frack job itself, ongoing oil extraction, frack fluid transport and disposal)? Are these in compliance with California's climate targets?
Finally, California's regulatory agency DOGGR (Division of Oil Gas and Geothermal Resources), has publicly admitted existing regulations are inadequate, and therefore they are currently adapting new rules, specific to the practice of fracking.
It is for these, and many other reasons that:
For the state of California: I support the Resolution to ask Gov. Brown and DOGGR to place not a moratorium but a ban on fracking until it can be proven safe and has comprehensive, publicly-vetted regulations in place.
For Culver City: I ask that staff compile information about the concerns we've heard tonight, information from other states and cities and regulatory bodies and real data from PXP itself to see how we can make our city safe.
Ms. Sahli-Wells may be contacted meghan@ccnan.org
