Re “PXP Community Meeting on Study – Nobody Is Budging”
Yes, last night's PXP meeting about the results of their environmental study of the Baldwin Hills Inglewood oil field was a “must.”
Not for what was said – we knew the results already. PXP paid for it, and hired people who would produce the data they desired. No community representatives were involved. It was critical to be there, though, to show our community's concern to elected officials and the media. The hall was filled.
Firstly, the study is about apples and oranges. They've done two “mini-fracks” – vertical fracturing only. PXP's goal, however, is to drill down vertically 8,000 to 10,000 feet, then frack horizontally for two miles or more under our community. This will result in ca. 40 separate fracking explosions along the horizontal distance with up to four times the rate of well casing failure compared to vertical fracturing.
So they tell us that these two mini-fracks, done with no outside observers, resulted in only teeny-tiny earthquakes deep underground, no air pollution and no seepage of toxic chemicals. They also claim that the untold millions of gallons of water and toxic chemicals they blast down there are isolated by the geology from groundwater and aquifers.
Since this is all taking place atop a complex network of faults, the 47-mile long Newport-Inglewood Fault, nothing can be assumed to be isolated. Water migrates.
In the central states, with no history of seismic activity, since fracking began, they are now experiencing earthquakes measuring 3.4 to 3.6, 134 earthquakes in 2011, up from 21 events in 2000.
The U.S. Geological Survey says our Newport-Inglewood Fault is capable of a 7.4 earthquake. A resident suggested that PXP might purchase earthquake insurance for the community. This was not enthusiastically received.
In addition, the complex brew of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals they blast down, which comes back up along with radioactive substances from deep within the earth and arsenic is stored on-site. Forever. Google Earth shows large evaporating ponds on the oil field. Methane doesn't stay in water, it evaporates into the air. And those residents downwind suffer.
Environmental contamination is cumulative, and well-casing failure (though up to 10 percent leak within the first year) is characteristic of aging cement. After 30 years, 50 percent of wells leak. What's 10 percent of 2 wells in a year?
Horizontal fracking is a new technology which has only been done in rural areas heretofore. But results are now in about triggered earthquakes and health risks for cancer and respiratory diseases.
PXP proudly announced last night that L.A. County will be receiving $10 million a year, and Culver City will receive $200,000. Chickenfeed from the company that just paid $5.5 billion for BP's Gulf of Mexico holdings – and compared with incalculable permanent damage to our health and environment.
In addition, Cardno Entrix, the study's author, has a long history of oil industry collaboration. When the State Dept. hired them to do an environmental impact study for the Keystone XL pipeline last year, they failed to disclose that TransCanada, the pipeline's builder, was a “major client.” The “peer reviewers” of PXP's study are suspect for the same reason. A resident last night suggested that PXP pay for the community to hire their own peer reviewers of this study. That did not go over well with PXP.
Citizens asked many questions last night, which remained unanswered. The Baldwin Hills/Inglewood oil field comprises 1,000 acres. They could be doing anything up there with virtually no oversight. This PXP-funded study is meaningless. For anyone without dollar signs in their eyes, fracking here is simply insane. It must be banned.
J.E. Brockman may be contacted at JEB.7799@gmail.com
