hydraulic fracturing

It’s High Time to Ban “Monster Fracking” in California

Fracking consumes enormous amounts of water, pollutes aquifers & is contrary to our climate goals

Recently, the New York Times published an important and disturbing expose’ titled, “‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger.  And Far Thirstier.”    The Times article focuses on the alarming intersection of three current environmental crises–water supply shortages, groundwater contamination, and excessive greenhouse gas emission levels–that threaten California and other states across the nation. Fracking (the shorthand …

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Public Lands Watch: Proposed repeal of BLM fracking rule

BLM Proposes to Rescind 2015 Rule on Hydraulic Fracturing

On July 25, 2017 the Bureau of Land Management published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would rescind the Obama Administration’s 2015 Rule titled “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands.” This proposal has been anticipated since the Interior Department announced in March earlier this year that the Department intended …

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Ten Energy Stories to Watch in 2014

What will shake the energy world this year?

In our energy law classes at Cal, we like to start the day by talking about Energy in the News. The media never fails us. Every day, there are multiple energy-related stories of significance touching on resource development, new technologies, policy shifts, jobs, regional politics, prices, international relations, or the environment. Once you start looking …

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State Releases New Fracking Regulations Amid SB 4 Criticism, Controversy

DOGGR also wades into CEQA while environmental community questions wisdom and effects of new State law

California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has released its proposed regulations governing hydraulic fracturing pursuant to Senate Bill 4, controversial legislation signed into law this September. DOGGR’s November 15 public notice begins its formal rulemaking process and marks the start of a 60-day public comment period for the new rules. DOGGR also …

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California Enacts Nation’s First Comprehensive Fracking Law—And Everyone’s Unhappy

Controversial But Promising, SB 4 Constitutes Tangible Progress on the Fracking Front

Late last month the California Legislature passed, and Governor Jerry Brown signed into law, the nation’s first comprehensive system of regulating hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas drilling technique more commonly known as “fracking.” It turns out that no one–the oil and gas industry, surface landowners or environmentalists–is particularly happy with the new law. And …

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Hydraulic Fracking in California: New Report Addresses Wastewater and Potential Water Impacts

Today, Berkeley Law released a new report on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in California, focusing on wastewater and potential water quality impacts. The report, Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing in California: A Wastewater and Water Quality Perspective, is an independent analysis produced by Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) through its new initiative, the Wheeler …

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Is California Fracking Regulation Out of Focus?

I’ve long been skeptical of the push that some on the left have made to ban hydraulic fracturing of natural gas.  From an environmental perspective, I’d much rather have a natural gas-based fuel mix than one based on coal, and in any event, if there is that much money in the ground, people are going …

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Putting a Human Face on Hydraulic Fracturing

It is rare when new web content makes one want to sit back in an easy chair, study every image, and follow every word. Let me tell you about one offering that not only delivers that kind of quality, but focuses on one of the critical environmental and social issues currently facing the country. The …

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