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Californias Thirst Shapes Debate Over Fracking
By NORIMITSU ONISHI MAY 14, 2014
OROVILLE, Calif. Enemies of fracking have a new argument: drought.
Fracking a single oil well in California last year took 87 percent of the
water consumed in a year by a family of four, according to the Western
States Petroleum Association, an industry lobbying group. That amount
a modest one by national standards, the oil industry argues has become
an increasingly delicate topic since a drought was officially declared early
this year in the state.
The drought, combined with a recent set of powerful earthquakes,
has provided the momentum for about a dozen local governments across
California, the third-largest oil producing state, to vote to restrict or
prohibit fracking in their jurisdictions, as concerns over environmental
effects and water usage have grown.
At the same time, a bill that would declare a statewide moratorium on
fracking has been gathering support in the State Senate, a year after a
similar effort failed.
There will be a statewide moratorium, whether it comes this year,
next year or the year after that, said Kathryn Phillips, the director of
Sierra Club California, a leading opponent of fracking. Even if we dont
get a moratorium, just the threat of a moratorium discourages
investment.
The oil and gas industry says that frackings opponents have exploited
the emotions surrounding the drought to push for unnecessary
restrictions. The Western States Petroleum Association argues that the
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amount of water used here is quite small when compared to other uses for
water.
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the association, said she
found it frustrating that the drought and earthquakes had given her
opponents such momentum. Both of these issues are being used because
it elevates the conversation, because people would be concerned normally
about water in a drought year and any kind of seismic activity, she said.
The anti-fracking bill in California, which faces an uphill battle,
would not be the first: Vermont banned fracking in 2012, and New York
and North Carolina have temporary bans while the states study the
impact, which is what California proposes to do. In Colorado,
environmental activists, after failing to persuade lawmakers to ban
fracking, are now promoting a ballot initiative that would limit the
practice. But only in California are water issues being cited front and
center.
Energy companies extract oil and gas trapped in rocks deep
underground through the high-pressure use of a mix of chemicals and vast
amounts of water in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Brackish water can be used, but freshwater is easier and less costly. That
pits frackers against farmers, golf course operators, suburban lawn
owners and every other user of freshwater in this drought-stricken state.
Officials here in Butte County moved last month to ban the fracking
of oil and gas wells, quickly drawing up a plan during a public meeting
filled with fracking opponents. The speed of the decision surprised the
activists who had pressed for more modest regulation especially since
there is no fracking going on here.
But the county is home to Lake Oroville, the states second-largest
water reservoir, which now holds only two-thirds of the water it should at
this time of year. On a recent sun-filled morning, houseboats at a marina
were anchored in clusters as if near the bottom of a bathtub.
Dave Garcia, a leader of the Butte Citizens Action Network, a local
environmental group, said, Water played a huge role in the vote by the
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Butte County Board of Supervisors to ban fracking.
Besides the drought, seismic activity in March in Los Angeles an
earthquake with a magnitude of 3.6, followed by a 5.1 temblor in the
course of one evening has also given traction to fracking critics
arguments that the procedure is simply too dangerous for California.
The oil and gas industry says it has engaged in conventional fracking
in California for decades with no seismic consequences. But elsewhere in
the country, where companies carry out fracking with new techniques in
horizontal drilling and new cocktails of chemicals, experts have been
investigating whether fracking has caused earthquakes in places not
known for seismic activity, like Oklahoma.
Its a perfect storm of information coming through at once, said Ms.
Phillips of Sierra Club California.
In Southern California, the oil-rich city of Carson recently placed a
45-day moratorium on fracking, Beverly Hills voted to ban it and Los
Angeles is preparing an ordinance to do the same. Several other local
governments here, including Culver City, Santa Cruz County and Santa
Barbara County, have voted to restrict fracking in the last couple of years.
On the state level, the Senate is considering a bill that would delay
any fracking until California completes a study of the practices impact on
the environment and public health. Among the obstacles the bill will face
is opposition from legislators who see the economic advantages of fracking
and say that existing regulations including some passed last year
provide the necessary muscle to safeguard the environment.
The potential effect of this moratorium on jobs is horrendous, said
State Senator Ted Gaines, a Republican, who voted against the bill in
committee. Fracking has occurred in this state for over five decades we
know how to frack in California, and weve done it in a safe manner. I
think the issue with water was exaggerated in terms of usage.
A major issue in the political debate is the Monterey Shale, a 1,750-
square-mile geological formation stretching from Southern to Central
California that is estimated to contain the countrys biggest shale oil
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reserves. Despite Californias long oil production history, the reserve has
been left largely untapped because of the formations geological
complexity. Advances in drilling and fracking have given hope to drillers
that it is only a matter of time before the Monterey Shales oil can be
profitably extricated.
The prospects of widespread drilling and fracking in the Monterey
Shale had already galvanized Californias powerful environmental groups.
But the record drought has widened concerns as it pits various industries,
groups and regions against one another in another chapter of Californias
battle over water.
According to the Western States Petroleum Association, an average of
127,127 gallons of water was used to frack a single oil well in California
last year, below the 146,000 gallons consumed by a family of four
throughout the year. But critics of fracking point out that advanced
techniques, the kind necessary to exploit the Monterey Shale, will require
significantly greater amounts of water.
That fear was behind the move by local governments, including Butte
County, to prohibit fracking. Once it becomes economically feasible,
theyre going to come to Butte County, said Mr. Garcia of the Butte
Citizens Action Network.
Enough people agreed with Mr. Garcia that Butte Countys Board of
Supervisors made up of three Republicans, one Democrat and one
member who has declined to state a party preference voted 4 to 1 for the
ban.
Larry Wahl, a Republican who was the only one to vote against it, said
that the decision was made prematurely.
It was a purely emotional response to a crowd of people who
demanded a ban on fracking, he said.
Ian Lovett contributed reporting from Los Angeles.
A version of this article appears in print on May 15, 2014, on page A14 of the New York edition
with the headline: Californias Thirst Shapes Debate Over Fracking.
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