[env-trinity] Article Submission: Oil Company Fined for Illegally Discharging Fracking Fluid in CA
Dan Bacher
danielbacher at fishsniffer.com
Tue Nov 26 11:42:32 PST 2013
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/oil-company-fined-illegally-discharging-fracking-fluid-ca
Oil Company Fined for Illegally Discharging Fracking Fluid in CA
Posted on 19 November 2013
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By Dan Bacher
The oil industry in California has constantly claimed that fracking
(hydraulic fracturing) for oil and natural gas is "safe" and doesn't
harm the environment.
"An honest appraisal of the science and common sense around hydraulic
fracturing leads to a conclusion the technology we’ve used without
harm in California for 60 plus years is safe and its benefits a
blessing," said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States
Petroleum Association (WSPA), earlier this year.
"Oil drilling activities in California are strictly regulated by
several agencies and the state’s oil producers are working closely
with the government to develop even stronger protections to ensure the
vast potential of the Monterey Shale can be realized," she claimed.
However, Reheis-Boyd fails to mention that the discharge of fracking
fluid, composed of toxic chemicals that the oil industry refuses to
disclose because they consider them a trade secret, presents an
enormous threat to groundwater supplies, streams, fish and wildlife.
In the most recent example of the threat to the environment and human
health that fracking poses, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality
Board on November 15 ordered an oil company, Vintage Production
California LLC, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Company, to pay a
$60,000 penalty for discharging hydraulic fracturing fluid into an
unlined sump in violation of the California Water Code.
A fracking operation, Photo credit: Joshua Doubek
The penalty is the result of a settlement agreement between Vintage
and the Water Board's prosecution team, and is the maximum penalty
allowable under the state Water Code.
"The prosecution team’s investigation determined that Vintage
periodically discharged saline water, formation fluids, and hydraulic
fracturing fluid to an unlined sump for 12 days," according to a Water
Board news release. "The sump was next to a newly drilled Vintage oil
well near the City of Shafter in Kern County. The prosecution team
concluded the discharge posed a threat to groundwater quality and that
Vintage violated the Water Code for the unpermitted discharge of
wastewater to land."
The investigation that led to the settlement began immediately after a
YouTube video was brought to the prosecution team’s attention.
The team issued an investigative order under Water Code Section 13267
that required Vintage to provide a technical report with specific
details about the operation of the well and the discharges to the sump.
After reviewing the submitted technical information, the prosecution
team issued a Notice of Violation to Vintage for the discharge of
fluids to the sump for 12 days (September 30 through October 11, 2012)
in violation of General Waiver Resolution R5-2008-0192 and Water Code
Section 13350, according to the Water Board.
“The discharge of high-salinity water to unlined sumps in areas with
good quality groundwater, such as at the Vintage Production site near
Shafter, is not consistent with the Tulare Lake Basin Plan,” said
Central Valley Water Board Executive Officer Pamela Creedon. “We are
concerned that similar discharges may have occurred elsewhere
throughout the Central Valley."
"Past and future drilling operations will be evaluated to ensure that
operators are in compliance with Basin Plan policy. Additionally, we
are presently revising General Waiver Resolution R5-2008-0192 to more
specifically address oil field drilling fluid discharges to unlined
sumps located in the Central Valley," she stated.
Creedon said Vintage agreed to cease discharging to unlined sumps in
agricultural areas - and the company is "voluntarily investigating"
the leaching potential of the solidified material in the closed sump.
Opponents of fracking point out that incidents like this one will
become increasing common as oil companies ramp up fracking and
acidizing operations to extract oil from Monterey Shale deposits in
the Central Valley and coastal areas. On September 20, Governor Jerry
Brown signed Senator Fran Pavley's Senate Bill 4, legislation that
gives the green light to the expansion of fracking operations in
California.
The $60,000 fine is just chump change for an oil company like
Occidental. The Los Angeles-based company said earnings in the third
quarter of 2013 jumped more than 14% as domestic oil production
increased and gas prices rose, according to the LA Times.
"The company reported a profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.96 a share, in
the three months ended Sept. 30," the LA Times reported. "That was
compared to $1.38 billion, or $1.69 a share, from the same quarter a
year earlier. Sales jumped 8.1% to $6.45 billion."
The oil industry, represented by the Western States Petroleum
Association, is the largest and most powerful corporate lobby in
Sacramento. Big Oil wields huge influence over the Legislature,
Governor's Office and state agencies through lobbying, campaign
contributions and domination of regulatory processes, such as Reheis-
Boyd's chairing of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative
Blue Ribbon Task Force to create so-called "marine protected areas" in
Southern California.
Chevron, the Western States Petroleum Association and Aera Energy LLC
spent the most money of any organizations or companies lobbying
legislators in the third quarter of 2013, according to California
Secretary of State documents.
Chevron spent $1,696,477, the Western States Petroleum Association
(WSPA) spent $1,269,478 and Aera Energy LLC spent $1,015,534. That’s a
total of $3,981,489 just between July 1 and September 30, 2013. In the
first three quarters of 2013, WSPA alone spent a total of $3,578,266
on lobbying legislators.
Before the release of third quarter lobbying expenditures, a report
released by the American Lung Association revealed that the oil
industry lobby has spent $45.4 million in the state influencing
legislators since 2009. The Western States Petroleum Association
(WSPA) alone has spent over $20 million since 2009.
Oil and gas companies spend more than $100 million a year to buy
access to lawmakers in Washington and Sacramento, according to Stop
Fooling California, "an online and social media public education and
awareness campaign that highlights oil companies’ efforts to mislead
and confuse Californians."
The draft Settlement Agreement and Stipulation for Entry of
Administrative Civil Liability Order R5-2013-0587 (Stipulated Order)
is available for a 30-day public review and comment period prior to
consideration by the Central Valley Water Board.
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