The Honorable Legislator

Address
Dear Legislator:
I am writing to you because I am concerned about the future of hydraulic fracturing in California. Fracking poses
a real danger to California. As you know, California is currently experiencing a severe drought. There are countless cases
of groundwater being poisoned by poorly protected wastewater disposal wells that are used for disposing of water used in
fracking across the country. In a state that is facing such a severe drought shouldnt we be protecting what little water we
have left? People have also reportedly fallen ill from gas released into the air as a result of fracking. In addition, fracking
also has the potential to increase the quantity of something we already have too much of here in California: earthquakes. In
2014 the number of earthquakes of magnitude three or greater in Oklahoma exceeded those of California due to fracking
induced earthquakes. Unless you are desperate to reclaim our title, fracking needs to be regulated immediately. Finally,
there have been many recorded cases of people who live near fracking wells getting sick from exposure to the chemicals in
the wells.
Although California does currently have some regulations around fracking, those regulations are not nearly
comprehensive enough. The current regulations are mainly around permitting and disclosure of wastewater contents.
While these regulations are a step in the right direction, they represent the bare minimum of needed fracking regulations.
Just knowing what is in the fluid used for fracking isnt enough. We need to regulate how these toxic chemicals can be
used in extracting natural resources. The current law does not contain nearly enough regulation to actually make fracking a
safer practice. We need regulation that holds fracking companies accountable for the disasters that they have been
inflicting upon innocent citizens. Those regulations should include stricter permitting requirements, monitoring of
wastewater disposal, and closer scrutiny of the effect of gases and chemicals on residents who live near fracking sites.
They should also prohibit construction of fracking wells on top of any fault, active or inactive, that could cause an
earthquake.
Additionally, California needs to overhaul the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).
DOGGR has been woefully ineffective in regulating not only fracking, but all oil and gas extraction in California.
DOGGRs official goal is increasing the ultimate recovery of underground hydrocarbons. It is unacceptable that the
Division of the California government that is regulating all oil and gas extraction in the state is dedicated, not to the
protection of the citizens and environment, but to increasing the profits of oil and gas companies.
Thank you for considering this issue, which is one of the most important and fastest developing in California,
and indeed the United States.
Sincerely,