Group Sues California over Enforcement of Fracking Disclosure

An environmental group has sued the California agency that regulates fracking for failing to disclose the identity of chemicals and volumes of water used in individually permitted operations.

Fracking dramatically increases production of gas and oil by drilling wells horizontally into hydrocarbon-bearing shale formations and then pumping chemical-laced fluids at high pressure to hydraulically fracture them. Environmentalists worry that poorly sealed wells and underground injection of drilling wastes will contaminate aquifers that people drink from.

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court charging that the California Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources was not following the state's own law. Proposed regulations, still pending approval, would require far more monitoring and disclosure of fracking data than is presently the case.

• "California Fracking Lawsuit Charges State Has Done Insufficient Job Of Regulating Practice," Huffington Post, January 25, 2013, by Aaron Sankin.