Windsor Club Gets Fracking Facts

In this age of information one can find a vast amount of varied perspectives available from print, television, radio, and internet sources concerning the complex issues of the day a bit confusing. This year the Windsor democratic Club has tried to get information from the source on issues ranging from health care to restorative justice by having people engaged daily in working in these areas to speak at club meetings. The September 26 at the Windsor Round Table Pizza was no exception as the club welcomed Briana Mordick, a staff scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who shared her experience with hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other well stimulation techniques.
Ms Mordick began by explaining these new techniques which allow  extraction from tight rock formations. Traditionally, drilling has been done vertically into large pools of oil. Tight rock formations contain oil and gas dispersed through tighter formations of shale, which are then bombarded with pressurized liquids, fracturing the rock , allowing oil and gas to be extracted. Acidizing is a similar technique, injecting acids, commonly hydrochloric and the more problematic hydrofluoric, which dissolve the rock.
Environmental and public health risks associated with the process were explored. Dangers to drinking water, improper disposal of fracking waste water, and increased seismic activity are some of the potential dangers. Measures regulating extraction are particularly pertinent to Californians as huge deposit of tight formation oil and gas is beginning to be unlocked by drillers in the Monterey Formation. California Senate Bill 4 regulating well stimulation was just signed by Governor Jerry Brown. Although somewhat compromised by late amendments, this legislation gives us some of the strongest regulation and oversight of the oil industry in the U.S.

The speaker explained that drilling is inspected and reviewed by the State Division of OIL, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), an agency that is underfunded and understaffed with a reputation among some environmentalists (not our speaker) as an industry lapdog. Our state senator, Noreen Evans, has introduced CA Senate Bill 241, an oil severance tax, that among other benefits, would provide funding for additional well monitoring.

Ms Mordick left the audience with the impression thaat this resource can be extracted relatively safely with additional oversight and regulation, but the political will to enact smart energy doesn't exist at this time. The energy companies will comply when regulated as evidenced by their willingness
 to comply with an initial 100 million fee levied by the German government
in exchange for early fracking in that country.

The opinions of the speaker were her own as she represented only herself and not the NRDC. Read more on Briana's blog at switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bmordick/ .
For updated Club info contact Rick Massell at rickm@sonic.net