Newsom Freezes New Fracking Permits in California

Citing the need for enhanced studies on the environmental impacts caused by two popular oil and gas drilling techniques, California officials announced Tuesday the state is suspending new permits for fracking and high-pressure steam operations. After environmentalists unsuccessfully implored former Governor Jerry Brown over the last eight years to halt the budding oil extraction methods, Governor Gavin Newsom in his first year in office has answered their calls. His order requires pending fracking applications to be reviewed by independent experts as well as a wholesale review of public health and safety laws regarding the proximity of oil wells near homes, schools and hospitals. The order places a moratorium on new operations that use high-pressure steam to break into underground oil formations until further study is done but does not apply to low-pressure steam techniques. The technique has been linked to a series of major oil spills earlier this year that state regulators are still investigating. It also calls for an audit into the permit process for new oil wells and until the review is complete, experts from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will decide pending and new applications. Lastly, Newsom wants regulators to convene with environmental groups and public health advocates to reshape rules to meant to protect communities from nearby oil drilling operations. Sierra Club California said Newsom’s three-pronged order is more than “any governor has done in a single day to rein in oil pollution.”...MORE