Research Guides: Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking): California

California

In California, most of the oil and gas reservoirs are conventional and thus found within layers of rock underneath the cap rock. There is a shale formation in California known as the Monterey Shale, however, this has not yielded much throughout the years unlike other shale formations across the U.S. One of the main concerns with fracking in California has been the risk of damage to groundwater and failure to comply with some of the requirements of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.

California creates new regulatory regime for "fracking"
Phillip M. Bender, 45 Trends 13 (2013-2014).
Defending water against a fractured body of law: A Case study of California's Monterey shale formation
Jaqueline Quarre, 29 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 443 (2014).
Taming the West: Senate Bill 4 and California's struggle to regulate fracking
Justin Hedemark, 8 Golden Gate U. Envtl. L. J. 119 (2015).
California halts injection of fracking waste, warning it may be contaminating aquifers
Abraham Lustgarten, 63 Oil, Gas, & Energy Q. 407 (2015). Abstract only.

Los Padres ForestWatch v. BLM, Case No. CV-15-4378-MWF (JEMx), 2016 WL 5172009, *1 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 6, 2016).
Case brought by environmental groups in the Central District of California alleging that the BLM improperly prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by failing to address the impact of fracking or other well stimulation techniques on the environment under the resource management plan. The court ruled that BLM failed to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of the resource management plan since 25% of the wells in the plan would be using fracking techniques, and ordered the BLM to prepare a supplemental EIS to analyze the environmental consequences of fracking in the area.
Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM, 937 F.Supp. 2d 1140 (2013).
Case in the Northern District of California brought by environmental groups alleging decision by the Bureau of Land Management to sell 4 oil and gas leases for about 2700 acres of federal land. The court determined that BLM did not need to conduct thorough environmental impact analysis (EIA) for leases with no surface occupancy (NSO) provisions; did have to conduct thorough EIA for leases without mention of NSO provisions; BLM acted unreasonable when they prepared an EIA finding no significant impact for the non-NSO leases; and the leases in question satisfied the substantive provisions of the Mineral Licensing Act.

The Department of Conservation Division of oil, gas and geothermal resources is responsible for overseeing hydraulic fracturing in the state.

EPA Oversight of Underground Injection Control Program
The EPA is overseeing California's implementation of Underground Injection Controls after there were concerns over the alignment of wells within approved exemption boundaries.
GIS Maps
Provides current well maps as well as historical well maps and information.
Hydraulic Fracturing In California
Department of Conservation page providing general information on the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the state.
Laws and Regulations
Department of Oil, gas and geothermal laws and regulations.
Oil and Gas Forms
Various department forms relating to oil and gas.
Pre-1977 Scanned Well Documents
Scans of documents from before 1977 providing information on the following districts in California:
District 1- Cypress
District 2- Ventura
District 3- Orcutt
District 4- Bakersfield
District 5- Coalinga
District 6- Sacramento
Well Finder
Lets users locate a well by street address, API number, latitude/longitude, Public Land Survey System coordinates (township/range/section), or by oil/gas field.
Well Search
Allows you to search for information on well production, records, and injection in the state. Information on confidential wells is not provided.
Well Stimulation Treatment
Includes information on well stimulation treatment (WST) operations like hydraulic fracturing. Provides access to public information, WST permits, WST disclosures, and statutes and regulations.

Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas
Report released by the EPA in December 2016 detailing the impacts from the hydraulic fracturing water cycle on drinking water resources in the United States.
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, vol. I
Report by the California Council on Science and Technology and Berkeley National Laboratory issued in January 2015.
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, vol. II
Report by the California Council on Science and Technology and Berkeley National Laboratory issued in July 2015.
An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation in California, vol. III
Case Studies on hydraulic fracturing and acid stimulation in regions of California released in July 2015.
Salinity of deep groundwater in California: Water quantity, quality, and protection
Study published in 2016 discussing the overlap between oil and gas development and groundwater in California.