By Randy Ku
In 2016, Alameda County banned the oil extraction process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, thanks to the efforts of Sierra Club members and many environmental groups in Bay Area. This progress should have alleviated the risks associated with fracking, including polluting groundwater and inducing earthquakes. Unfortunately, oil drilling by a company called E&B Natural Resources continues in Alameda County’s Livermore Valley and uses methods similar to fracking that still pose huge environmental threats.
Among the three permits for oil drilling that remain active for the area, E&B Natural Resources is the only company that holds a permit with no expiration date (i.e. E&B can drill for oil until it’s gone). It has four wells in the area and drills up about 30 barrels a day, according to an Alameda County staff report. Now E&B is asking the county for permits to nearly triple the area it can inject with wastewater, from 26 to about 70 acres.
Even though E&B's drilling is not technically fracking, it is no less a threat to Livermore’s community and environment. E&B's Safety and Environmental Manager did admit to its use of acid for the removal of scale buildup. The country’s initial proposed ban on fracking prohibited use of acids for any purpose. But because E&B opposed the initial proposed ban on acids, the final version of ban in 2016 allowed the use of acid for maintenance.
E&B has a record of unsafe operations, with 48 spills and accidents since 2007, according to records from the California Office of Emergency Services. In 2015, NBC Bay Area reported a hazardous chemical leak in Livermore that could have contaminated the underground aquifer. Other problems with E&B’s drilling process in the Livermore Valley surfaced last year. CBS reported on E&B’s contamination of the soil at one of its Livermore Valley oil fields, as well as improper transportation and disposal of hazardous waste involving E&B tanks on a neighboring property. Despite that record, the state backed E&B's request to inject wastewater into a protected underground water source in the Livermore Valley.
Then, one might ask, what are the acids and chemicals involved in this process? Are the chemicals used in the process safe? Unfortunately, the content of chemicals used in the drilling process is not required to be disclosed. Even though the use of chemicals is regulated by the state, the content of chemicals used can vary by manufacturer and the information may remain confidential, according to a county memorandum.
The Zoning Ordinance Amendment memorandum issued by Alameda County in February laid out a few regulation clauses that oil drilling firms are required to follow. But the paragraph immediately following the list of these regulations is deeply disturbing: "If the proposed amendments are approved, the net effect on the active operation [of E&B Natural Resources] would be virtually nil." What's more, E&B would be able to "continue to extract oil as they currently do until the oil is gone."
What You Can Do
Clearly, if we want to see action by the county to stop the polluting impacts of local oil drilling, we’re going to need to apply pressure on our elected officials. Please join us on July 24th at the hearing on issuing permits for E&B’s oil drilling operation in Alameda County. Join us to urge the Board of Supervisors to deny the permits to E&B Natural Resources to expand and extend its drilling operation in the Livermore Valley.
WHAT: Alameda County Board of Supervisors hearing on permits to extend and expand oil drilling by E&B Natural Resources in the Livermore Valley
WHEN: Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at 1:00 PM
WHERE: Alameda County Administration Building, Supervisors' Chambers, 1221 Oak St, Oakland, CA 94612
Photo courtesy John 'K' via Flickr Creative Commons.