SACRAMENTO, CA (KMJ) – Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday blocked approval of new hydraulic fracking in the state until permits can be reviewed by an independent panel of scientists.
He has also placed a moratorium on new permits for steam-injected oil drilling.
The steam softens the thick crude so it can flow more readily, while fracking breaks up underground layers of rock.
The steam injected oil drilling extraction process is linked to a petroleum spill in July at the Cymric Oil Field, by Bakersfield.
Chevron reported that 794,000 gallons of oil and water leaked out of the ground into the Kern County canyon, about 240,000 gallons of the mixture was oil.
Gov. Newsom said in a statement released on Tuesday “These are necessary steps to strengthen oversight of oil and gas extraction as we phase out our dependence on fossil fuels and focus on clean energy sources. This transition cannot happen overnight; it must advance in a deliberate way to protect people, our environment, and our economy.”
The Newsom Administration plans to study the possible adoption of buffer zones around oil wells in or near residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals and other facilities that could be exposed to hazardous fumes.
