US government says fracking off California poses no threat to environment
The United States’ Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have announced that fracking offshore California poses no significant negative impact on the environment.
The agencies based their decision on the results of a comprehensive environmental analysis of potential effects of using well stimulation treatments on oil and gas platforms operating on the Outer Continental Shelf off the Golden State.
Pending the decision all fracking in those waters had been suspended.
Offshore fracking (short for hydraulic fracturing) involves the blasting of vast quantities of water mixed with chemicals beneath the ocean floor in order to fracture rocks. It also involves the dumping of huge volumes of wastewater.
Tucson, Arizona-based environmental group the Centre for Biological Diversity was very unhappy, saying the decision reawakens the threat of damage to the seas and wildlife. The CBD also strongly suggested it may file a new lawsuit to prevent the return of fracking.