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SR-11-27-2012-3DCity Council Meeting: November 27, 2012 Agenda Item: 3D To: Mayor and City Council From: Dean Kubani, Director— Office of Sustainability and the Environment Subject: Resolution for a Moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing in California Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution that calls for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in California until adequate regulatory safeguards are in place. Executive Summary Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a controversial oil industry practice, currently being used in the Inglewood oil field east of Santa Monica, that has the potential to produce significant negative environmental and human health impacts. The cities of Culver City, West Hollywood and Los Angeles have all recently adopted resolutions calling for a statewide ban or moratorium on fracking until regulatory safeguards can be developed. These cities have asked Santa Monica to consider adopting a similar resolution. This report recommends the adoption of the attached resolution calling for a moratorium on fracking until adequate regulatory safeguards are in place. Background Hydraulic fracturing (commonly referred to as "fracking ") is a technique that is used to increase oil and gas production by injecting water and chemicals at high pressures into the ground to create fractures in subsurface rock in order to release petroleum or natural gas for extraction. As the use of fracking has greatly increased in recent years, so have concerns about its potential negative impacts. Fracking is a suspected source of polluted drinking water in Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming and has been linked to seismic activity caused by the injection of fracking fluids and the re- injection of waste fluids into wells. Other concerns include potential impacts to air quality, generation of polluted wastewater, and excessive water use required by the fracking process. F Fracking has been used in California for decades, primarily as an aid to oil extraction, however it remains largely unregulated. The California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources ( DOGGR) regulates oil drilling in the state, however it does not currently regulate the practice of hydraulic fracturing. DOGGR has no records of the location or number of wells where fracking is taking place in the state, does not maintain records of the types and amounts of chemicals being injected into the ground, the amount of water used or the disposition of the wastewater generated by the practice. However, DORRG recently began a process of studying potential regulations on fracking. Fracking is currently being used to aid oil extraction in numerous wells in the Inglewood oil field, which is approximately 4 miles east of Santa Monica and located in the cities of Culver City, Baldwin Hills and Inglewood. As there are no known oil or natural gas deposits within the City of Santa Monica it is not likely that fracking would ever be used here. Discussion On July 2, 2012 the City Council of Culver City adopted a resolution urging DOGGR to place a statewide ban on fracking due to community concerns about its potential impacts on public health, safety and the environment. Citing similar concerns, the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood have both recently adopted resolutions calling for a moratorium on fracking until regulatory safeguards can be established. These cities have asked the City of Santa Monica to consider adopting a similar resolution. The Board of the Westside Cities Council of Governments will be discussing this issue and possibly voting on a resolution requesting either a moratorium or a ban on fracking at its Board meeting on November 29, 2012. Commission Action Santa Monica's Task Force on the Environment discussed the known and potential environmental and human health impacts related to fracking at its meeting on August 2 20, 2012. Following that discussion the Task Force unanimously adopted a motion recommending that City Council adopt a resolution that calls for: • An immediate moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in California until adequate regulatory safeguards including, but not limited to, air, water and soil disclosure and notification are in place. • Requirements that the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources and the California State Water Resources Control Board expeditiously develop, approve and implement protective regulations within their existing authority, including disclosure reports. • Incorporating hydraulic fracturing in Santa Monica's Sustainability Bill of Rights The attached resolution addresses the points raised in the Task Force motion and recommends that DOGGR place a moratorium on fracking in California until regulatory safeguards are developed and adopted. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There are no financial impacts or budget actions associated with the adoption of this resolution. Prepared by: Dean Kubani, Director — Office of Sustainability and the Environment Approved: Oak,��- Dean Kubani Director, Office of Sustainability and the Environment Attachments: Resolution Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager Reference Resolution No. 10720 (CCS).