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On April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a Draft Supplement Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS) analyzing potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing for future oil & gas development within the 400,000 acre Bakersfield Field Office Planning Area. That planning area includes Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Venture counties.

The Need for a Supplemental EIS

The Draft SEIS is the latest development in BLM’s ongoing management of oil and gas resources and supplements BLM’s 2012 Final EIS, associated with BLM’s 2014 Resources Management Plan (RMP). The 2014 RMP was challenged by the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch (Civ. No. 2:15-cv-04378-MWF/JEM). In 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a summary judgment ruling that BLM had failed to take the required “hard look” at hydraulic fracturing. In 2017, the parties reached a settlement agreement that kept in place the 2014 RMP and required BLM to prepare a SEIS to analyze the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing.

BLM issued the requisite Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare that Draft SEIS in August 2018. That same NOI also contemplated a possible amendment to the 2014 RMP. However, in the Draft SEIS determined that the environmental impacts of integrating hydraulic fracturing into future BLM leasing and development decision did not conflict with the earlier RMP and amendment was unnecessary.
Continue Reading Be Careful of What You Wish For – Environmental Groups Complain about the Environmental Study of Hydraulic Fracturing That They Sued BLM to do

The clamor over hydraulic fracturing continued Wednesday as environmental activists filed another lawsuit to limit oil and gas development in California.  The lawsuit, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch, challenges a plan to open portions of federal land in California to oil and gas operations.

The groups claim that the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) did not consider the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing when it approved a Resource Management Plan, which could potentially open a large area of federal land in the state’s most oil-rich regions to leasing.  The plan found that “overall, in California, for industry practice of today, the direct environmental impacts of well stimulation practice appear to be relatively limited.”

In 2013, a federal judge ruled that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued oil leases in Monterey and Fresno counties without considering the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing.  This ruling has led to a de facto moratorium on new leasing in California on federal lands.
Continue Reading Yet Another Lawsuit Seeking to Limit California Oil Development

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to address hydraulic fracturing on federal lands in central California. BLM indicated that the EIS would consider the potential impacts of fracking and other well stimulation techniques associated with oil and gas leases and may result in an amendment to the resource management plan (RMP) for the Hollister Field Office.
Continue Reading BLM Announces an Environmental Assessment to Address Fracking in California

Less than a month after the United States District Court for the Northern District of California’s decision that BLM failed to fully evaluate the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing operations in granting oil and gas leases (see April 11, 2013, post), the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club have initiated a second lawsuit challenging BLM’s award of oil and gas leases for a much larger area of federal lands in California. The first suit challenged BLM’s issuance of oil and gas leases for approximately 2,700 acres of land. The second suit calls into question federal leases for nearly 18,000 acres of land. Both sets of leases involve California’s Monterey Shale Formation.
Continue Reading Environmental Groups Challenge More BLM Leases Based on District Court’s Finding that BLM Failed to Adequately Consider the Impacts of Fracking

A federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to fully evaluate the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing operations in granting oil and gas leases for approximately 2,700 acres of land over California’s Monterey Shale Formation. The court concluded that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by unreasonably relying on a 2006 resource management plan and environmental impact statement governing management of the larger planning area encompassing the leases.
Continue Reading Court Finds BLM Failed to Consider the Impacts of Fracking in Granting Mineral Leases

Last week, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) adopted a rule requiring pre-notification and reporting of air emissions and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. SCAQMD regulates air quality in Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The rule arose from a September 2012 symposium on fracking in the South Coast Air Basin, including representatives from the government, industry and environmental groups. In addition to fracking, the rule applies to other production stimulation activities such as gravel packing and acidizing. The rule will go into effect in early June, 60 days after its adoption on April 5.
Continue Reading California Air District Requires Fracking Notification and Disclosures

On August 29, the Center for Biological Diversity served the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with notice of intent to sue for BLM’s failure to reinitiate consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) relating to oil and gas leases and drilling permits issued in California. The notice alleges that BLM has continued to authorize fracking activities in California based on outdated biological opinions that fail to evaluate the impact of new fracking techniques on listed species. If BLM does not reinitiate ESA consultation and “halt ongoing oil and gas leasing and drilling activities” with 60 days of the notice, the Center indicates it will file a citizen suit under the ESA.
Continue Reading Environmental Group Serves Notice of Intent to Sue BLM re Fracking in California

On July 24, 2012, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that it will publish the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (“Solar PEIS”) for solar energy development in six southwestern states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.  The Solar PEIS is a major step ahead in the permitting of utility-scale solar energy…

At the end of last week, EPA and BLM each released draft requirements relating to fracking.  EPA released draft Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class II well permitting guidance for fracking activities that use diesel fuels.  BLM released draft rules requiring public disclosure of fracking chemicals used on public and Indian lands.

The EPA guidance applies…

It’s a double header at the California Energy Commission (CEC) today.  The Renewable Energy Action Team – comprised of the CEC, the California Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) – is holding two public scoping meetings for the combined environment impact statement/environmental…

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