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Indybay Feature

Sespe Fracking Hearing Draws Crowd

by Save the Sespe
Locals ask DOGGR to "do the science before you do the fracking"
800_kris_young__leif_dautch__and_david_parziale_rally_before_tuesday_s_hearing.jpg
Dozens of environmental activists and concerned citizens packed into the Ventura College Performing Arts Center on Tuesday night to voice their concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Sespe Oil Field near Fillmore.

The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) held the hearing, the first of six around the state, to solicit public comment on its recently released environmental impact report on fracking and other non-conventional drilling methods used throughout the state.

DOGGR’s report concluded that fracking in the Sespe could pose as many as seven “significant and unavoidable” environmental impacts, including threats to air quality, biological resources, climate change, and worker safety.

Alasdair Coyne, speaking on behalf of the Keep Sespe Wild Committee, highlighted the lack of any prior studies of fracking in the area, while John Brooks of Citizens for Responsible Oil & Gas noted that drilling has been concentrated in low-income and minority communities that already suffer high rates of respiratory illness and other preventable ailments.

Leif Dautch, an Ojai native, suggested that it was time to change the conversation on California’s energy policy. “With the ill effects of climate change becoming more and more apparent with each passing day, now is the time to invest in renewable energy projects, not double-down on the fossil fuel economy.”

The public comment period closes March 16, with the EIR to be finalized by July 1, 2015. Information on submitting comments can be found here: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog/SB4DEIR/Pages/SB4_DEIR_Home.aspx.
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