Dan Bacher writes: Governor Jerry Brown continued to live up to his reputation as "Big Oil Brown" with his administration's release of the finalized text of the state's regulations for fracking and well stimulation on December 30, 2014.

Although Senate Bill 4, passed in September 2013, requires California's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to complete an environmental impact report and approve an independent scientific study, "neither one of those documents were ready in time to inform the final rules," according to a news release from CAFrack Facts.

“California has essentially reversed the regulatory process when it comes to fracking,” said Jackie Pomeroy, spokesperson for CAFrackFacts. “State regulators have finalized California's fracking rules a full six months before any of the mandated scientific studies have been completed. Given the long-term and potentially irreversible impacts of fracking and well stimulation, it is critical that we make policy decisions based on science—unfortunately, the current timeline makes this impossible.”

Read More | See Also: Big Oil spokesman admits water use will rise with expanded fracking || Protesters urge Brown to protect California's water by banning fracking || Big Oil spends big money to stop fracking ban in Santa Barbara County || Voters Approve Fracking Bans in San Benito and Mendocino Counties || Lawsuit Launched Against Offshore Fracking in California's Santa Barbara Channel || Congressman Mark Pocan Introduces Bill to Ban Fracking on Public Lands