California Democratic Party Passes Resolution To Protect Los Padres National Forest

State democratic party leaders passed a resolution this month calling for a halt to ongoing fracking projects in the Central Coast's Los Padres National Forest. Noting that Los Padres is the only national forest in California where “fracking” is occurring, and that a recent report by state oil regulators identified several significant and unavoidable environmental impacts from continued fracking in the area, the resolution urges state and federal lawmakers to curb extreme oil extraction on public lands.

The resolution was authored by Leif Dautch, an elected delegate to the California Democratic Party representing Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and was sponsored by 38 other state party officials, including the chairs of the Environmental and Progressive Caucuses. The resolution marks the latest step by Dautch in his fight to ensure proper environmental review and protection for the Los Padres National Forest, which has seen decades of exploitation due to gaps in state and federal regulatory schemes.

The fight began in May 2014, when Texas-based oil company Seneca Resources Corporation proposed to frack 8 new wells in the Sespe Oil Field near Fillmore. Surrounded by federal-protected wilderness areas and a wildlife refuge, the proposed fracking site prompted a petition drive that gathered over 2,000 signatures opposing the project in less than two weeks.

The success of that effort led Dautch to run for a position with the California Democratic Party. The resolution was his first official act as a state party delegate. “It was important to show everyone who supported the ‘Save the Sespe’ movement that we are committed to seeing this fight through to the end,” Dautch said, adding that he hopes to raise awareness about oil and gas drilling in environmentally-sensitive areas. “Regardless of your general views on oil and gas activity, I think we can all agree that certain places should just be off-limits,” Dautch offered. “I’m certainly not a ‘no-drilling-anywhere-anytime person,’ but I do think we can be selective about drilling in forests and parks and near our schools.”

Accordingly, the resolution calls on federal and state officials to prepare an environmental impact statement for Seneca’s latest fracking proposal, and to remove the exemptions that fracking currently enjoys from key sections of the federal Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act. For the full text of the resolution as adopted by the California Democratic Party, visit: http://www.cadem.org/resources/resolutions?id=0798