Over 100 CA Groups Release Letter Calling SB 4 Insufficient & Press for an Immediate Moratorium on Fracking

Environmental, health and progressive groups released a letter today calling SB 4’s regulations “insufficient” and are demanding that Gov. Brown immediately impose a moratorium on fracking in California. The letter has been signed by more than 100 groups, including CREDO, Food & Water Watch, MoveOn.org, Center for Biological Diversity, and Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles.

The letter is part of a growing movement made up of local activists, environmental, health and progressive groups urging California lawmakers to support a fracking moratorium — the only way to adequately protect California’s air, efforts to fight climate change, and precious water system from the dangers of fracking. A University of Southern California/Los Angeles Times poll in June found that 58 percent of California voters favor a moratorium on fracking.

An excerpt of the letter reads: “The fight to protect California from fracking has reached a critical juncture. But Senate Bill 4’s effort to fill the legislative void on this dangerous practice is insufficient to protect our state, our people and our climate from the myriad dangers posed by fracking.”

Read the full letter, along with all the groups signing on in support, here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.credoaction.com/images/SB_4_statement.pdf

The Assembly Appropriations Committee is expected to vote as early as this week on SB 4, a regulatory fracking bill that was weakened during the legislative process because of pressure from the oil industry and lawmakers.

“It’s a sad day when we have to protest what was supposed to be an environmental bill, but SB 4 simply won’t protect us or our water from the dangers of fracking,” said Becky Bond, CREDO’s Political Director. “This weak bill will allow the fracking industry to massively ramp up fracking in California. What we need is a ban on fracking.”

“More than 150,000 Californians have called for a ban on fracking in the state of California,” said Victoria Kaplan, Campaign Director at MoveOn.org. “If Governor Brown is serious about stopping climate change and protecting our environment and our water, he should listen to the science, and to the voters, and ban fracking immediately.”

“SB4 is woefully inadequate in addressing the threat that fracking poses to Californians’ air, water, health and highly valued industries like agriculture and tourism,” said Food & Water Watch California Campaign Director Adam Scow. “If we attempt to fill the legislative void with a faulty bill, we’re essentially paving the way for fracking and other disasterous extraction methods. Instead of quibbling over the details of SB4, the conversation needs to focus around the reasons we need Governor Brown to issue a moratorium on fracking as soon as possible.”

“Gov. Brown and state lawmakers need to halt fracking now to protect California’s efforts to fight climate change,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “When it comes to climate, there’s just no safe way to frack our state’s dirty oil deposits. If we’re going to preserve a livable future for our children, we need a moratorium on this inherently dangerous process.”