Fracking in the Los Padres

The steady stream of concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in California hit close to home again this week, as the nonprofit advocacy group Los Padres ForestWatch called attention to the controversial oil extraction practice being used on wells in the Sespe Oil Field, which is in the Los Padres National Forest just north of Fillmore in Ventura County. Pulling information from the voluntary notification website, FracFocus, ForestWatch determined that six more wells were fracked there in recent months by the Houston, Texas-based Seneca Resources, which reported using 4.75 million gallons of water for the operation alongside a laundry list of chemicals. Sine June 2012, 13 wells have been fracked in the Sespe Oil Field, without any additional public notice or environmental studies, claimed ForestWatch, noting that the area is home to many endangered California condors as well as upstream from Sespe Creek, which supplies residential and agricultural water to the region.