Jan 31, 2016 8:55 am 

 

The federal government won’t be issuing any new permits to frack for oil or gas in the waters off California, after a settlement was reached Friday in a case brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. The settlement also directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to analyze the environmental impacts of offshore fracking. 

 

“Every offshore frack puts coastal communities and marine wildlife at risk from dangerous chemicals or another devastating oil spill,” Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the group, said in a statement. “Once federal officials take a hard look at the dangers, they’ll have to conclude that offshore fracking is far too big of a gamble with our oceans’ life-support systems.”

 

In 2013, an investigation by the Associated Press revealed that there were more than 200 instances of fracking operations in state and federal waters off California — which were all unknown to the state agency that oversees offshore oil and gas. The lawsuit alleged the federal regulators were rubber-stamping permit applications. 

Read More: