Friday, January 4, 2013

California -- Again

Regular readers will remember this story, and some of the comments it generated. I'm less interested in whether California will see another oil boom. What impresses me is that the governor was able to stand up to the faux environmentalists at least to some extent.
Governor Jerry Brown's administration released draft regulations Dec. 18, 2012 requiring oil companies for the first time to disclose where hydraulic fracturing is used in California after receiving tremendous pressure from state lawmakers and environmentalists.
The proposed rules released by the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources will require oil companies to reveal that information on a national fracking registry, FracFocus.org, after they use the procedure. The rules also require energy firms to test the integrity of the wells before fracking to guard against leaks and to report the test results to regulators before beginning operations.
Chemicals deemed "trade secrets" would only have to be publicly disclosed in the event of a spill or accidental release, as needed for an emergency response or for medical treatments.
"Experience in other states has shown that such trade secret exemptions are being widely used and likely abused," the Environmental Working Group's Bill Allayaud said in a prepared statement.
Regulators said trade secrets are not widely claimed in other states.

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