Donald Trump has held a grudge against the state of California ever since its vote went for his opponent in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton. Now, the president has begun the process of taking revenge that could hurt public lands. It could even do far worse.
The president ordered his administration to prepare large areas of land in the state for fracking. This is the process that allows companies to extract oil and gas from the ground that is not readily available except through hydraulic fracturing.
The Bureau of Land Management released a notice to the Federal Register. It showed the administration’s intent to perform an analysis for the viability of fracking on 400,000 acres of public lands. The White House will analyze public lands and 1.2 million acres of federal mineral estates throughout of a number of California counties. These counties include Fresno, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara.
It has been well documented that fracking was responsible for a thousand-fold increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma. This has been the state where the most fracking occurs.
The Bureau of Land Management indicated in its intent that it will begin a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. However, Trump has not been known for his concern for the environment.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the federal government in 2017, so that the administration would have to provide the environmental impact statement prior to fracking.
Attorney for the Center of Biological Diversity, Clare Lakewood, said her organization will not do anything until the administration provides analysis justifying fracking in the earthquake laden state. She said there was just “no way:”
‘You can’t justify drilling for fossil fuels anymore, there is no way to come out with an environmental analysis and find out this is OK. It’s a coordinated attack on California by the Trump administration.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
