The San Ramon Valley Democratic Club recommends Endorsement of the following:
Comment to the Contra Costa County Planner Concerning the Application for Oil/Gas Development in Brentwood, Land Use Permit LP19-2019
Harmful Effects of Oil and Gas Extraction
Oil and gas extraction puts our Contra Costa County citizens’ health in jeopardy. Even in the pumping stage, if there is a pipe, the pipe is bound to leak and release harmful chemicals . (See https://www.stand.la/health-and-safety.html). For example oil extraction releases benzene, a colorless or light yellow chemical with a slightly sweet odor that evaporates from gasoline and oil. It is also manufactured as an ingredient in plastics, pesticides and other products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, benzene exposure can cause vomiting, headaches, anemia, increased risk of cancer, and – in high enough doses – death. Scientific research has extensively documented the health risks of living near oil and gas production. Wells can cause asthma and other respiratory illness, induce fetal harm, and increase the risk of cancer.
The evaluation of the project states that the environmental and public health impacts are “less than significant.” This statement ignores the growing body of all of the research that documents the risks to people who live in close proximity to production sites. The safe distance between human activity and oil and gas extraction should be a least 2,500 feet which is considered to be on the lower end of the range of distances that could reduce the harmful health and quality of life impacts from toxic emissions and exposures. The County states that the distance between the closest residence and the proposed site is 1,100 feet (PDF p. 16, NPR). Brentwood residents estimate much closer distances between their property and the proposed drilling site—anywhere from 700 to 900 feet. Residents in Brentwood Hills, multiple nearby schools, health clinics, and Antioch Kaiser Permanente are all within unsafe distances from the proposed site.
Scientific research has extensively documented the health risks of living near oil and gas production. Apparently the County is willing to expose its residents to known health risks so that an Indiana-based driller can contribute to fossil fuel oversupply. As a County, we should not want to increase our production of oil which will be used in fuel and release dangerous air pollutants like benzene and hydrogen sulfide, and quantities of fine and ultra-fine particulate matter.
Production of Oil and Gas Is Not Needed
As 40 tankers idle off the California coast, storing the surplus oil which the state’s refineries can’t begin to process. California refineries actually produce more gasoline than we consume in-state. At present, 33% of the petroleum goods refined in California are produced for export. Refineries in the state import about 75% of the crude they process into gasoline and other products for domestic use and export; California crude makes up the remaining 25%. The question is why should the County undergo the harmful effects of oil and gas extraction so that other nations can have oil and gas?
The application of PowerDrive’s application for a permit states that This oil and gas production is needed to eliminate the need of California to import foreign crude? This is a major rationale the County offers in its endorsement of the PowerDrive permit application. California oil fields have been seriously depleting over the last few decades. The oil industry has had to increasingly rely on “extreme extraction” methods such as hydraulic fracturing, gravel packing, cyclic steaming, and acidizing in order to coax out increasingly hard to reach oil from the ground. All of these methods are highly energy-intensive, frequently water-intensive, and environmentally hazardous, and they employ highly toxic chemicals with serious impacts on human health. This is, in other words, a zero-sum game with diminishing returns and increasing risks.
Oil and Gas Production Is Not Compatible With County’s Climate Action Plan
Contra Costa County is currently in the process of revising its Climate Action Plan, which is intended as a blueprint for enacting policies that promote sustainability and climate resilience. Ironically enough, that very Climate Action Plan, as well as the State of California’s well-known commitment to greenhouse gas reduction, are both invoked in the NPR as reasons to increase fossil fuel extraction in the county. The logic employed here boggles the mind. Decreasing greenhouse gas levels demands a rapid transition away from dependence on fossil fuels, not doubling down on them.
Note: The County’s evaluation fails to note the correct address of the proposed extraction site, erroneously listing Heidorn Ranch Road as “Hidden Valley Road.” This is just one of many glaring inaccuracies, small and large, in its Notice of Public Review and Intent to Adopt a Proposed Negative Declaration (NPR).
Harmful Effects of Oil and Gas Extraction
Oil and gas extraction puts our Contra Costa County citizens’ health in jeopardy. Even in the pumping stage, if there is a pipe, the pipe is bound to leak and release harmful chemicals . (See https://www.stand.la/health-and-safety.html). For example oil extraction releases benzene, a colorless or light yellow chemical with a slightly sweet odor that evaporates from gasoline and oil. It is also manufactured as an ingredient in plastics, pesticides and other products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, benzene exposure can cause vomiting, headaches, anemia, increased risk of cancer, and – in high enough doses – death. Scientific research has extensively documented the health risks of living near oil and gas production. Wells can cause asthma and other respiratory illness, induce fetal harm, and increase the risk of cancer.
Scientific research has extensively documented the health risks of living near oil and gas production. Apparently the County is willing to expose its residents to known health risks so that an Indiana-based driller can contribute to fossil fuel oversupply. As a County, we should not want to increase our production of oil which will be used in fuel and release dangerous air pollutants like benzene and hydrogen sulfide, and quantities of fine and ultra-fine particulate matter.
Production of Oil and Gas Is Not Needed
As 40 tankers idle off the California coast, storing the surplus oil which the state’s refineries can’t begin to process. California refineries actually produce more gasoline than we consume in-state. At present, 33% of the petroleum goods refined in California are produced for export. Refineries in the state import about 75% of the crude they process into gasoline and other products for domestic use and export; California crude makes up the remaining 25%. The question is why should the County undergo the harmful effects of oil and gas extraction so that other nations can have oil and gas?
The application of PowerDrive’s application for a permit states that This oil and gas production is needed to eliminate the need of California to import foreign crude? This is a major rationale the County offers in its endorsement of the PowerDrive permit application. California oil fields have been seriously depleting over the last few decades. The oil industry has had to increasingly rely on “extreme extraction” methods such as hydraulic fracturing, gravel packing, cyclic steaming, and acidizing in order to coax out increasingly hard to reach oil from the ground. All of these methods are highly energy-intensive, frequently water-intensive, and environmentally hazardous, and they employ highly toxic chemicals with serious impacts on human health. This is, in other words, a zero-sum game with diminishing returns and increasing risks.
Oil and Gas Production Is Not Compatible With County’s Climate Action Plan
Contra Costa County is currently in the process of revising its Climate Action Plan, which is intended as a blueprint for enacting policies that promote sustainability and climate resilience. Ironically enough, that very Climate Action Plan, as well as the State of California’s well-known commitment to greenhouse gas reduction, are both invoked in the NPR as reasons to increase fossil fuel extraction in the county. The logic employed here boggles the mind. Decreasing greenhouse gas levels demands a rapid transition away from dependence on fossil fuels, not doubling down on them.
Note: The County’s evaluation fails to note the correct address of the proposed extraction site, erroneously listing Heidorn Ranch Road as “Hidden Valley Road.” This is just one of many glaring inaccuracies, small and large, in its Notice of Public Review and Intent to Adopt a Proposed Negative Declaration (NPR).