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Waste Water from Oil Fracking Injected into Clean Aquifers
Stephen Stock, Liza Meak, Mark Villarreal and Scott Pham
Nov. 14, 2014
California Dept. of Conservation Deputy Director admits that errors were made
In a time when California faces an historic drought, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has uncovered that state officials allowed oil and gas companies to pump billions of gallons of waste water into protected aquifers. Investigative Reporter Stephen Stock reports in a story that aired on November 14, 2014. (Published Friday, Nov 14, 2014)
Friday, Nov 14, 2014 • Updated at 11:52 PM PST
State officials allowed oil and gas companies to pump nearly three billion gallons of waste water into underground aquifers that could have been used for drinking water or irrigation.
Those aquifers are supposed to be off-limits to that kind of activity, protected by the EPA.
“It’s inexcusable,” said Hollin Kretzmann, at the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco. “At (a) time when California is experiencing one of the worst droughts in history, we’re allowing oil companies to contaminate what could otherwise be very useful ground water resources for irrigation and for drinking. It’s possible these aquifers are now contaminated irreparably.”