Pursuant to Senate Bill 4, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) commissioned the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to conduct an independent scientific assessment of well stimulation, including hydraulic fracturing, in California. On January 14, 2015, CCST released Volume I of the assessment to the public.
Volume I, which is titled "An Independent Scientific Assessment of Well Stimulation Technologies in California: Well Stimulation Technologies and their Past, Present, and Potential Future Use in California", provides the factual basis describing what well stimulation treatments (WST) are, how they are conducted in general and practiced in California, and where they have been and are being used for oil and gas production in the state.
The full independent scientific assessment is issued in three volumes. As of July 9th, volumes II and III have been released. Volume II discusses how well stimulation could affect water, atmosphere, seismic activity, wildlife and vegetation, and human health. Volume II also reviews available data, and identifies knowledge gaps and alternative practices that could avoid or mitigate these possible impacts. Volume III presents case studies to assess environmental issues and qualitative hazards for specific geographic regions, based on findings in Volume I and Volume II.
Links to these volumes:
More links and information are available on the
California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) Project Description page regarding the study and the report volumes.