Inadequate state enforcement of protected underground aquifers led to a group of emergency cease and desist orders. The failure of regulators is "especially disturbing" in a state stricken by a historic, economy- and life-threatening drought.
"California officials have ordered an emergency shut-down of 11 oil and gas waste injection sites and a review of more than 100 others in the state’s drought-wracked Central Valley out of fear that companies may have been pumping fracking fluids and other toxic waste into drinking water aquifers there," reports Abrahm Lustgarten.
The problem originates from a group of some 100 aquifers deemed useless for drinking and farming and exempted from environmental protection, allowing oil companies to pump waste into them relatively regulation free. According to Lustgarten, "[the] exempted aquifers, according to documents the state filed with the U.S. EPA in 1981 and obtained by ProPublica, were poorly defined and ambiguously outlined. They were often identified by hand-drawn lines on a map, making it difficult to know today exactly which bodies of water were supposed to be protected, and by which aspects of the governing laws."
The U.S. EPA have been tracking the practices of the state, completing a scathing review in 2011 and warning that state authority could be revoked. The state has yet to complete a report as the first step in improving its regulations of the well injection program.
California’s Reservoirs are Filling Up, but For How Long?
Recent storms are bringing plenty of water to parched parts of California, but scientists warn the relief won’t be a long-term solution to longer, drier periods.
California Ballot Measure Could Streamline Permitting for Water Projects
A coalition of farmers and desalination supporters is collecting signatures for a California ballot measure that would fast-track construction processes for water storage projects.
Bay Area Looks To Expand Reservoir As Drought Deepens
The expansion of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Brentwood would increase storage capacity and create a more reliable water supply for Northern California communities.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions