Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Tuesday he wanted to “set the record straight” and let residents know there is no hydraulic fracking going on in the Inglewood Oil Field.
“I want to make it very clear to the residents of my district,” Ridley- Thomas said. “There is no hydraulic fracking happening in the Inglewood Oil Field and there are currently no plans to do so.”
Ridley-Thomas’s statement was prompted by a report released last week by the California Council on Science and Technology, which looked at how hydraulic fracturing and acid well stimulation — processes used in oil production — could impact water and air quality, seismic activity, wildlife, vegetation and human health.
The two-volume report did not appear to make any direct mention of the Inglewood field.
The roughly 1,000-acre site is one of the largest urban oil fields nationwide. A portion is in the unincorporated Baldwin Hills area, where oil drilling began in 1916.
The CCST report highlighted concerns about potential groundwater contamination from hazardous chemicals used in the fracturing process and recommended limiting the use of such chemicals.
Groundwater at the Inglewood field is monitored quarterly and no contamination has been identified, according to Ridley-Thomas.
The majority of the Inglewood wells are dry, and experts say the wells underneath the field are not being tapped for water supply, he said.
More information, including a study of the impacts of hydraulic fracking and studies of air quality near the Inglewood field, can be found at http://planning.lacounty.gov/baldwinhills.
— City News Service