BEVERLY HILLS-The City Council decided on May 6 to ban the practice of fracking within the city limits.
The City Council directed the Planning Commission on January 7 to consider and adopt a resolution which prohibits hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the city, according to the ordinance’s agenda report.
The Planning Commission then voted to adopt the resolution on March 27. On April 22, the motion was revised to include “an administrative process to address any potential taking claim” among other issues.
Fracking has become a controversial issue over the years as various attempts have been made to capture oil from deposits underground in the United States. The ban was extended to include the practice of “acidizing,” a variation of fracking that involves injecting hydroflouric acid into wells to dissolve rock thus allowing oil to seep up to the surface.
The ban has included any similar “well simulation” treatments from being practiced as well. The City Council noted in a statement that the lack of federal and state regulations as well as the shortage of studies concerning health and environmental risks was a driving force in proposing the ban.
The “anti-fracking ordinance” also affects drill sites from outside the city that might practice fracking to get at the oil deposits that sit beneath the city. Conventional techniques are allowed to continue so long as they are done outside of Beverly Hills. The statement noted that the last remaining oil production site in the city, which was located next to Beverly Hills High School, was set to be closed at the end of 2016.
The ordinance was passed unanimously and will take effect on June 6.
