Fred Starrh, an almond farmer in Kern County, fought the oil industry and won. The court couldn’t deny evidence that proved that polluted wastewater from steam injection oil operations had killed his orchards and cost him millions of dollars. Robert and Lisa Parr in Texas won a court settlement against nearby fracking after proving that the operations had polluted their air and water and caused them to suffer terrible illnesses.
Despite the evidence from proven court cases like these and study after study, the oil industry won’t admit the significant risks associated with fracking, cyclic steam injection, and acidization. Then, they change the subject and say things like, “We don’t use fracking here.” Meanwhile, they’ve been fracking in secret offshore and dumping the wastewater into the ocean. Then, they call Measure P the oil “shut down” initiative, even though it clearly exempts all existing oil production. And finally, they threaten to sue us for using our democratic process to protect our water supplies. Unbelievable!
Luckily for us, these kinds of bans are legally defensible and tend to hold up in court. A New York court recently upheld several fracking bans that local municipalities put in place. One California court has already upheld a fracking ban. They wouldn’t have a legitimate case to make, particularly since Measure P exempts anyone with a valid legal claim. Thus far, the industry’s arguments have followed the same pattern as they always do. They’re unsubstantiated, cleverly crafted by PR experts to scare people, and they’re completely false. Don’t be taken in. Vote yes on Measure P.
