Salud Ortiz Carbajal: “I am offering my amendment on behalf of my constituents on the central coast of California. It simply prevents the…”

“I am offering my amendment on behalf of my constituents on the central coast of California. It simply prevents the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from issuing any new permits that would allow companies to use hydraulic fracturing or acid well stimulation, otherwise known as fracking, in Federal waters off the West Coast. It will prohibit the use of fiscal year 2018 funds to process any new applications for this purpose. This would provide us more time to study whether offshore fracking is safe for the environment and public health. In 2013, we learned that offshore fracking had been occurring off California's coast for more than two decades. In the Santa Barbara Channel alone, there have been more than a dozen documented instances of offshore fracking, yet we know very little about the environmental and health impacts this has had on our communities. Already, the United States Geological Survey has concluded that the practice of injecting pressurized water into deep rock formations causes earthquakes. My constituents deserve to know the risks associated with offshore fracking on our environment, marine life, and public health. My constituents have seen the devastating impacts of some of the largest oil spills in California's history, like the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. My amendment echoes my constituents' concern surrounding the impacts of offshore fracking and prohibits the use of funds to process any new applications for this purpose.…”