Democratic Candidates Disagree on Fracking: What Their Proposals Could Mean for California

The top candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination all say, if elected, they would place new limits on hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling technique that's led to a boom in oil and gas production.

But they don't see eye to eye on how extensive those limits should be. Some are calling for a halt to new fracking just on federal land and others want to ban it completely. Their proposals are bound to affect California's fossil fuel industry and the people it employs.

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Tom Steyer are the only top candidates to say they would push to bar the oil extraction method anywhere in the country.

The other top Democrats have promised to ban new oil and gas permitting on public lands, but most of them have not indicated more severe regulations that call for ending the technique on private land.

No matter what the candidates do on fracking, it won't be easy: Proposed limits on the technique would face push back from members of Congress along with lawsuits and lobbying from the oil industry.

And any new administration that limits fracking would need to train oil workers to do other kinds of jobs, something that would require a massive investment.

"We can't just say we're banning fossil fuels and leave communities behind, living in poverty," said Leah Stokes, a UC Santa Barbara professor specializing in energy and climate politics.

What Is Fracking and How Prevalent Is It in California?

Hydraulic fracturing is an oil well stimulation method that works to get fuel out of the ground by using water and chemicals to crack open geological formations. The injections allow petroleum and water under the ground to flow more freely.

The oil industry says fracking helps provide the country with a consistent source of domestic energy. Environmental groups say the chemicals used in the method lead to air and water pollution and the potential contamination of drinking water. The work has been blamed for causing earthquakes.

Most fracking and other oil and gas drilling takes place on private land, which is regulated by the states.

Hydraulic fracturing accounts for about 1% of California's total gas and oil production, according to Don Drysdale, a spokesman for the state's Department of Conservation. By contrast, water and steam injection account for about 65% of the state's production. But the issue has taken on an out-sized role for environmental activists in the state who have pushed California politicians to oppose the practice.

In California, most fracking takes place in Kern County, home to several large oil fields. The method used there is a bit different than in other places, according to Drysdale.

"Hydraulic fracturing tends to be shallower and use significantly less water in California than in other states," he said.

Starting in 2015, California began requiring oil and gas companies to obtain permits for fracking jobs. State regulators are tasked with requiring fuel producers to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing. If a fracking job causes a magnitude 2.7 earthquake or stronger, the work is supposed to be halted. And state officials are charged with determining whether fracking projects should lead to water quality monitoring.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration recently announced that it would refer dozens of pending oil company fracking applications and other well stimulation methods to independent experts for review. That came after increased scrutiny on California's oil and gas drilling industry and the agency that regulates it.

Last July, Newsom ordered the firing of the top official at the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources after reports surfaced of a dramatic increase in fracking permits and revelations that agency employees owned stock in the companies they regulate.

On federal land, it's a different story. Since 2012, there has been a moratorium in California for new oil lease sales on land overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management following lawsuits filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.

During that time oil companies have received permits to drill on existing leases, but it's unclear how much hydraulic fracturing has taken place on them.

Late last year, the Trump administration finalized plans to open up more than a million acres of public land in California to fossil fuel development, which include fracking. That prompted more legal action from the Center for Biological Diversity and the state of California.

Here's what the top Democratic candidates' proposals on fracking could mean for California:

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders

A spokesman for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says he would ban fracking nationwide. The campaign says that fracking pollutes water, degrades air quality, leads to major methane leaks, worsens climate change and results in more earthquakes.

In late January, Sanders unveiled a federal bill to phase out the practice. The Ban Fracking Act would immediately bar new permits for hydraulic fracturing. It would prohibit fracking near homes and schools by 2021. Starting in 2025, it would ban the method across the country.

"If we are serious about clean air and drinking water, if we are serious about combating climate change, the only safe and sane way to move forward is to ban fracking nationwide," Sanders said in a press release for his January proposal.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Warren's campaign says she would put in place a moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases and work with Congress to pass legislation to ban fracking nationwide.

In September, Warren said on her first day in office she would sign an order placing a moratorium on new fossil fuel leases on public lands and planned to ban fracking altogether.

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Biden would prohibit new oil and gas jobs on public lands, according to his California press secretary, Sean Higgins.

"Biden is clear that he would hold polluters accountable by banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters, and expanding protections for more than 550 million acres of federal lands," Higgins said.

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg

Bloomberg wants to place new regulations on fracking and other oil and gas industry work, according to campaign representative Alison McLaughlin.

Bloomberg would place a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands, including for fracking, she said. But Bloomberg thinks new limits on the industry should come from the local level.

"He also supports local, state and tribal authorities making their own decisions on fracking and fossil fuel infrastructure," McLaughlin said in an email.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Klobuchar would halt all new fracking permits on public lands with in the first 100 days of her presidency, according to C.J. Warnke, a deputy national press secretary for the Klobuchar campaign.

Her administration would then review the nation's rules on current fracking projects, Warnke said.

"Senator Klobuchar also believes that for too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massive profits of fossil fuel companies. She will end federal tax subsidies for fossil fuel exploration and production," Warnke said in an email.

Tom Steyer

Steyer, a billionaire philanthropist and activist, has spent millions helping to elect candidates who have strong platforms against climate change, and has championed fracking bans for years.

Steyer's campaign says he wants to ban fracking on federal lands first, but then phase in a national ban starting with strict air, water and safety regulations.

"A ban on fracking must be implemented in a smart, phased way that protects frontline communities, workers and the health and safety of all Americans," Steyer's camp said in an email.

"If fracked gas was ever a bridge fuel, that bridge has been built and we must now firmly plant our feet on the other side and rapidly scale up clean energy, get to a zero carbon economy, and create millions of good, family-sustaining jobs in the process," the Steyer camp said.

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg has said he wants to close public lands to new fossil fuel leases and ban new fracking, but his campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.

All of the Democratic candidates in the field say they're committed to planning and funding the economic transition for workers in the fossil industry.

A Fracking Ban Wouldn't Happen Overnight

"We should expect this is going to be a long fight," said Stokes, the UC Santa Barbara professor.

Getting a new law through Congress that rolls back fracking would be difficult, with a Republican-controlled Senate and some Democrats in the House hesitant to ban the practice. In fact, several reports indicate that some Democrats are concerned such bans would push moderate voters in swing states to vote for President Trump.

But a new presidential administration could develop rules that would supersede state regulations and limit hydraulic fracturing without Congress.

"We have laws on the books that can be used to try to reduce fracking," Stokes said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has some oversight over oil drilling on private land. The Safe Water Drinking and Clean Air acts could give the EPA under new leadership the power to create regulations to limit and phase out fracking nationwide.

"We already have environmental protections at the federal level and they could be interpreted in new ways, with new regulations issued, that through time could start to slow down fracking in the country," Stokes said.

But even that process would be slow.

"It's going to take time to implement their ideas," Stokes said. "They can take decades to be finalized."