On Dec 9, California Geologic Energy Management (CalGem) and the California Water Board. held a public hearing to discuss the proposed expansion of Class II injection in the Kern River Reservoir in the North Central areas of Kern County to increase oil recovery. The meeting featured a presentation by Matthew Van Grinsven, Senior Oil and Gas Engineer at CalGem, on the process.
The meeting was not to answer audience questions; however, after public comments close on December 22, there will be a public statement released as a response to public comments.
Van Grinsven explained how the process works and that it will not impact drinking water. To meet the needed criteria for the exemptions, the aquifer can not serve as a source for drinking water, now or in the future. The injected fluid also can not affect the quality of the water that will be used for any beneficial use, and the injected fluid must remain in the aquifer. According to the presentation, the aquifer meets this criterion.
Cesar Aguirre, Director of the Climate, Air, and Justice team at the Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN), was one of the two community members to give public comment at the meeting. His comments reflected wanting consistent monitoring of the water and surrounding areas, and new casings for the wells.
The need for monitoring the water, according to Aguirre, is that some of the wells are right on the edge of the area, and some water will be sent to the Cawelo Water District as well.
“I think it’s something that should be monitored because it may impact the quality of folks that live nearby,” said Aguirre. “Because it’s being sent to a water district that is going to be using it for agricultural reasons, and if that water is going to be sprayed on, one, the food we eat, and two, near the people that pick and harvest the food that we eat. I want to make sure that water is not filled with contaminants.”
Gabriella Herrea also spoke at the meeting and asked how the water is not safe to drink due to the exemptions, yet it is safe enough to be sprayed on the food that people eat. She spoke about the food having a smell when it comes out of the soil, and she believes that it is due to the water being used on the vegetables.
Aguirre stated he feels the state still has several gaps in knowledge for determining if the water is safe.
“The state review board that did the study on whether or not the produced water is safe was done by a company that has ties to oil and gas companies, and that study was criticized for a lack of proper review of information to make sure that the water was safe. I think there’s a lot of gaps in the knowledge that the state has on whether or not that water is safe, that leads me to feel uncomfortable with using that water without monitoring,” said Aquirre.
Part of the reason for using the aquifer is that the water is already contaminated, according to Aguirre, which means there are already issues with the casings and leaks of oil into the water.
“I think in a perfect ideal world, the geography would work out, but I think they picked one of the biggest oil fields in California with thousands of holes that could perforate the levels that are meant to be containment for this injected water,” said Aguirre.
He added that the information about the use of water is confusing.
“I think saying that it’s exempt because the water is too dirty, but then at the same time trying to make us feel comfortable that the water is going to be recycled for agricultural use, left not only me confused, but also the residents from Arvin,” said Aguirre.
Although there is no current plan for legal action, Aguirre worries that the exemptions could create barriers for people in the future if they need to file legal action if their health is affected or their water is contaminated.
“It was just a concern of mine of whether or not it was going to take teeth away from agencies to be able to do something if anything ever goes wrong, and how we would know if anything ever goes wrong if we’re not continuously monitoring the quality of water both in the aquifer and the quality of water that’s being sent to places like the Cawelo Water District,”’ said Aguirre.
In terms of monitoring, he said he would be comfortable with yearly monitoring of the water and monthly tests, or a sample from every delivery of the water for the Cawelo Water District.
Public comment can be sent by email to comments@conservation.ca.gov or by mail to the Aquifer Exemption Department of Conservation, 715 P Street, MS 1803, Sacramento, CA 95814 by December 22 at 5:00 p.m.
