After a three-year de facto ban, on Friday Governor Newsom’s California’s Geologic Energy Management Division released its plan to formally phase out fracking in California. The proposed rule would prohibit the state from issuing new fracking permits, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect California’s people, animals, air and land. 

This announcement comes after over a decade of advocacy from groups across the state and country, who have been calling on California’s Governors to stop this dangerous practice. Fracking, the process of drilling down into the earth and injecting water, sand, and chemicals into rock at high pressure to allow oil and gas to flow to the surface, has long been known to accelerate climate change, pollute drinking water, cause earthquakes and make people sick. 

Newsom announced his intention to ban fracking through regulation in 2021. While the plan calls for an end to fracking, it does not address all well stimulation methods, specifically steam injection, which is widely used. 

Food & Water Watch’s California Director, Chirag Bhakta, issued the following statement: 

“Governor Newsom’s smart plan to phase out fracking caps off a decade-plus grassroots statewide campaign to end this dirty, poisoning process. Where Governor Jerry Brown egregiously failed to live up to his claims of climate and environmental leadership, Newsom has stepped up. We are grateful, and we now urge Newsom to keep going harder to finally rein in the fossil fuel industry in California. This means ending new drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure and a rapid transition off fossil fuels.”