SALINAS, Calif.- One of the richest oil deposits in the United States is called the Monterey Shale. We've been covering this story and told you there could be 15 billion barrels that lie underneath the Central Coast stretching across some eight counties.
The federal government has control over assets underground, found in many places like the Central Coast, regardless of who owns the soil sitting on top. The Bureau of Land Management said before any land can be leased, a comprehensive report is put together, according to guidelines based on the National Environmental Protection Act.
"We need to describe the purpose, what being proposed, then what the affected resources may be and what the potential impacts of the action are," said BLM Planning and Environmental Coordinator Sky Murphy.
Environmentalists with the Center for Biological Diversity said that study is consistently flawed and doesn't do enough to describe the impact fracking has on air and water quality.
"It's already occurring on California, without any adequate oversight by federal or state regulators," said CBD Climate Law Institute Director Kassie Siegel.
The Center is currently suing the BLM for a 2007 case covering about 3,000 acres in Monterey and Kern counties. Now they're planning to sue over about 18,000 acres along the Central Coast.
"We have the on going case that's trying to get the problems in the BLM environmental process fixed. But now they're offering an even greater area for sale with basically all the same short comings in the environmental analysis," Siegel said.
The BLM doesn't have an official response to the threat yet. But even if an oil company takes out a lease, another study would have to happen before any drilling could take place. Monterey County is also looking for a better explanation of the effects fracking may have.
"Our planning department has requested and so that'll be taken into consideration. But the BLM as they make their decisions. But ultimately its up to them, I mean we hope that they'll listen," said Supervisor Simon Salinas.
But the BLM said historically the Monterey Shale hasn't been a popular place for oil discovery. The BLM said of the 97 areas up for lease in San Benito, Monterey and Fresno counties, they only expect one well to open up.
"There are actually only a handful of wells or actual productive leases in our field office and over the last 20 years, there have been no new wells drilled on any of these leases," Murphy said.
Those nearly 18,000 acres are scheduled to go up for lease this December.
