"Judge Blocks Central California Oil Development Over Fracking"

"A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from opening more than 1 million acres in Central California to oil drilling because the agency did not properly explore the potential dangers of fracking.

U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald sided with environmentalists who argued that the bureau should have addressed the possible impacts of hydraulic fracturing in an environmental impact statement issued as part of the formal process of opening public lands to drilling.

Instead, the 1,073-page impact statement mentioned fracking only three times and never discussed the controversial practice in depth, according to the judge."

David R. Baker reports for the San Francisco Chronicle September 7, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"U.S. Judge Halts Fracking Plan For Federal Lands In California" (Reuters)