Toxic WasteWater From Oil Fields Endangers CA Water Supply Fred Starrh’s family near Shafter, California, used to have good clean water under their land which they used for their crops.
Starrh said that was before oil companies next door started dumping their waste into open, unlined “percolation ponds” near their farm.
And, Starrh said, “They had about a mile of ponds.” The Starrh family sued the owner of those waste ponds, Aera Energy, a company owned by both ExxonMobil Energy and Shell Global, charging that Aera destroyed their fresh water by polluting the groundwater under the Starrh land through the continuous use of those open waste pits next door.
But here in California, oil companies can legally dump toxic waste onto the bare ground – into what are called “percolation ponds.” The waste comes from oil drilling, which requires an average of 12 gallons of water for every gallon of oil that is produced according to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) which oversees this open dumping.
According the CVRWQCB’s Incoming Executive Officer Patrick Pulupa, there are at least 1086 active wastewater ponds stretching from Monterey to Kern County.
NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit found even more active ponds that are not on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board’s list.
Oil companies contend that the toxins are filtered out as the water seeps into the soil, but a report by the staff at the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board concludes polluted water has migrated underground 2.2 miles from the wastewater ponds in one instance and more than a mile in another instance.
He’s concerned that California’s current policy of allowing this kind of dumping in open pits jeopardizes water supplies which the state will need during future droughts.
With regard to the lawsuit from the Starrh family, Aera said, "The facts are that after years of litigation and three jury trials, there was never a finding linking Aera’s operations to damage to tree crops or harmed drinking water resources.
Fred’s son Larry Starrh saves much of his frustration and ire with the situation for state and local regulators more so than even the oil and gas companies.