Measure Z supporters say work isn’t done

The group of people behind the fracking ban in Monterey County says its work isn’t over.

On Tuesday, Protect Monterey County held a rally outside of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. It says its first step was to make sure Measure Z passed, calling for that ban on fracking and other oil extraction tactics. It did, getting 56-percent of the vote. The next step – making sure the ban gets implemented.

The group said it plans to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with county leaders to defeat the oil industry’s attempts to stop Measure Z.

“We’re here to stand with them in that implementation,” said James Eggleston. “If big oil makes good on their threats of frivolous litigation, we will intervene in those cases.”

County leaders have previously said oil companies have threatened potential litigation over the initiative. The county said its ready for a fight. While nothing has been filed, an outside law firm has been retained to serve as co-counsel if the county is ever sued.

“We are responsible for upholding that citizen initiative that came to us, so we will aggressively defend that initiative and make sure that it’s implemented,” Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas said. “But there will be strategic and technical positions that we’ll have to take and we’ll look to our counsel to advise us on it.”

Protect Monterey County also said it plans to hold policy holders accountable to make sure nothing gets in the way.

“There has to be some technical implementation, by way of an ordinance,” Eggleston said. “Those have to be implemented in order to make (Measure) Z effective. So that process could take a few months. We want to make sure it’s going forward. That the oil companies, through implementation and bullying, don’t somehow gain closure and stop the whole thing.”

Stopping the whole thing is something Bill Carrothers is okay with. He’s against Measure Z.

“I would like to let the people know what a hoax Measure Z is,” Carrothers said. “It’s a poison pill designed to be a fortune for attorneys who are going to be arguing about the takings portion of this, from here on out.”

While he is concerned about the quality of the area’s drinking water, he blames agriculture rather than the oil industry.