Assemblyman Robert Rivas calls on Governor Newsom to shut “fracking plan” down

Assemblyman Robert Rivas is calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to shut down the Trump administration’s plan to begin fracking procedures on the Central Coast.

Rivas says he wil be sending Governor Newsom and State Attorney General Xavier Becerra official requests to prevent the plan from carrying out in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz County.

“I have no doubt that the governor and his team will find that this Trump plan is out of touch with the will of local residents,” Rivas said. “The plan is completely inconsistent with state and local law.”

If not, Rivas said he will ask the attorney general to file a lawsuit against the federal government to put a stop to any new drilling.

Meanwhile Governor Gavin Newsom has already spoken publicly about the announcement of this proposed plan to open up more than 700,000 acres to fracking and oil drilling practices.

He says the state should stay focused on solving climate change issues and lean away from the fossil fuel industry.

However some residents feel there might be an opportunity to get more jobs here for the Central Coast with this plan.

“A lot of them are engineering, chemical engineering and production type jobs,” says South Monterey County rancher Walt Duflock. “We couldn’t be happier to have those type of jobs in South Monterey County.”

People opposed to the plan say fracking poses a health hazard in terms of the water in the area, plus a safety hazard related to the possibility fracking triggers earthquakes.

Assemblyman Rivas says he wants everyone opposed to fracking, including local politicians, to step in and voice their concerns publicly.

“We must ask ourselves,” said Rivas “What will each of us do to protect our community.”