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Protect Monterey County
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| Protect Monterey County | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | California |
| Website: | Official website |
Protect Monterey County (PMC) is a grassroots organization that opposes fracking in Monterey County, California.[1] In 2016, the group designed and supported Monterey County, California, Ban on Oil and Gas Drilling, Measure Z, a local ballot measure.
Mission
According to the Protect Monterey County website, the group's mission is as follows:[1]
| “ |
Protect Monterey County is a grassroots group of residents of the Central Coast region who are taking action to protect our water. We act because our elected officials are not responding to our concerns about the dangers of fracking and other extreme oil recovery methods.[2] |
” |
Political activity
The group's website states the following about its political stance and activity:[3]
| “ |
Protect Monterey County is a Citizens Initiative working to safe-guard our water, protect our county's agricultural production and assure a bright, healthy future for Central Coast families. Fracking and other high-intensity, unconventional petroleum operations put our future at risk. In the absence of strict state and county regulations we, the people, have no choice but to take the protection of our health, our environment, and our thriving local economies into our own hands. The people of Monterey County should be able to decide the quality of our future, not the outside oil and gas industries.[2] |
” |
Ballot measure activity
Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
The following table details Protect Monterey County's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Protect Monterey County | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Monterey County, California, Ban on Oil and Gas Drilling, Measure Z | 2016 | Supported |  Approved
|
2016
- See also: Monterey County Ban on Fracking and Extreme Oil Extraction Methods Initiative (November 2016)
Protect Monterey County supported the Monterey County Ban on Fracking and Extreme Oil Extraction Methods Initiative of 2016. The initiative was designed by Protect Monterey County to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, as well as other high-intensity methods of oil and gas extraction, such as acid stimulation.[4]
Lockwood resident Paula Getzelman, who helped found Protect Monterey County, said regarding the initiative, “This was really the only option left. We would like protections for agriculture, tourism, and the health and well-being of our residents. If we weren’t able to get those from state regulatory agencies and our Board of Supervisors, we felt the people deserve to have the opportunity to deal with it at the voter level.”[4]
Getzelman and her husband own a vineyard, and she said she was concerned about the threats fracking posed to the agricultural water supply. Getzelman argued “This county depends on agriculture and tourism; they are the economic drivers. And they depend on a clean supply of water and clean air. The health of our families depend on it.” Responding to those who said state regulations of the oil and gas industry are enough, Getzelman stated, “The more I learned, the more I became concerned. Regulations don’t work."[4][5]
The measure was approved by voters in November 2016.[6]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Protect Monterey County'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Monterey County Ban on Fracking and Extreme Oil Extraction Methods Initiative (November 2016)
- Fracking in the United States
- Communities for Sustainable Monterey County
- Monterey County Citizens for Energy Independence
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Protect Monterey County website, "About Us," accessed August 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Protect Monterey County profile, About," accessed August 1, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Monterey County Weekly, "After supes nix a moratorium, local activists prep a 2016 ballot initiative to ban fracking," June 25, 2015
- ↑ The Californian, "Monterey County group launches initiative drive to ban fracking," August 5, 2015
- ↑ KCBX, "Monterey County voters back fracking ban," November 15, 2016
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