San Benito Rising, a local environmental group, will be holding a rally called “Draw The Line: Don’t Frack the Pinnacles” at the east entrance of Pinnacles National Park on Sept. 21 starting at 9:30 a.m.
The event, cosponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity, is part of 350.org’s national day of action for climate change and will focus on San Benito County’s recent decision to allow the oil company, Citadel Exploration Inc., to open 15 oil wells for exploration in southeastern San Benito County, near the Salinas River watershed and nine miles south of Pinnacles National Park.
“We’re deeply concerned,” said Rose Braz, the climate campaign director for the Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco, about the environmental impact of the proposed wells.
A spokesman for Citadel denied the company has any plans for fracking and said the business has worked with the county to address all environmental concerns.
In California, the environmental group noted it is seeing “extreme methods” of oil extraction, according to its spokeswoman.
“We should be moving to alternative sources of energy,” she said.
In July, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against San Benito County in Monterey County Superior Court to stop the oil well decision, citing lack of a comprehensive environmental impact study and possible adverse effects to the Salinas Valley’s condor population, in addition to water usage issues.
