Let’s pack the courtroom to protect clean water

Water is the most essential substance on Earth. Yet it seems that we often take it for granted that clean, safe drinking water will instantly flow from our faucets whenever we turn them on — except when it doesn’t.

I am grateful to the Americans who took to the streets in the 1970s, demanding clean air, water and land, which led to landmark legislation like the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.

Unfortunately, California regulators have allowed oil companies to illegally inject wastewater into aquifers across the state and are now in the process of reviewing applications for exemptions to the SDWA. This is occurring right in our own backyard at the Arroyo Grande oil field in Price Canyon.

Concerned citizens have teamed up with the Center for Biological Diversity to fight this exemption in court. The outcome could set a precedent to either protect or endanger water for our community and others across California. Let’s pack the courtroom on June 1. #PROSLOH2O

This story was originally published May 20, 2017 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Let’s pack the courtroom to protect clean water."