Joe and Kathy Spencer run a 100+-year-old ranch in Southern San Benito County in California. A single oil company owns mineral rights beneath much of the ranch land in the area, so it can come on anyone's property and drill whether the residents like it or not. In 2014, Citadel Exploration, Inc. planned to drill 15 test wells on the neighbor's land and Kathy and Joe were worried about the impacts it would have on their already scarce water supply.
Since then, a judge ruled that the project violated California environmental law and had the potential to use too much water. And then, in November of 2016, San Benito County passed a countywide measure that banned fracking and other high-intensity petroleum operations. Now, when faced with dry times, they will be able to save every drop to keep their ranch going. As Joe says, "You can't raise cattle without water. You can't live without water." This piece was published by EcoWatch in September of 2014.