A law hailed by California Governor Jerry Brown in 2013 was meant to address public over the controversial practice of “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing. But SB 4* was a watered down version of what people calling themselves “frack-tivists” want. It requires a minimal level of regulation to be administered by the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).

Southern California may become a new epicenter of fracking, as the discovery of a massive trove of oil called the Monterey Shale, has oil and gas developers salivating. There are potentially over 15 billion barrels of oil under vast swathes of the southland but the only way to extract the fossil fuels is through fracking. There are currently several active fracking operations in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Carson, Culver City, Baldwin Hills, Brea, Huntington Beach, and Seal Beach, which residents and activists say are contaminating their water and air.

DOGGR held a public hearing this Monday at Cal State Long Beach – one of 7 such hearings across California – and dozens of fracktivists showed up to rally before the hearing, denouncing the state agency, SB 6, and Governor Jerry Brown. They want fracking to be banned altogether.

Uprising correspondent Bradford Betz was at the rally and files this special report.

ERRATUM: We mistakenly announced California’s Fracking regulation bill as SB 6 instead of SB 4. Uprising staff regrets the error.