<P> In New York, local land use laws are considered in state regulations, and in Pennsylvania, the state's Oil and Gas Act superseded all local ordinances purporting to regulate gas well operations ." Additionally, Los Angeles in 2013 become the largest city in the US to pass a hydraulic fracturing moratorium . </P> <P> Hydraulic fracturing has been conducted at the North Slope and the Kenai Peninsula on the South coast of Alaska . Due to potential harm to Alaska's fragile environment, there have been hearings on new regulations for this type of oil extraction . </P> <P> In May 2012 the California Senate defeated a bill, introduced by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D - Agoura Hills), requiring drillers to notify local property owners and water authorities in advance that hydraulic fracturing was going to occur, and requiring the testing of groundwater before and after the hydraulic fracturing to determine whether contamination had occurred . Pavley said that this monitoring and reporting approach would help to address citizens' concerns . The state Senate defeated the bill in a bipartisan 18 - 17 vote . </P> <P> The California legislature passed Senate Bill 4 to regulate hydraulic fracturing in September 2013 . The bill, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, provided for disclosure of chemical used, pre-testing of nearby water wells, and a study on environmental and safety issues . These regulations, which went into effect on January 1, 2015, require "oil companies to obtain permits for fracking as well as acidizing, the use of hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals to dissolve shale rock ." Democratic Senator Fran Pavley, who introduced the bill, hoped that it would comprehensively regulate and oversee hydraulic fracturing, as well as create transparency for the public . The bill seemed to be a step in the right direction for environmentalists, but some criticized the bill as being too lax . Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity said: "SB 4 was amended in the final hours of the legislative session to take it from to a bill that didn't go far enough to protect Californians from fracking to a bill that actually gave away important protections to oil companies ." Some environmentalists promised not to rest until fracking is banned completely . Oil industry representatives also criticized the bill as too restrictive . The measure was supported by state Sen. Fran Pavley, author of a fracking bill defeated the previous year . </P>

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