Mealey's (June 18, 2015, 4:54 PM EDT) -- NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Anti-fracking activists associated with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) on Oct. 8, 2014, protested drilling operations off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif.

The CBD contends that fracking off the coast of Southern California is “unacceptable” and it argues that fracking companies are dumping toxic chemicals associated with fracking into the ocean.

Offshore fracking puts marine ecosystems in danger, the CBD says, threatening blue whales, elephant seals and leatherback sea turtles, while at the same time it threatens all people by...