After years of failed attempts to impose health and safety buffer zones around new oil and gas wells in California, state lawmakers on Wednesday sent a bill to the governor that would require setbacks between those sites. production and residential areas and other sensitive areas.
Senate Bill 1137 is an important part of a package of climate laws that Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to strengthen the state’s environmental policies.
“This is a long-standing and blatant example of environmental racism,” said State Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), who introduced the bill. “Research shows, of course, that people of color, black, brown and Indigenous suffer the greatest consequences of this toxic proximity and these are the same communities that have oil production in their backyards.”
The legislation prohibits the California Geologic Energy Management Division from approving a new oil well within 3,200 feet of a “sensitive receptor,” defined as a residence, educational resource, community resource, healthcare facility, a dormitory or any building open to the public.
Similar efforts have failed to gain traction in the state legislature in the past, succumbing to tough opposition from oil industry lobbying and labor unions. Newsom has remained largely on the sidelines in those earlier legislative battles as he pushed his administration to enact setbacks through state regulations.
The governor waded into the fight this year, however, after Western States Petroleum Assn. ran ads in Florida criticizing Newsom’s climate policies. The ads came after Newsom aired his own TV spots in Florida calling out the state’s restrictive policies on abortion and LGBTQ rights.
Opponents argued that the bill would already raise exorbitant gas prices and criticized the rushed nature in which the legislation was approved during floor debates in the Legislative Assembly.
“This bill is a setback to desperately needed power generation in California,” Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) told the Assembly. “This bill is a setback for Californians who are struggling to afford to live and work in California. This bill is a setback for the entire California economy.
Democratic lawmakers said SB 1137 will only prevent oil companies from building new wells, or reworked wells, near restricted areas and that existing wells can continue to operate. Companies with existing oil and gas wells in the health and safety buffer zones would be required to monitor emissions, control dust and limit nighttime noise and light.
Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) said he wants the legislation to go further to protect more than 3 million Californians, mostly in low-income communities of color, who reside within 3,200 feet from existing oil wells and are experiencing higher rates of asthma and heart disease. attacks and have a shorter life expectancy.
“All this bill says is you can’t put another near our teachers, our students, our school workers, our nurses, our hospitals, our nursing homes , our children and our grandmothers,” Bryan said.
Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) said he was ashamed in 2019 when his bill to create buffer zones died as states such as Maryland, New Mexico , Oklahoma and Texas had already enacted oil drilling setbacks.
“It is high time we stood up against the powerful special interests that are fighting this bill to protect our most vulnerable communities,” he said during Tuesday’s indoor debate in the Assembly.
Environmental justice groups hailed the result.
“This is a victory for every frontline family and community in California who have been fighting Big Oil drilling in our backyards for decades and pushing for setbacks for years,” said Kobi Naseck of Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods in a statement. .
Lawmakers passed several other bills as part of the climate package before adjourning for the year on Wednesday.
The Legislative Assembly has already sent the governor Senate Bill 1020, which would set interim goals along the way to an existing state goal of generating 100% of retail electricity from renewable energy. and carbon-free resources by 2045. The bill would require the state to reach 90% by 2035 and 95% by 2040.
Assembly Bill 1279 to establish a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 also passed on Wednesday. Lawmakers have approved several different bills related to carbon sequestration, the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.