By Katie Davis
When it comes to meeting our climate goals, California’s Achilles heel has long been the power of the oil industry.
They spend millions of dollars on lobbyists, campaign contributions and front groups to create the illusion of public support. Their goal is to pressure legislators, keep the oil flowing and stop all efforts at meaningful reform. But this year a bold group of California legislators stepped forward to take on the oil industry.
These legislators, including State Senator Monique Limón, introduced SB 467, a bill that takes aim at the unusually dirty and risky oil extraction practices that threaten our region. This bill would improve public health and environmental quality by banning all forms of enhanced oil recovery, such as hydraulic fracking and cyclic steam injection, and require the state to develop health-protective 2,500-foot setback between oil-gas extraction operations and homes and schools.
This is particularly meaningful in our region. In Ventura County, a setback ordinance and other sensible oil regulations are being aggressively challenged in court by oil companies, and a temporary moratorium to protect water resources in Oxnard from cyclic steam production has expired.
In north Santa Barbara County dozens of organizations have been fighting multiple cyclic steam projects for years. These projects would triple oil greenhouse gas emissions, drill through the Santa Maria drinking water aquifer, create dangerous fire risks, clear-cut oak forests, and degrade a richly biodiverse area home to 99 sensitive and endangered species. While the immediate projects of concern have been withdrawn, only state action can protect us long term.
SB 467 also tasks California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) with identifying oil industry workers who have lost their jobs and providing incentives to companies involved with remediating abandoned oil and gas well sites to hire these workers.
A complimentary bill by Limón -- AB47 Remediating Deserted Wells -- allows CalGEM to spend up to $10 million a year on plugging and abandoning deserted oil wells. That will help create these jobs and address a huge health and safety issue.
As will AB 896 -- Idle Gas and Oil Well Remediation -- by Assembly Member Bennett which authorizes CalGEM to impose a claim or lien on an idle well if the operator has failed to pay idle well fees, if the well is unsafe, or if the state has incurred costs for remediating the well. This will provide an important tool to help motivate oil companies to obey the law and properly seal wells no longer in use.
Kudos to State Senator Limón and Assembly Member Bennett for introducing these oil bills. It’s a big lift to take on the oil industry and get needed reforms passed and signed, but it is necessary work to protect our health, meet our climate goals, and address the hazard of abandoned and idle wells.
Read more on this excellent article by NRDC, Taking the gloves off in California battle over oil.
* * *
Other Priority bills for Sierra Club California By Kathryn Phillips
At the beginning of each new legislative year, just as bills start their journey through policy committees, Sierra Club California releases a list of our priority bills.
The list reflects just a fraction of the bills that the Sierra Club California staff lobby on throughout the year. But it also reflects our best assessment of which bills will require strong effort to pass or block. Check out the list here: https://tinyurl.com/PriorityBills
A lot of the bills have to do with recycling, reducing plastic, ensuring, clean water, reducing oil and gas dependence and advancing equity and social justice, among many others
Sierra Club’s positions on bills are determined by a committee of experienced volunteers who bring expertise about issue areas and the law to their work.
The legislature moves rapidly between now and early September when this year’s session ends. Periodically, we will be updating the priority list. To stay on top of the list as it is updated, watch our website legislation page where we post updates.
* * *
Our Los Padres Chapter ExCom members cited the following of particular interest:
~ Oppose SB 10 which would overturn voter approved ballot measures such as Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) in Ventura County and allow developers to develop open space and ag lands.
~ Support AB 896 to motivate oil companies to obey the law regarding idle oil wells.
~ SB 47 is sponsored by our own Monique Limon that should be supported. It would help ensure deserted oil wells to be plugged or abandoned in a timely manner; funds provided.
~ A bill to ban all forms of enhanced oil recovery, such as fracking and cyclic steam inject. SB 467 should be supported as it also develops setbacks to improve health from existing operations.
~ Fire Safe Bill (SB 55) is strongly supported as it would prohibit the creation or approval of a new development in a very high fire hazard severity zone, as defined by the state.