By Katie Davis, Los Padres Chapter Chair
Big Oil vs. Ventura County
For decades, oil and gas production has threatened the health and safety of those who live, work, learn, and play in Ventura County by exposing communities to harmful air pollution and contributing to the catastrophic effects of climate change.
The County finally acted by closing the permitting loophole that allows oil and gas companies to expand their drilling operations without environmental review. The County also enacted buffers between oil development and homes, which California’s Scientific Advisory Panel concluded are needed to protect public health.
Aera Energy wants to reopen the permitting loophole, erase the setbacks and public health protection measures, and try to prevent other counties from enacting similar policies in the future. ExxonMobil owns Aera, which is the largest onshore producer in the County.
With Aera taking a leading role, the oil industry is currently engaged in a multi-pronged attack on the County’s fossil fuel policies, which includes eleven lawsuits and two June 2022 ballot measures A and B.
Big Oil vs. County Vote
The oil industry is pouring millions of dollars into defeating Measures A and B, the showdown on the June ballot.
The industry put them on the ballot after the County acted and closed the ‘grandfather’ permit loophole that had enabled oil projects to avoid basic environmental review, oversight and mitigation.
Those ancient permits, covering thousands of active and idle wells in Ventura County, were issued without expiration dates or limits on the number of wells that could be drilled.
In November 2020, the Ventura Supervisors closed this loophole by establishing a single, consistent permitting and environmental review process for all new oil and gas development regardless of the age of the original permit.
Now the industry launched a petition drive to put these measures on the June 2022 ballot. By doing so, they succeeded in suspending the rules which otherwise would have gone into effect in December 2020. If Measures A and B pass in June, the rules finally go into effect.
The oil industry is now putting an unprecedented amount of money into defeating Measures A and B so the rules never take effect. Aera Energy, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the unlimited legacy permits, contributed $5 million of the $6.5 million raised so far on the “No” on Measures A and B campaign.
Environmental groups led by Food and Water Action are mounting a “Yes” on Measures A and B campaign to defend the county rules and the county’s right to oversee oil development but are expected to be radically outspent in what is gearing up to be the most expensive Ventura County initiative campaign in local history.
Court Clash Coming
In addition to the ballot fight, oil companies have filed numerous lawsuits against Ventura County. They seek to invalidate the health and safety regulations in the General Plan -- including a ban on flaring or venting and needed setbacks between residences, schools, and new oil drilling. Ventura County has been forced to allocate $2 million to defend itself.
On March 24, 2022, a judge granted Sierra Club, Climate First Replacing Oil and Gas (CFROG) and Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods (VISION)’s petition to intervene in Aera’s lawsuit against the county. This gives us standing to help defend Ventura County’s commonsense health and safety regulations.
“The 2040 General Plan is a precedent-setting blueprint for a clean energy future — created by and for the people of Ventura County. Aera’s opposition to these common-sense public health and environmental protections is a last-ditch attempt to reinstate the ‘business-as-usual’ processes they previously benefited from,” said Shannon Simpson, executive director at CFROG. “We support the court’s rejection of Aera’s blatant attempts to silence community voices — whose health and wellbeing have come second to oil profits, for far too long.”
Sierra Club and our allies are represented by Earthjustice and Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, nationally recognized law firms that understand the importance of defending local governments’ ability to engage in basic land use planning and protect residents’ health and safety.
“It is essential for courts to safeguard the authority of state and local governments to protect frontline communities from the harmful health impacts of oil and gas production,” said Elizabeth Fisher, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Ventura County prioritized the health and wellbeing of its residents, and we intend to defend these critical protections in court.”