Environmental Group Sues California Officials to Block Oil Well Permits Near Residential Homes

Pump jacks and wells are seen in an oil field on the Monterey Shale formation where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used to extract gas and oil near McKittrick, Calif., on March 23, 2014. (David McNew/Getty Images)

The Center for Biological Diversity sued California oil regulators for approving about two dozen new oil and gas wells in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties close to homes, beaches, and important habitats, arguing Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration did not properly consider how the drilling would affect the environment.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and said the California Geologic Energy Management Division in December approved 15 new oil and gas wells in Long Beach and that state officials relied on an outdated environmental impact report that did not consider updated climate changes or any potential health hazards that could affect residents living in the area.

The Long Beach wells are within 3,200 feet of homes and community gathering sites, according to the documents.

That zone would be protected under a health-and-safety zone that Newsom signed into law last year.

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. (Courtesy of the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom)

“This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting anymore,” Newsom said in a statement at the time. “Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen. We’re cleaning the air we breathe, holding the big polluters accountable, and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That’s climate action done the California Way—and we’re not only doubling down, but we’re also just getting started.”

The law was put on hold in February because the oil industry qualified a referendum for the 2024 election, asking voters to overturn it.

The Epoch Times reached out to the California Geologic Energy Management Division for comment but did not respond before the publication of this article.

Jan Victor Andasan, a community organizer with East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice, says approving the new oil drilling sites without properly reviewing current conditions is only causing more harm to the environment and surrounding communities.

“Rubber stamping new oil drilling sites without proper environmental review continues environmentally racist policies that add to the health harms residents have been facing for years,” Andasan said in a statement. “Frontline communities are already overburdened with a multitude of pollution sources in neighborhoods like West Long Beach, from oil production sites to goods-movement operations. People in many working-class black and brown communities are simply trying to breathe, and to do that, they need agencies to practice thorough, thoughtful review.”

Newsom has announced a goal to end fracking, a method used to extract oil from rock, by next year.

“The climate crisis is real, and we continue to see the signs every day,” said Governor Newsom. “As we move to swiftly decarbonize our transportation sector and create a healthier future for our children, I’ve made it clear I don’t see a role for fracking in that future and, similarly, believe that California needs to move beyond oil.”

The California governor has been accused of taking actions that threaten jobs and the future of the oil industry, as Newsom’s order requested CalGEM to halt the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024.

Liz Jones, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said California had seen a decline in fracking permits, including seeing some permits denied because of their potential effect on the climate.

“State regulators are neglecting their duty to protect the public from these dangerous oil and gas projects,” Jones said in a statement. “Putting new wells near homes, beaches, and dwindling habitat for wildlife is the exact opposite of public safety. It’s not only outrageous but illegal for CalGEM to approve these wells without a scrap of new environmental review.”

“Although the governor has done some really major and historic things, we really want to see the regulators here held accountable for rubber-stamping permits that are near where people are living and playing,” Jones added.