Environmental justice communities across California celebrated last week when the oil industry withdrew its controversial attempt to overturn a significant law aimed at reducing the harmful effects of neighborhood oil drilling.
Nearly two years after community activists saw Gov. Gavin Newsom sign the bill they had long advocated for, they can finally feel relief.
Senate Bill 1137 bans new permits for oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, clinics, and other sensitive sites, and increases oversight of existing wells within these buffer zones.
Newsom signed the bill in September 2022 as part of a climate measure package to advance the state’s clean energy transition.
Shortly after the bill was signed, the oil industry filed a referendum to revoke it. Trade groups and neighborhood drillers invested over $20 million in a campaign, misleading voters by stating the referendum would lower gas prices or protect neighborhoods from oil drilling.
These tactics helped the referendum qualify for the ballot last February. Grassroots activists and the bill’s coauthors, state senators Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), vowed to continue fighting to protect Californians living near oil wells from harmful emissions.
Gonzalez had heard rumors that the oil industry might pull the referendum but stated, “I won’t believe it until I see it.”
The industry spent over $37 million, according to state campaign finance records, to overturn the public health measure. Signal Hill Petroleum, operating marginal wells in dense urban neighborhoods within Gonzalez’s district, spent more than $3.2 million to get the referendum on the ballot, which temporarily halted the law’s implementation.
Since the law’s enactment, the industry and its allies spent more than $60 million on lobbying and advertising to overturn it, as reported by the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California, a coalition defending S.B. 1137.
Grassroots organizers quickly mobilized to protect what many deemed a crucial environmental health victory, ensuring future generations wouldn’t face the same issues.
Oil and gas operations emit chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and respiratory issues. Studies show people living near wells have higher rates of asthma and other ailments, similar to the effects of secondhand smoke, as seen in a study of a South L.A. neighborhood.
High-Powered Campaign to Keep the Buffer Zone Law
Gonzalez believes the oil industry withdrew its referendum due to its low chances of success. Polls indicated nearly 70 percent of voters support the setback law.
“We’ve had a strong campaign, with a huge coalition of Republicans and Democrats,” she said, citing support from celebrities like Jane Fonda, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Newsom.
“Oil companies call frontline communities sacrifice zones,” Fonda said at a campaign rally in Los Angeles’ Ladera Heights.
Newsom criticized the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation campaigns, a message he has consistently shared.
Schwarzenegger highlighted the disparity in living conditions, noting, “Of the 2.7 million people who live next to oil wells, there were no oil executives living close by.”
A study published last year shows Black, Latino, and low-income Californians are most likely to live near hazardous oil and gas wells.
“We’re never gonna stop fighting for setbacks,” said Luis Martinez, campaigns organizer with Fossil Free California. “And we really made that clear.”
Organizers and legislators applied pressure on the oil industry, with measures like Assemblymember Isaac Bryan’s referendum reform law and Assembly Bill 2716, which would charge oil companies $10,000 per day for operating wells within buffer zones.
Other legislative efforts included a gas price-gouging law and the Newsom administration’s lawsuit against the oil industry for “wreaking havoc on our planet.”
The setback victory highlights the power of communities long affected by fossil fuels, said Martinez, who grew up near oil wells and refineries in Wilmington.
The Fight Continues
The day after the oil industry withdrew its referendum, California oil and gas regulators notified neighborhood drillers that their reprieve was over, stating that compliance with S.B. 1137 is mandatory.
Signal Hill Petroleum, which sought a 20-year extension despite local opposition, cannot proceed, as reported by Inside Climate News. Signal Hill did not comment.
California Independent Petroleum Association, representing independent producers including Signal Hill, did not respond but indicated a pivot to a legal strategy against the law, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Bryan called the legal threat “a final act of desperation,” and stated that legislators are ready to respond to any legal challenges.
Gonzalez emphasized that S.B. 1137 does not involve taking property but is about stopping pollution in neighborhoods. She is working on a bill holding operators liable for health issues caused by oil drilling within buffer zones.
Martinez noted that while the setback law is a significant achievement, the effort to enforce it and promote further environmental justice continues.
“Our climate mission is to never stop challenging polluters,” Martinez said.
For Gonzalez, the shift towards clean energy is vital. “One in four cars sold in California are electric, and the market is moving towards reducing fossil fuel reliance,” she said. Gonzalez praised the environmental justice communities for their long-standing efforts to secure clean air rights.
“S.B. 1137 represents a pivotal victory against Big Oil,” Gonzalez said, expressing hope that future generations will benefit from the legislation.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org