Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Three Laws To Hold Oil Drillers Accountable In CA

Los Angeles, CA - Surrounded by oil wells at a press conference in the Inglewood Oil Field, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed three bills into law allowing communities to restrict oil drilling and help the state address polluting idle wells. 

The signing of the bills was a big victory by the consumer, climate justice, environmental and community groups that have been urging the Governor to do so — and the culmination of years of organizing against Big Oil in California.

In summary, AB 2716 (Bryan) will shut down 600 wells in the oil field he was standing in. Another bill, AB 3233 (Addis), protects Los Angeles’s ordinances against oil drilling from judicial assault. A third bill he signed, AB 1866 (Hart), will prioritize the plugging of idle wells, according to Consumer Watchdog.

“The health of our communities always comes first,” said Governor Newsom in a statement. “These new laws allow local leaders to limit dangerous oil and gas activities near homes, schools, and other areas as they see fit for their communities, and give the state more tools to make sure that idle and low-producing wells get plugged sooner. This builds off of our all-of-the-above efforts to protect communities from pollution and hold Big Oil accountable.”

“Governor Newsom used his power to protect Angelenos from the toxic harm of oil wells,” explained Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the sponsor of AB 2716. “Kids should not be playing soccer and going to school within yards of oil wells. California is once again leading the way in protecting communities from the harmful impact of oil drilling.”

“Since the wells are producing so little oil, on average three barrels per day, there is no economic reason to keep them open and endanger the lives of children and families who live around them. Newsom’s signature on AB 3233 is a vote for local control over oil drilling and strikes back against a recent, wrong-headed ruling that struck down LA’s oil drilling ban,” Court said.

AB 2716 (Bryan) is expected to lead to the closure of Inglewood Oil Field

AB 2716 (Bryan), the Low Producing Well Accountability Act, requires oil wells in the Inglewood Oil Field that produce less than 15 barrels of oil per day to pay $10,000 per month. The oil field is the largest urban oil field in the U.S. Sponsored by Consumer Watchdog, the bill is expected to lead to the closure of the Inglewood Oil Field in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles and sets a target date of 2030.

“The Inglewood Oil Field is the largest urban oil field in our state. Production in recent years has been marginal, but for decades the negative health impacts surrounding it have cost the nearby community with their life expectancy,” said Assemblymember Bryan. “Today, with Governor Newsom’s signature, we will finally shut it down and establish the state’s first repair fund for the frontline communities who have been organizing for years to be seen, heard, and protected.”

AB 3233 (Addis), the Local Environmental Choice And Safety Act, protects local statutes that limit drilling from statewide preemption arguments and should bolster the ban on new wells passed by the City and County of Los Angeles City, according to Court.

“The signing of AB 3233 is a vital win for communities across the Central Coast, and all of California,” said Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay). “Putting this bill into law affirms our right to clean air and water, free of oil and gas pollution. I’m thankful to Governor Gavin Newsom for signing this important bill into law, to my colleagues for helping me get it to his desk, and to the many community-members and leaders who have been fighting this battle with me. Today is a huge win for the well-being of all Californians.”

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge recently struck down the City of Los Angeles’s ban on oil drilling based on a California Supreme Court ruling in a case involving a Monterey fracking ban. AB 3233 makes clear that cities like LA have the power to stop oil drilling in their jurisdiction.

AB 1866 (Hart), the Idle Oil Well Cleanup Act, prioritizes the clean-up of idle wells to facilitate the plugging of the wells and protect communities.

“This is a landmark victory for taxpayers and communities most affected by the harmful health impacts of neighborhood oil drilling,“ said Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara). “I am proud of this decisive action we are taking today to hold the oil industry responsible for plugging over 40,000 idle oil wells across California. I want to thank Governor Newsom for recognizing the urgency of solving the idle oil well crisis in the state."

Court concluded, “Governor Newsom celebrated Climate Week in the most appropriate way, putting an end to fossil fuel infrastructure that threatens communities.

Likewise, the Last Chance Alliance praised the Governor for signing the three bills into law, tweeting, “These critical measures will hold the oil industry accountable and protect California communities from dangerous pollution. This is a huge step toward a cleaner, healthier future!”

Western States Petroleum Association: “Just More Political Theatre”

In contrast, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), bemoaned the bill signing as “just more political theatre — signing bills that pile on mandates and drive up costs for Californians.”

“These new laws do nothing to produce more oil here at home and, in fact, cost jobs while forcing us to bring in more oil from overseas,” claimed Reheis-Boyd, the former chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative to create “marine protected areas” in Southern California, in a statement. “While the Governor cannot stop demonizing our industry, the truth is we prioritize community and worker safety too.”

“Gov. Newsom must rethink his own proposal on refinery maintenance that threatens refinery workers and communities. Even the Governor’s own experts disagreed with him last week. More mandates won’t lower gas prices or help California families,” she added.

6,366 new and reworked oil and gas well drilling permits approved since Jan. 2019

While the signing of the three bills was a major victory for climate justice, California still has a long way to go until it is free of fossil fuel production. California remains the seventh biggest oil producing state in the nation.

California oil and gas regulators approved 35 new oil and gas well drilling permits in 2024’s second quarter, a big leap from zero new permits approved in the same quarter last year, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance reported in August.

“About half of these new wells were potentially illegally issued within the community setback zone,” said Liza Tucker, Consumer Advocate for Consumer Watchdog, in a press statement. “The pace of plugging wells slowed by a quarter over the same period last year, though the issuance of all types of permits in total fell 41%.”

A total of 16,366 total new and reworked oil and gas well drilling permits have been approved by the Gavin Newsom administration since Jan 2019.

A total of 35 new well permits were issued in the first 6 months of 2024, a +400% change from the first 6 months of 2023.

A total of 99 oil well rework permits were issued in the first 6 months of 2024, a -67% change from the first six months of 2023.

That comes to a total of 134 new or reworked permits in the first two quarters of 2024.

California is currently home to 101,000 actively producing, idle, and newly permitted wells that have not yet become operational, according to data compiled by the FracTracker Alliance. Out of that number, 26,000 are located within the 3,200-foot health protective zone where millions of people live.