UPDATED: Newsom administration proposes 3,200-foot buffer zone between oil wells and sensitive sites

Oct. 21—The Newsom administration, in a long-anticipated move against California's oil industry, unveiled a proposal Thursday for a 3,200-foot buffer zone between new oil and gas wells and sensitive locations like homes, schools and churches.

Existing wells would be allowed to remain, but if they're located within the buffer, the operator would have to install monitoring equipment and vapor containment systems to make sure petroleum emissions are not risking the health of nearby residents.

The proposed setback distance is greater than what was called for by environmental justice advocates for whom 2,500-foot setbacks have been a rallying cry for about two years. They point to studies showing a link between proximity to oil production and a variety of serious illnesses and harmful health outcomes.

"Residents of environmental justice communities in Kern County, like those living in Lamont, Arvin, Lost Hills who have for decades been suffocated with dangerous gases from the oil facilities surrounding their homes, are finally receiving good news," Nayamin Martinez, executive director of Central California Environmental Justice Network, said in a news release.

Some activist organizations went a step further, saying the state should halt new permits for work such as maintenance of existing wells near sensitive sites.

Oil industry representatives argued that even a 2,500-foot buffer was unsupported by science and potentially costly, and that ultimately such measures make the state still more dependent on relatively lightly regulated oil production overseas.

"The arbitrary, unscientific setbacks contained in the draft ordinance will result in more climate non-compliant crude being tankered into our crowded ports from Saudi Arabia and Iraq who are totally exempted from California's climate programs," CEO Rock Zierman of the California Independent Petroleum Association wrote in an email. "So not only will Californians lose their jobs, see decreased local tax revenue and export more of their wealth to foreign countries, but greenhouse gas emissions will increase as well. Not sure that is a legacy this governor wants."

A 60-day public review launched Thursday. A formal rule-making process codifying the setbacks is expected to take about a year.

LATEST MOVE

Gov. Gavin Newsom, under intense pressure from climate and environmental-justice advocates, announced nearly two years ago his administration would work toward establishing a standard oil buffer zone.

Thursday's proposed rule is one of several steps he has taken as part of his stated intention of phasing out oil and gas in California, including a de-facto ban on the controversial oilfield technique known as fracking. At the same time, his administration has failed to deliver a long-promised plan for helping oil-producing areas like Kern that rely on petroleum for thousands of good-paying jobs and vital property-tax revenues.

His plan for helping Kern's "just transition" away from oil and gas production was supposed to have been presented in July. His office said in August it was up for "final review," but two months later it still has not been released.

On Thursday, after speaking in Los Angeles County about the proposed setback, Newsom issued a news release saying the proposed rule would protect the more than 2 million California residents living within a half-mile of oil drilling sites.

"We are committed to protecting public health, the economy and our environment as we transition to a greener future that reckons with the realities of the climate crisis we're all facing," he stated in the release.

His office was unable to offer an estimate of how much money it might cost oil companies to comply with the newly proposed requirements for monitoring emissions, noise, light, dust and water quality, as well as new systems for containing vapors. After the end of the public comment period, the agency that issued Thursday's proposal, the Californian Geologic Energy Management Division, expects to launch an analysis of the measure's economic impacts.

HEALTH EFFECTS

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between proximity to oil and gas wells and health problems including adverse birth outcomes, heart disease and respiratory diseases including asthma. The idea of establishing the setbacks at 3,200 was put forward by a 15-member public-health panel selected by the University of California, Berkeley together with Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Health Energy.

In unincorporated areas within Kern County, no oil or gas wells may be drilled within 210 feet of sensitive areas such as housing, schools, hospitals or places of public assembly. But wells may be drilled 100 feet away from a non-oil-related commercial building or a major or secondary highway.

Arvin's buffer, or setback zone, is 600 feet for sensitive receptors, or 300 feet from other structures. In the city of Carson, the setback must measure at least 750 feet. But these buffers do not generally apply to wells drilled prior to the adoption of a setback standard.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, speaking with reporters by phone Wednesday, said Colorado's 2,000-foot setback remains the nation's strongest protection against harmful effects of living near an oil or gas well. He noted, however, that even that rule does not require additional equipment or monitoring on existing wells within the buffer.

Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, said in a news release the governor should have consulted energy experts before moving forward with a proposal that increases costs, reduces energy production and puts jobs at risk.

"We should be encouraging more energy production for Californians, in California, and by Californians; this regulatory action does the exact opposite," he stated.

The county's chief administrative officer, Ryan Alsop, said in a news release Newsom needs to understand his energy policies fall hardest on Kern.

"All the administration's energy production objectives run through Kern County, with our residents and their families paying the heaviest price," Alsop stated.

Details on the rule issued Thursday by CalGEM can be found online at https://www.conservation.ca.gov/calgem/Pages/Public-Health.aspx. Public comments can be sent by email to CalGEMRegulations@conservation.ca.gov or mailed to 801 K St., Sacramento, California (ATTN: Public Health Regulations) by Dec. 21.