The Orange County Register – The Compost: Big Oil Just Scored a Big Win in The California Legislature

By Brooke Staggs, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The photo above captures a scenario that would be illegal in some states. 

California is unique among major oil-producing states in having no minimum setback between oil wells and homes. The legislature last year passed a bill to change that, with Senate Bill 1137 mandating a 3,200-foot buffer between homes and new oil drilling or major retrofits to existing wells. But oil drillers in February qualified a referendum on the setback question for the November 2024 ballot. Voters now will get to decide whether the 3,200-foot buffer dies or takes effect in 2025. 

Another bill aimed at protecting Californians who live near oil wells died before it could even come up before a vote in the legislature. 

Citing research on how pollution from oil wells that leaks into the air, water and soil increases the risks that nearby residents might develop cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects, SB 556 would have given the more than 1 million Californians who live within 3,200 feet of active wells and who develop one of those health conditions the right to hold some oil drillers liable for up to $1 million. Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, who authored the bill, put it like this as she championed the legislation before a recent committee decision: “Our communities bare the health impact of oil drilling daily, it’s time polluters pay the bill.” 

However, State Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, last week declined to let Senate Bill 556 advance out of the Appropriations Committee he chairs. 

Some readers cheered that news. Mary Emily Smiley, an attorney who lives in Lawndale, said there wouldn’t have been any way to definitively know whether such health conditions resulted from living near an oil well. “This sounds like another political hustle to convince people that they are victims and there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” she said. 

But advocates of 556 point to volumes of research that show people who live near oil wells have substantially increased risks of shorter life expectancy, preterm and low birth weight, and a variety of acute and chronic diseases. And reader Alexandra Nagy in a tweet called the bill’s death under Portantino “suspicious,” noting details from my story on how the senator has received thousands of dollars in political contributions from oil and gas companies over the years. 

There’s no future for SB 556 this legislative session, with only a slim chance it could get incorporated into a state budget trailer bill that might advance in coming weeks. Otherwise, advocates hope to get the legislation reintroduced next session. And with elections this fall bound to shake some things up, Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, said there’s a chance Portantino will no longer be at the helm of the Appropriations Committee if the bill makes it back. 

In the meantime, Court and others are waiting on an Assembly vote for AB 421, which will reform California’s referendum process. That includes clarifying how referendums are worded on future ballots, replacing a confusing process where voters must mark “yes” to reject overturning a law with clearer language that asks them to choose between “keeping a law” or “overturning a law.” Court hopes that might make next fall’s decision on the oil well buffer referendum clearer for voters. 

AB 421 could still come up for a vote this afternoon and must pass out of the Assembly by Friday to survive. 

By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter

Latest Energy Videos
Video thumbnail
Who is Behind SB 540?
02:29
Video thumbnail
ABC 7: Controversial CA Energy Bill Moves Forward
08:15
Video thumbnail
KCBS-LA (CBS) - Los Angeles, CA: Late-Night Vote Can Spike Gas Prices
02:26
Video thumbnail
KCAL-LA - Los Angeles, CA: How Will Phillips 66 Closing The Refinery Impact Consumers At The Pump?
03:04
Video thumbnail
KCBS-LA (CBS) - Los Angeles, CA: Phillips 66 To Close Refinery
03:01
Video thumbnail
KGO-SF (ABC) - San Francisco, CA: Controversy Over SF's Bottle Bank Pilot
04:40
Video thumbnail
KTLA-LA (CW) - Los Angeles, CA: Newsom Signs Gas Law Aimed At Preventing Spike In Gas Prices
03:14
Video thumbnail
KNBC-LA (NBC) - Los Angeles, CA: New CA Law Aims To Protect Gas Price Spikes
02:14
Video thumbnail
KTTV-LA (FOX) - Los Angeles, CA: New Laws On Oil And Gas In California
03:04
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Newsom Takes on Gasoline Price Spikes
00:31
Video thumbnail
KCBS-LA (CBS) - Los Angeles, CA: Chevron Moving Headquarters to TX
03:03
Video thumbnail
KGTV-SD (ABC) - San Diego, CA: Californians Overcharged For Gas in 2015
01:55
Video thumbnail
KTXL-SAC (FOX) - Sacramento, CA: Oil Windfall Profits Law Under Microscope
06:06
Video thumbnail
KGTV-SD (ABC) - San Diego, CA: Watchdog Blames Oil Industry For High Prices
02:26
Video thumbnail
KGTV-SD (ABC) - San Diego, CA: Who's To Blame For Recent Spikes In Gas Prices?
02:16
Video thumbnail
Support Oil Driller Accountability, AB 3155
00:54
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: The Buck Stops This Summer
01:29
Video thumbnail
New Consumer Alert Exposes Deceptive Oil Industry Attack On Governor Newsom
01:39
Video thumbnail
KOVR-SAC (CBS) - Sacramento, CA: Signs Fueling Debate Over Gas Tax
02:24
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: More Deceptive Big Oil Ads Targeting California
01:31
Video thumbnail
KGO-SF (ABC) - San Francisco, CA: CRV Fee on Alcohol Starts On January 1st
02:31
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Deceptive Oil Ads
01:38
Video thumbnail
Consumer Alert: Big Oil’s BS Mailer
01:52
Video thumbnail
KABC-LA, CA: Lawmakers Should Prevent Refineries from Selling Expensive Summer Blend of Gas Overseas
02:58
Video thumbnail
KPIX-SF (CBS) - San Francisco, CA: California Gas Prices Are Soaring Again
00:32
Video thumbnail
KCAL-LA - Los Angeles, CA: Gas Prices Skyrocketing
02:52
Video thumbnail
KTLA-LA (CW) - Los Angeles, CA: So Cal Gas Prices Nearing $6 a Gallon
03:20
Video thumbnail
Spectrum News 1 (San Fernando Valley) - Los Angeles, CA: Controversy Over Gas Storage Facility
03:50
Video thumbnail
KFMB-SD (CBS) - San Diego, CA: Gas Tax Increase Takes Effect July 1st
03:23
Video thumbnail
CBS 8 - Los Angeles, CA: What You Need to Know About Gas Prices
02:02
Video thumbnail
KGO-SF (ABC) - San Francisco, CA: BottleBank Update, Is It Really Effective?
02:39
Video thumbnail
Senator Portantino, Shame on You
01:18
Video thumbnail
Senator Portantino: Protect Our Communities From Oil Drillers
00:51
Video thumbnail
KERO-BFL (ABC) - Bakersfield, CA; Oil Drilling Near Homes Can Cause Health and Safety Concerns
03:06
Video thumbnail
KNBC - LA, CA; Consumer Watchdog's Liza Tucker On New Concerns With Santa Susana Field Lab Clean Up
04:09
Video thumbnail
(ABC) - LA, CA; SoCal Edison's New Income Based Proposed Charges Might Not Be As Stable As They Seem
02:40
Video thumbnail
(CBS)-Fresno, CA; Victory For Californians As Bill Passes That Will Regulate Profits Of Oil Refiners
02:17
Video thumbnail
CNBC - Jamie Court Speaks About The Bill That Would Penalize Oil Refineries For Price Gouging
06:39
Video thumbnail
KXTV(ABC) - Sacramento, CA; Governor Newsom Announced A New Deal With Lawmakers To Take On Big Oil
02:56
Video thumbnail
KNBC-LA (NBC) - Los Angeles, CA; Holding Utility Companies Accountable For Power Outages
02:01
Video thumbnail
Consumer Watchdog at CA Senate Energy Cmte 2 22 23
50:54
Video thumbnail
KFMB CW - San Diego, CA; Oil Companies Need to be Held Accountable for High Gas Prices
02:42
Video thumbnail
KTTV (FOX) - Los Angeles, CA; Recap Of Jamie Court's Testimony At The Senate Hearing For Gas Prices
05:07
Video thumbnail
KGTV(ABC) - SD, CA; Jamie Court Will Testify at the Price Gouging Hearing for Rising Gas Prices
01:17
Video thumbnail
KTTV-LA (FOX) - Los Angeles, CA; SoCal Gas Bill Sticker Shock
04:24
Video thumbnail
Spectrum News 1 - Los Angeles, CA; Who Is SoCal Gas Buying Their Gas From?
09:18
Video thumbnail
Why SoCal Gas is at Fault For Doubling Your Natural Gas Bill
01:43
Video thumbnail
KNBC - Los Angeles, CA; Spike In Natural Gas Prices
02:32
Video thumbnail
KCBS - Los Angeles, CA; New Year, New Pain At The Pump
03:02
Latest Energy Report

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, press releases and special reports.