Community members to go door-to-door to inform residents of risks as advocates push for stronger statewide regulations

 

California environmental regulators discovered 27 oil wells leaking methane in the Kern County communities of Arvin-Lamont during inspections on May 23-25. Members of CalGEM and California Air Resources Board (CARB) tested a total of 68 wells within 3,200 feet of communities. They found 27 were spewing methane with 15 of those at levels exceeding 50,000 ppm, a level at which this highly flammable gas can be explosive. Of particular concern were three wells discharging methane an estimated 400-1000 feet from Arvin High School and less than 500 feet from homes, prompting the air district to immediately notify CalEOS, the state agency responsible for protecting Californians from hazardous threats. But inspectors failed to notify nearby residents or the community’s school district of the ongoing leaks despite the high school graduation on the football field the following week.

 

During a meeting with regulators last week, community members inquired about the plan to alert surrounding residents about potential safety threats. No clear plan was indicated, and in the absence of action from the agency, they have been forced to go door-to-door to warn neighbors themselves. Methane is one of the worst climate pollutants, and emissions pose grave safety concerns, in addition to potentially serious respiratory health risks from co-pollutants that commonly accompany methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure. According to a Los Angeles Times/Public Integrity analysis, more than 350,000 Californians live within 600 feet of unplugged wells.

 

“CalGEM’s woeful lack of enforcement led to the inevitable leaks in our neighborhoods that communities have warned about for years,” said Kern County based organizer Cesar Aguirre with Central California Environmental Justice Network. “This year’s inspections have only revealed a distressing repetition of the same appalling pattern.”

 

The Methane Task Force, a joint effort between CalGEM and CARB, was formed by Governor Newsom last year to address hazardous methane leaks from California’s aging oil and gas infrastructure. More than 40,000 oil wells sit idle and orphaned across the state, many leaking methane – a super-polluting greenhouse gas that heats the planet 86 times as much as carbon dioxide over a 20-year time period.

 

“When the Methane Taskforce callously told residents in Arvin/Lamont not to worry about explosive leaks, it left communities feeling defenseless and willfully put them in harm’s way,” added Aguirre. “The danger communities face from idle wells is all too real, and regulators have a responsibility to safeguard communities’ wellbeing. The time is now for CalGEM to take immediate and decisive action to rectify the culture of disregard that for far too long has flagrantly endangered the lives of frontline communities.”

 

In addition to their climate and health hazards, these idled and orphaned wells present a ticking time bomb to California taxpayers who will ultimately be on the hook to cover cleanup costs. A report released last month by Carbon Tracker calculated a $21.5 billion price tag to decommission the state’s oil infrastructure. Alarmingly, oil companies have set aside less than 1% of the cost to properly plug and decommission their wells. 

 

Groups with the Last Chance Alliance are calling on state regulators to:

 

• Halt all new oil and gas drilling permits and adopt a 3,200 ft. setback to protect homes, schools, and other sensitive sites.
• Ensure the 27 leaking wells in Kern County are immediately repaired to protect communities from this deadly threat and force oil companies to plug the tens of thousands wells across the state that present a dire economic, health and climate threat, starting with idle wells closest to communities. 
• Improve and increase monitoring and inspections to detect and stop methane leaks, particularly for wells near residential neighborhoods.

 

Yesterday groups submitted written comments to CARB as part of the agency’s ongoing rulemaking around Oil and Gas Methane Regulation. The letter calls on the agency to expand its use of testing data to include community submitted air quality complaints, require testing for co-pollutants and VOCs when leaks are found within 3,200 ft of sensitive receptors, and notify community members of the details and response plan when leaks are found near sensitive receptors like parks, schools, homes, hospitals, and other community areas.

 

A law passed in October would have banned new oil drilling permits within 3,200 feet of communities and put in place stringent pollution controls to protect surrounding residents from ongoing operations. But the law was temporarily delayed by oil companies who filed a referendum the day after it was signed by Gov. Newsom. Industry quickly poured $20 million into a misinformation campaign aimed at tricking California voters into signing a petition to suspend the law and place it on the 2024 ballot. Since halting implementation of the law, the state has issued over 600 permits to continue oil drilling operations within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and parks, increasing community risks for serious health threats like asthma, miscarriages and cancer. 

 

Yesterday, more than 100 scientists sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to take action against the large increase in new oil and gas permit approvals in and near neighborhoods. The letter emphasizes that oil and gas wells and other fossil fuel infrastructure are concentrated in communities of color, putting residents at risk of severe health harms and undermining the state’s environmental justice goals.

 

The unscrupulous tactics by oil companies to deceive voters into signing their petition to undo California’s health protective zones prompted Assembly Member Isaac Bryan (Los Angeles) to author AB 421. Now heading to the Senate, lawmakers will have the opportunity to support legislation that would make it harder for corporations to abuse the state’s referendum process and lie to voters to collect signatures.

 

For now, ongoing oil operations and the many orphaned wells across the state continue to expose frontline communities to dirtier air as they release toxic pollutants into the environment. The Methane Task Force holds its next meeting on June 27, where advocates will demand regulators prioritize the health and safety of communities and hold oil operators accountable for cleaning up their multibillion dollar mess. 

 

The Last Chance Alliance is also organizing “End-Dependence Day” actions statewide around July 4th weekend to call for immediate action to plug the state’s thousands of leaking idle oil wells and a halt to the permits and neighborhood drilling that prolong our dependence on oil and gas. The “End-Dependence Day” actions will include a waterborne demonstration at offshore oil rigs off the Santa Barbara coast, support for an Indigenous-led Unity Event at the State Capitol in Sacramento, and other activities in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Diego.

 

Members of Last Chance Alliance have released the following statements:

 

“CA state inspectors found 27 methane-leaking oil wells May 23 -25 — including 3 wells discharging methane an estimated 400-1000 feet from Arvin High School and homes – and what did they do? They alerted Cal OES but did not alert the residents or the school district, and had no clear plan to do so. Community members were left to alert each other as to the hazards to which they were directly being exposed.

 

“Clearly state agencies are not protecting our front-line communities. These communities, many of which are communities of color, bear the brunt of the hazards of the fossil fuel infrastructure historically located in their neighborhoods. 350 Bay Area Action stands in solidarity with Last Chance Alliance and these communities in demanding that CA regulators use their authority to immediately halt all new oil and gas drilling permits, and to adopt the 3,200 foot health and safety setbacks. The fossil fuel industry and our state agencies are sacrificing our communities of color as an acceptable price for continuing oil and gas production – and we say that ends now!” – Jennifer Koney, Leg. Analyst – 350 Bay Area Action

 

“It is unconscionable that high school students and their families in Arvin were endangered by wells leaking methane, just 400-1000 ft. away from their graduation. These families deserve better, as do the millions of California residents subjected to fossil fuel pollution every day. Elected Officials to Protect America asks that the state listen to over 450 elected officials throughout California who have asked for 3,200 foot health and safety buffer zones and an end to new oil and gas drilling permits, and immediately do its part to protect our people from fossil fuel poison.” – Meghan Sahli-Wells, California Director of Elected Officials to Protect America and former Culver City Mayor  

 

“It is unacceptable that the oil industry that is raking in billions of dollars in profit is operating wells that are leaking methane and co-pollutants that are harmful to human health in Kern County or anywhere. Methane is not only an extremely potent greenhouse gas, it is also hazardous in high concentrations at ground level. Along with methane, oil wells also emit volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, and other potentially harmful pollutants. The state should act immediately to require the operators to repair or shut down the wells and ensure that there is no more leakage. In the longer term, a full phaseout of oil and gas drilling in the state needs to be accelerated, beginning with wells located within 3200 feet of residences and schools.” – Woody Hastings, Phase Out Polluting Fuels Program Manager

 

“Californians face grave risks from more than 40,000 idle oil wells and the latest methane leaks are just the tip of the iceberg. Oil companies are using every dirty trick in their playbook to shirk their obligation to clean up these dangerous, polluting wells and dump the multibillion-dollar cost on taxpayers. Gov. Newsom must take aggressive action to protect frontline communities and hold these reckless oil companies accountable.” – Jason Pfeifle, Senior Climate Campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity

 

“Exposure to methane and co-pollutants from active and non-active oil and gas wells is making people sick, and making the climate crisis worse. The fact that California allows this at all and with disproportionate impacts on communities of color is truly shameful. No student, parent, working family in Arvin, Wilmington, or anywhere else in California, should still be waiting on safety buffer zones. No more delays, time to create good climate jobs. Workers in oil drilling and well maintenance know how to repair wells and want to be part of the solution. Time to make oil companies repair and plug wells and make California’s communities safe.” — Veronica Wilson, California Organizer, Labor Network for Sustainability