Protesters affiliated with the Last Chance Alliance and VISION are planning to “disrupt business as usual” at the California Department of Conservation, home to the oil regulator CalGEM, on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the groups, whistleblowers said the agency has placed a quota on the number of wells employees must inspect through ‘”remote witnessing.” This avoids in-person visits to California’s aging oil wells, including those near homes and schools, and instead allows for monitoring the sites from their desks.
Activists will block the building entrance with desks and wooden oil derricks “to symbolize the ‘remote witnessing’ desk monitoring scandal,” according to the statement.
The protest begins at 12:30 p.m., with activists first gathering at noon at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park on 9th St.
