Gov. Newsom signs bills regulating gas and oil plant locations across California

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills Wednesday that regulate the locations and operations of gas and oil drilling sites across California, a move he says will allow local governments to restrict how close they operate to places like schools and neighborhoods.

One of the new laws, AB 3233, gives these smaller governments authority over how and where oil and gas operations can be run, allowing them to override decisions by the State Oil and Gas Supervisor which currently has the final say. Another one of the bills, AB 1866, puts stricter regulations over idle wells which can leak and contaminate areas when they're no longer in use. The last of the three new pieces of legislation, AB 2716, makes new rules specifically regarding a Los Angeles-area oil field — known for being the largest urban oil field in California and facing scrutiny in the past from health officials over its pollution of nearby areas.

AB 3233: Local governments can restrict oil and gas operations 

This new law allows local governments to ban new gas and oil developments in their communities, overriding court decisions that blocked such bans by Monterey County and the Los Angeles City Council. Earlier this month, a judge ruled that a new LA city ordinance intended to phase out oil production could not be enforced since the state — not the city — has jurisdiction over such regulatory decisions, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The State Oil and Gas Supervisor currently oversees the drilling, maintenance and operation of these wells and California Supreme Court case law holds that this state agency can override local ordinances such as the one in LA. AB 3233 changes that by giving local governments the final say, allowing them to enforce drilling site bans.

The bill has been applauded by environmental advocacy groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity while facing criticism from oil and gas companies, such as the Western States Petroleum Association. The state's Department of Finance has said enforcement could be costly and face considerable litigation while environmental advocates say it's a necessary measure toward regulating pollutants and fossil fuel emissions in communities across California.

AB 1866: Regulation of idle oil wells statewide

Tight restrictions and higher penalties are being placed on idle oil wells, which can leak and contaminate surrounding areas when abandoned. Under current law, operators of such these wells face fees but this law increases such fines, among other changes.

"The bill would, among other things, increase the fees for idle wells, and additionally impose fees for each idle well that has been an idle well for less than 3 years, as provided," the legislation states.

It would also require operators who do not file for such fees by May 1 of each year to provide a plan to the State Oil and Gas Supervisor that outlines the management and elimination of such abandoned wells. Current law mandates that a person who violates or neglects such wells, and refuses to comply with related oil and gas laws, is guilty of a crime. But AB 1866 would essentially expand such fees and penalties.

"By expanding the scope of crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program," the legislation reads. 

Just as with AB 3233, this bill has faced opposition from oil and gas companies, drawing criticism from the California Independent Petroleum Association and the Western States Petroleum Association, which has claimed it increases dependence on foreign oil. Meanwhile, environmental groups have widely supported it, including Sierra Club California, the Coalition for Clean Air and The Climate Reality Project as well as other organizations such as the California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG.

AB 2716: Oversight of LA's Inglewood Oil Field

Low-production oil and gas wells within the Baldwin Hills Conservancy (Inglewood Oil Field) will be prohibited under this legislation, which also imposes a $10,000 per month penalty on these wells until operators permanently unplug them. The governor's office has said funds collected from these penalties will go toward park recreation projects and similar programs. 

The state Department of Conservation's Geologic Energy Management Division must identify all low-production wells in the area by March 1, 2025, and beginning on March 1, 2026, owners of those wells will be barred from allowing them to be low-production wells for more than 12 months. State officials have said such low-producing wells lead to leaks, air pollution and other harmful impacts.

Environmental advocates have said the low-producing wells in this oil field have contaminated surrounding areas, which some local politicians say have led to health risks predominantly impacting nearby communities of color. LA County's Department of Public Health announced a study being carried out by UCLA researchers to look into such effects. 

"These impacts are disproportionately impacting Black, Brown, and Indigenous people in California, who are most likely to live in close proximity to oil extraction activities and who are the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change," the text of the legislation reads. 

The bill describes the Baldwin Hills Inglewood Oil Field as the largest urban oil field in the state with about 655 active oil wells in the heart of Los Angeles County and in historic South LA communities.  

"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," Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the legislation, said in a statement from the governor's office.