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California's oil and gas well setback bill could be accountability game-changer [1]

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Date: 2022-09-01

x 150 years of oil drilling in our district, and we can show you what happens when the oil industry's bottom line is prioritized over people's health.



Today, California is sending a clear message -- Enough is enough. #SetbacksNow #SignSB1137 https://t.co/g570ameC9z — Senator Monique Limón (@MoniqueLimonCA) September 1, 2022

Personally exciting to me is the explicit inclusion of what to do with abandoned and orphaned wells, new provisions that make it much more difficult for oil and gas companies to operate wells wherever they feel like. Requirements for permits to be issued within 3,200 feet of wellheads are much more stringent under SB 1137: “The bill would require an operator who submits a notice of intention intention, except for certain notices of intention, to also submit either a sensitive receptor inventory and map of the area within the 3,200 feet radius of the wellhead or proposed wellhead location to the division, or a statement certifying that the operator has confirmed that there are no sensitive receptors.”

No company is left off the hook if they do move forward with projects like these, or if they tinker with existing wells, which the Natural Resources Defense Council brilliantly breaks down in an article. Oil and gas companies must still submit an individual indemnity bond, with funds to be used to plug any wells they plan to shutter, on top of complying with “health, safety, and environmental requirements” when still in operation. Naturally, I’d be interested to see more accountability processes on existing oil and gas infrastructure instead of consideration for any new wells at all.

California already has an orphaned well crisis on its hands. Though it plans to plug 171 wells through a federal program established by the Interior Department, there are thousands more still wreaking havoc with rampant methane emissions, among other concerns. SB 1137 represents a crucial bill that, when signed into law, provides a solid foundation to build on as the state looks to truly transform polluting industries like oil and gas.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/1/2120163/-California-s-oil-and-gas-well-setback-bill-could-be-accountability-game-changer

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