Email addressAn active pump jack near homes in Signal Hill on Oct. 19, 2022. The Legislature may delay monitoring requirements for California oil wells. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMattersThe last-minute Senate plan would delay by four years a law’s deadline for safety rules at oil wells near homes and schools.that would delay by more than four years new rules that require oil companies to monitor oil and gas wells for leaks near homes and schools.
“It is very frustrating,” she said. “There has been so much work put into this. We owe it to these communities to stick to our word.”Gonzalez said the bill came as a surprise, adding that even if state agencies are understaffed, there was “plenty of time to figure this out.”, a Democrat from Los Angeles, also said “I’m not comfortable with the delay. It does seem like a benefit to the industry and a detriment to the public.
Oil company executives say the setback law will eliminate jobs, drive up gas prices and increase California’s dependence on imported oil. Complying with the law will cost them about $40 million over the first two years, the industry estimates. “It’s indefensible. It is a huge gift to big oil, and we need our agencies to protect the public rather than big oil.”have been at the heart of a decades-long campaign to shield families, schoolchildren and the elderly from the impacts of drilling. Many air and water pollutants are linked to drilling and oil production, including fine airborne particles that can trigger heart and asthma attacks and volatile organic compounds like benzene, which is a carcinogen.
“If doesn’t have the time to do the rulemaking process correctly, then we are not going to get the right regulations,” Benson said.