As the expansion of oil and gas drilling begun under Governor Jerry Brown continues in California, Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday signed into law a state budget that allocates $1.5 million for “a study to identify strategies to decrease demand and supply of fossil fuels, while managing the decline of fossil fuel use in a way that is economically responsible and sustainable.”
An interagency state team, in partnership with the University of California system, will explore managing the decline of in-state production alongside a decrease in demand, according to a news release from coalition of environmental and climate justice groups.
Despite California’s “green” veneer, Governor Jerry Brown’s oil and gas regulators approved over 21,000 new oil and gas wells, including over 200 new offshore wells, according to a 2018 analysis of Department of Conservation data by the Fracktracker Alliance. Preliminary indications are that this expansion of fracking and other extreme oil and gas drilling continues unabated under Governor Newsom.
The California Governor also controls 4 times as oil and gas wells in state waters 3 miles and less from shore than Trump does in federal waters over 3 miles from shore. In other words, the California Governor, not Trump, is the “king” of offshore drilling off California. Information: https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/new-map-shows-jerry-brown-has-4-times-more-offshore-oil-wells-trump
Representatives of the Last Chance Coalition “applaud Governor Newsom’s leadership in acknowledging this critical first step, but also encourage the state to take immediate action to protect our climate and the communities and families who are currently impacted by oil and gas production.”
“The study is the first of its kind in the state and is being commended as a crucial recognition of the need for California to reduce production of oil and gas as a key factor in meeting the climate goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement,” the groups said. “At the same time, groups with Last Chance Alliance are calling for the study to prioritize the health and safety of Californians living dangerously close to toxic oil operations suffering ongoing health impacts. Studies have already shown that oil development can cause and contribute to health effects such as headaches, upper respiratory illness, nausea, nosebleeds, increased cancer risk, and infertility–citing distance as a key factor in the health impacts felt by residents.”
Advocates are urging the state to ensure that the study “acknowledges the public health crisis affecting communities that are overburdened by fossil fuel pollution, examine the climate imperatives of ramping down production in the state, and explore the most effective ways to ensure a just and equitable transition for families who rely on the sector. They state that the study should be conducted as swiftly and thoughtfully as possible.”
In response to the budget signing, climate and environmental justice advocates issued the following statements:
“It’s good that Governor Newsom is interested in doing a study on how to move the state off of fossil fuels. It is important, and it should happen. But it also should not be a reason to delay action now on several things that Governor Newsom has the power to do right now,” said Alexandra Nagy, California Director at Food & Water Watch. “These include shutting down the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, site of the largest gas blowout in US history, placing an immediate moratorium on new fossil fuel permits, banning fracking, and instituting a 2500 foot safety buffer to protect communities. Doing these things would make Governor Newsom a national leader in the fight against climate change.”
“While we are encouraged that the governor has taken a critical, overdue first step toward a just transition away from mining for fossil fuels in California, the health and safety of residents in Kern County continues to be at risk on a daily basis, from leaking infrastructure to chemical spills, from toxic air emissions to contaminated water and soil,” stated Cesar Aguirre, community organizer with the Central California Environmental Justice Network. “Gathering the information necessary to plan for a comprehensive transition, while necessary, does not negate the responsibility of the Governor’s administration and state agencies to protect communities frontline and fence line to oil extraction and production. Basic protections should be enacted immediately and existing regulations more rigorously enforced.”
“As parents, we’re deeply troubled by the severe health impacts of toxic oil and gas drilling on frontline communities, particularly children whose developing brains and bodies are especially vulnerable,” said Linda Hutchins-Knowles of Mothers Out Front. “This study should inform much-needed action, but steps need to be taken now to protect public health, such as buffer zones between drilling operations and sensitive sites like homes and schools. We have a moral imperative to prioritize public health and a livable future above oil company profits.”
“California can’t afford not to make this investment in planning our transition off fossil fuels. Millions of Californians are being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals from fossil fuels, and it’s their health, as well as the health of future generations, that’s on the line,” said Karuna Jaggar, Executive Director at Breast Cancer Action. “It’s time to build a roadmap to a cancer-free future.”
“We already know that oil and gas drilling presents a health and human safety emergency for communities on the front lines and we need only look to the fires that have ravaged the state to understand our oil and gas production presents a climate crisis as well,” said David Turnbull, Strategic Communications Director at Oil Change International. “This study is critical to be sure we put in place a clear plan that manages the decline of oil and gas production in California. But it should also serve as no excuse to delay action. We need to take the first urgent steps now and use the study to inform our ongoing work to ramp down fossil fuel production in the state.”
On June 20, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) on June 20 gave the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), the state organization charged with regulating the oil and gas industry, an “F” grade for continuing to neglect the needs of environmental justice and low-income communities in the organization’s third annual Environmental Justice Agency Assessment for 2018.
“These communities house a majority of the 8,500 active oil and gas wells that fall within 2500 feet of schools, homes, and hospitals,” according to a statement from CEJA
California’s Biggest Secret? Deep Regulatory Capture from Top to Bottom
Why has the expansion of oil and gas drilling continued in California, despite California’s claim to being a “climate champion”? It’s because of deep regulatory capture by the oil and gas industry in California.
The most powerful corporate lobbying group, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), has topped lobbying spending in California most years. In 2018 the group was the second-highest spender for the year, only trumped by the nearly $10 million spent by PG&E lobbying stateofficials.
WSPA spent $7,874, 807 to influence California government officials in 2018. The powerful association spent all of its money in the 2017-2018 session on general lobbying, with nothing spent on the CPUC. Of the four quarters, WSPA spent its most money lobbying, $2,649,018, in the eighth quarter, from October 1 to December 31, 2018.
The Western States Petroleum Association is led by President Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the former chair of the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create so-called “marine protected areas” in Southern California.
The total lobbying figures for WSPA in 2018 are below: cal-access.sos.ca.gov/…
| SESSION | QUARTER | GENERAL LOBBYING | P.U.C. LOBBYING |
| 2017-2018 | 8th | $2,649,018.34 | $0.00 |
| 2017-2018 | 7th | $1,514,828.95 | $0.00 |
| 2017-2018 | 6th | $1,686,014.82 | $0.00 |
| 2017-2018 | 5th | $2,024,947.91 | $0.00 |
For the entire 2017-2018 Session, WSPA spent a total of $15,768,069.
WSPA represents a who’s who of oil companies, including oil giants BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Shell, Valero and many others. The companies that WSPA represents account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, according to the WSPA website, www.wspa.org.
Chevron and its subsidiaries took third place in the “lobbying competition” in 2018, spending around $4 million on lobbying.
Over the past decade, WSPA and Big Oil have topped the list of spenders on lobbying the Legislature in California. During the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, the oil industry spent a historic $36.1 million to lobby lawmakers and officials in California.
WSPA was the top overall oil industry spender during the 2015-16 session, spending $18.7 million. Chevron, the second overall oil industry spender, spent $7 million in the 2015-16 session.
In 2017, Big Oil also dominated three out of the four top spots of expenditures by all lobbying organizations. Chevron placed first with $8.2 million and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) placed second with $6.2 million. The Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company finished fourth with $3.2 million.
That’s a total of $17.6 million dumped into lobbying by the three top oil industry lobbying organizations alone. That figure exceeds the $14,577,314 expended by all 16 oil lobby organizations in 2016.
In the first six months of 2017, the oil industry spent more on lobbying in California, $16,360,618, than was spent by the industry in all of 2016, $16.0 million.
WSPA and Big Oil wield their power in 6 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups: (5) working in collaboration with media; and (6) contributing to non profit organizations.
Because of this money and the power that Big Oil wields in California, the Jerry Brown administration, in stark contrast with its “green” facade, issued over 21,000 new oil and gas drilling permits in California. That include more than 200 permits for offshore wells in state waters -- wells within 3 miles of the California coast.
In addition, the state of California under Brown — and now under Gavin Newson - controls four times as many offshore oil wells in state waters as Trump’s federal government controls in California waters. You can view the map showing the location of wells here: http://brownvtrumpoilmap.org.
This money and power also allowed allowed the oil industry to write the cap-and-trade bill, AB 398, that Governor Brown signed in September 2017, as well as to twice defeat a bill to protect a South Coast marine protected area from offshore drilling.
Ironically, the same WSPA president that led the charge to defeat a bill to protect the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve from offshore oil drilling CHAIRED the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” on the South Coast.
For more information about WSPA and Big Oil, go to: www.dailykos.com/...