Conservationists keep pushing for environmental accountability in Sacramento, but more new oil drilling permits were approved in January  2026 than all of 2025 • Sacramento News & Review

Some drilling is in ‘public health protection zones’ while pending from the oil lobby continues to soarBy Dan Bacher

Permit approvals for drilling new oil wells in California were falling in 2025, a trend that followed numerous demonstrations from environmental groups in the heart of Sacramento. Yet in the first few weeks of January 2026 alone, California oil regulators issued more new drilling permits than they did for all of 2025, according to a new analysis from Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance.

The previous year, permit approvals fell to 17 from 73 in 2024. But in January, the California Energy Management Division, or CalGEM, bested that number by approving 20 new drilling permits.

Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance noted in a joint statement that “continued progress in cutting fossil fuel production is now under assault from new state legislation, federal drilling plans, and industry lawsuits.”

The groups added that many of the hardest hit communities are in Kern County, the state’s epicenter of oil production in California.

“CalGEM’s more deliberate consideration of permit approvals over the last five years already appears to be reversing – in keeping with Governor Newsom’s apparent shift toward supporting expanded drilling,” their statement continued. “In the last quarter of 2025, CalGEM approved eight new drilling permits; seven in Kern County and one in Orange County that is located within the state’s public health protection zone between communities and drilling.”

Cesar Aguirre, Director of Air and Climate Justice at the Central California Environmental Justice Network, said the shift will hurt communities.

“Our region already suffers from some of the worst air quality in the country, and increasing drilling without strong oversight puts our health at further risk,” Aguirre pointed out. “More wells mean more pollution and more unchecked leaks, especially when satellite data shows California’s oil and gas operations are among the largest methane emitters globally. Our communities need stronger enforcement and real protections, not decisions that allow industry to expand while residents pay the price.”

Since Gavin Newsom entered the Governor’s Office in 2019, a total of 18,964 permits, including reworks, have been granted. Some 5,587 of those were to drill new oil wells.

In his earlier years, Newsom appeared to be steering a different course then former California Governor Jerry Brown.

“Approvals under Newsom to drill new oil and gas wells were going down, and now that is in jeopardy,” observed consumer advocate Liza Tucker. “The new drilling permit in the public health protection zone combined with almost 30 new drilling permits issued in just the last two months looks like the state is gearing up for expanded oil drilling … Rubber-stamping new permits also affects all Californians. It means increased fiscal liability for consumers who could end up paying billions of dollars to plug wells because the state doesn’t make oil companies put up enough in bonding.”

Another development that’s vexing environmentalists is the controversial piece of legislation, SB 237 (Grayson), which went into effect on Jan. 1, despite widespread opposition from climate and community  groups across the state.

Under that law, Kern County , which the American Lung Association reports has the worst air quality in the country, can permit tens of thousands of new oil and gas wells over the next decade under a streamlined local environmental review, bypassing stricter and often site-specific state-level scrutiny.

Anabel Marquez, president of the Committee for a Better Shafter, outlined the considerable harm that increased drilling poses to the health of frontline towns in that area.

“For communities across Kern County, these new oil and gas permits are not just numbers on paper, they represent continued harm to families who already carry the burden of pollution,” Marquez emphasized. “In passing SB 237, Kern County is now approving permits in the same places where residents are dealing with poor air quality, serious health impacts, and a lack of real protections. As community members, we are calling for accountability and for county and state agencies to truly prioritize the health and well-being of frontline communities, not the interests of the oil and gas industry.”

Big Oil spent $33.8 million to lobby California officials in 2025. Data just posted on the California Secretary of State’s website revealed that the oil and gas industry spent $7,478,567.87 in the fourth quarter of 2025 lobbying California officials, bringing the total to $33,848,396.96 in 2025. The Western States Petroleum Association topped the oil industry lobbying expenditures with $3,525,971.27 spent in the fourth quarter, while Chevron finished second with $2,113,122.50 spent. WSPA and Chevron have consistently spent the most on lobbying in Sacramento of any lobbyist employers

WSPA, which was founded in 1907, states that is “dedicated to ensuring that Americans continue to have reliable access to petroleum and petroleum products through policies that are socially, economically and environmentally responsible.”