California communities and environmental justice groups worked for years to win a law to prevent new oil and gas wells from being drilled near where people live, work and gather. Now, the Trump administration is suing to overturn it. <\/p>\n
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday<\/a> in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice challenged Senate Bill 1137, state legislation passed in 2022 that establishes a 3,200-foot minimum setback between new oil wells and \u201csensitive receptors,\u201d defined as homes, schools, community centers, parks and playgrounds, healthcare facilities or any public building. <\/p>\n Under the law, existing wells that are close to these places can continue to operate, but must monitor emissions, control their dust and limit nighttime noise and light. <\/p>\n But the Trump administration says the law would \u201cknock out\u201d about one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in California, amounting to unconstitutional state regulation of federal lands. In its complaint, the administration argues that federal law \u2014 specifically, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act \u2014 supersedes SB 1137, and asks that the court declare the state law unconstitutional and prevent it from being enforced. <\/p>\n While the majority of active wells in California are on private and state lands, the federal Bureau of Land Management administers more than 600 oil and gas leases within the state, according to the lawsuit. About 218 of those leases overlap with the buffer zones established by the law. <\/p>\n Officials with Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office said Thursday they had not yet been served with the lawsuit, but would defend SB 1137 and the health of California communities. Living near oil and gas wells has been linked to a range of adverse health issues stemming from air and water pollution that can be released by drilling and production, especially if a well is leaking badly<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration just sued California for keeping oil wells away from elementary schools, homes, daycares, hospitals, and parks,\u201d said Anthony Martinez, a spokesman for the governor. \u201cThink about that. SB 1137 creates a science-based buffer zone so kids can go to school, families can live in their homes, and communities can exist without breathing toxic fumes that cause asthma, birth defects, and cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit advances an April executive order issued by President Trump titled \u201cProtecting American Energy from State Overreach<\/a>,\u201d in which the president directed Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to identify \u201cburdensome and ideologically motivated\u201d state and local regulations that threaten the development of domestic energy resources and take action to stop them. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is yet another unconstitutional and radical policy from Gavin Newsom that threatens our country\u2019s energy independence and makes energy more expensive for the American people,\u201d Bondi said in a statement. \u201cIn accordance with President Trump\u2019s executive orders, this Department of Justice will continue to fight burdensome regulations that violate federal law and hamper domestic energy production \u2014 especially in California, where Newsom is clearly intent on subverting federal law at every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Environmental groups were quick to condemn the action. The oil and gas setback law was hard won<\/a> after multiple earlier attempts were stymied by opposition from the petroleum industry and trade unions. Its implementation was briefly paused by a 2024 referendum effort<\/a> led by the California Independent Petroleum Assn., which ultimately withdrew it in light of a groundswell of public resistance<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAttempting to block the law that protects the air we breathe and the water we drink from oil industry pollution is the Trump administration\u2019s latest attack on our state,\u201d said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cBig Oil backed down from their deceitful referendum campaign because Californians wouldn\u2019t stand for it. This is a last-ditch attempt to overturn the law\u2019s critical health protections. I\u2019m confident this historic law will stand.\u201d<\/p>\n Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn., lauded the Trump administration\u2019s challenge against what it described as an \u201carbitrary setback law.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cJust as the state has tried to shut down duly permitted in-state production on private land in violation of the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, so too has the state tried to usurp federal law by shutting down production of minerals owned by the U.S. taxpayers,\u201d Zierman said in a statement Thursday. \u201cWe welcome the U.S. Department of Justice joining our fight against these illegal actions that are leading to increased foreign imports.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit marks an escalation of Trump\u2019s battle against Newsom and California over energy and environmental policies. The president, who received substantial donations<\/a> from oil and gas companies during his 2024 presidential campaign, has moved to block the state\u2019s tailpipe emission standards<\/a>, clean vehicle targets and renewable energy projects, among other efforts.<\/p>\n