BLM Issues Records of Decision for Bakersfield and Central Coast Regions, Ignoring State Health\u00a0 Protections and Fracking Ban<\/p>\n
Environmental organizations across California are\u00a0 condemning Trump\u2019s Bureau of Land Management\u2019s approval of oil and gas leasing and\u00a0 development plans for both the Bakersfield and Central Coast field office regions\u2014a decision that\u00a0 critics argue was a rushed, legally deficient move that ignores California law, bypasses the public,\u00a0 and offers some of the state\u2019s most beloved public lands over to the fossil fuel industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The BLM issued the approvals without allowing the standard 60-day Governor\u2019s Consistency Review\u00a0 period required before a federal land use decision affecting California can be finalized, and without\u00a0 responding to formal administrative protests filed by community organizations. That review exists\u00a0 precisely to ensure federal actions do not conflict with state law and policy\u2014and this decision is in\u00a0 direct, flagrant conflict with both.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the state laws the BLM has chosen to ignore: SB 1137, California\u2019s landmark legislation\u00a0 establishing 3,200-foot health and safety buffer zones between oil and gas drilling operations and\u00a0 sensitive receptors including homes, schools, daycares, and hospitals; and California\u2019s ban on\u00a0 fracking, which prohibits the dangerous well stimulation practice contemplated in the BLM\u2019s plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump administration didn\u2019t just ignore the public\u2014it ignored the law,\u201d said Jeff Kuyper,\u00a0 Executive Director of Los Padres ForestWatch. \u201cIssuing these approvals without the Governor\u2019s\u00a0 Consistency Review, without regard for SB 1137, and without honoring California\u2019s fracking ban is\u00a0 not just procedurally reckless\u2014it is an affront to every Californian who has fought for cleaner air,\u00a0 safer communities, and protected public lands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The BLM\u2019s action comes after nearly half a million public comments were submitted opposing\u00a0 Trump\u2019s \u201cdrill baby drill\u201d agenda onshore and offshore across California\u2014one of the largest public\u00a0 comment mobilizations in recent memory. Those voices have been summarily dismissed.<\/p>\n
Pursuant to the terms of a settlement agreement between conservation organizations at the BLM,\u00a0 the agency\u2019s quarterly oil and gas sales were held in abeyance while the Final Supplemental\u00a0 Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and Records of Decision (RODs) were completed. Now that\u00a0 the RODs have been issued, the leasing process can move forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next step allows oil companies to submit Expressions of Interest, identifying specific federal\u00a0 parcels they wish to lease. The BLM then determines which parcels to include in a future quarterly\u00a0 lease sale. Traditionally, the agency prepares site-specific environmental analyses for those parcels\u00a0 and provides opportunities for public comment and administrative protests before leases are\u00a0 finalized. However, recent changes limit that analysis and opportunities for public input.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The agency\u2019s plans open more than a million acres of California\u2019s public lands and federal mineral\u00a0 estate to oil and gas leasing across Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,\u00a0 Tulare, Ventura, Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz,\u00a0 Merced, and San Joaquin counties\u2014threatening communities, wildlife, drinking water, and air\u00a0 quality across some of the most pollution-burdened regions of the state. These are the same\u00a0 communities that already breathe some of the worst air in the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the third time in a decade the BLM has attempted to ram through oil and gas expansion in the\u00a0 Bakersfield region, and the second such attempt for the Central Coast. Litigation previously halted\u00a0 both.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public made its voice loud and clear. Nobody wants to spoil our parks and neighborhoods with\u00a0 new oil drilling,\u201d said Benjamin Pitterle, Director of Advocacy and Field Operations at Los Padres\u00a0 ForestWatch. \u201cThe BLM\u2019s response was to rush through a final decision before the Governor even\u00a0 had any opportunity to weigh in. This is just rubber stamping for the oil industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The BLM\u2019s final decisions\u2014issued under Secretary\u2019s Order 3418, which directs federal agencies to\u00a0 maximize fossil fuel development on public lands\u2014also rely on analyses that are more than a\u00a0 decade old, failing to account for the accelerating climate crisis, updated public health research on\u00a0 proximity to drilling, or California\u2019s own sweeping policy changes to protect communities from fossil\u00a0 fuel harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time it finalized these leasing plans, the BLM announced a proposal that would\u00a0 dramatically weaken environmental review and public participation for future federal oil and gas\u00a0 lease sales. The proposal, which is open for public comment through late August, would:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Allow the BLM to lease parcels even when drilling could cause unnecessary or undue\u00a0 degradation to important fish and wildlife habitat, sacred sites, historic properties, and\u00a0 recreation areas such as trails and campgrounds.\u00a0
\nReduce opportunities for public participation from a cumulative 90-day review process to a\u00a0 single 10-day protest period.
\nAllow the agency to charge the public $1 per page to file administrative protests, even though\u00a0 protests often include hundreds of pages of supporting scientific studies and technical\u00a0 documents.\u00a0
\nEliminate requirements that operators notify private surface landowners when federally\u00a0 owned mineral rights beneath their property are offered for lease.\u00a0
\nSignificantly reduce costs to the oil industry by lowering lease application fees from $3,100\u00a0 to $155, reducing royalty rates from 16.67% to 12.5%, and slashing bonding requirements for\u00a0 both individuals and statewide leases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This leasing plan threatens public lands near Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks;\u00a0 Carrizo Plain National Monument; the Los Padres, Sierra, and Sequoia National Forests; and state\u00a0 and county parks and beaches like Monta\u00f1a de Oro State Park and Port Hueneme Beach Park\u2014 places that millions of Californians depend on for clean water, clean air, outdoor recreation, and\u00a0 refuge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Last Chance Alliance is calling on Governor Newsom and state agencies and departments to\u00a0 formally object to these decisions and assert California\u2019s rights under federal and state law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Members of the Last Chance Alliance and allies said the following:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll fight this with everything we\u2019ve got,\u201d said Cooper Kass, an attorney for the Center of\u00a0 Biological Diversity. \u201cIt\u2019s a reckless decision that shows who\u2019s really calling the shots at the White\u00a0 House. From Ventura to the Bay Area, California\u2019s public lands have always been a refuge for people\u00a0 and wildlife. We\u2019ve got to protect these places and our communities from a government hellbent on\u00a0 lining this toxic industry\u2019s pockets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBLM\u2019s decision to rush this process shows just how much Trump and the fossil fuel industry are\u00a0 walking in lockstep to the detriment of our public lands and environment,\u201d said Food & Water\u00a0 Watch California Director Nicole Ghio. \u201cCalifornians have made it abundantly clear that we don\u2019t\u00a0 want drilling on our public lands and it\u2019s despicable that the Trump Administration is so eager to\u00a0 disregard anyone who dares stand up to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCalifornia leaders won\u2019t meet the people\u2019s climate goals if they allow the Trump administration to\u00a0 vastly expand oil and gas operations on beloved public lands in already burdened areas,\u201d said\u00a0 Miguel Miguel, Director of Sierra Club California. \u201cAffordability goals won\u2019t fare any better. These\u00a0 corporate giveaways are doing nothing to reduce energy prices. They block access to public lands,\u00a0 harm wildlife, destroy cultural resources and leave pollution in the air and water of communities\u00a0 who later often pick up the tab for the mess.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBy ramping up the timeline the BLM is deifying procedures that protect our public lands. America\u2019s\u00a0 public lands are owned by We the People. A right protected by Congress. We the People will not see\u00a0 the profits from the oil and gas industry as we continue to be subjected to price volatility at the gas\u00a0 pump. We will see the devastation and destruction to the California environment. Once the drilling\u00a0 starts those areas will be lost to everyone,\u201d said Ramona Cornell du Houx, Elected Officials to\u00a0Protect America (EOPA) Communications Director. \u201cElected Officials to Protect America (EOPA)\u00a0 will do everything within our power to stop this apparent land grab for the oil and gas industry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BLM Issues Records of Decision for Bakersfield and Central Coast Regions, Ignoring State Health\u00a0 Protections and Fracking Ban…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-387107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}