Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills into law Wednesday aimed at reducing polluting oil and gas operations near schools and daycare centers in California.
Newsom was expected to speak about the new laws at an 11 a.m. news conference in Los Angeles.
The bills include one authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) regarding the operation of oil and gas wells in Inglewood.
Here’s what to know about the legislation.
AB 3233: Provides cities and counties with greater authority to impose restrictions on gas operations. Authored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), the legislation allows local governments to prohibit new oil and gas operations in the their communities.
AB 1866: This legislation increases fees on idle oil and gas wells and enforces stricter regulations designed to safely plug the wells to prevent leaks and contamination. The law applies to idle wells that are no longer in active use, but have not been properly decommissioned.
AB 2716: The new law bans the operation of low-oil production oil and gas wells in an oil field in the Baldwin Hills Conservancy. A $10,000 per month fine would be imposed on the well until they are plugged and abandoned. That money will fund community projects, like the creation of parks, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“The Inglewood Oil Field is the largest urban oil field in our state,” Assemblymember Bryan said. “Production in recent years has been marginal, but for decades the negative health impacts surrounding it have cost the nearby community with their life expectancy.”
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