More than 7 million Californians live within 1 mile of an oil or gas well. Of those, 362,000 live in Santa Barbara County, the majority in low-income communities or communities of color.
Living near oil and gas wells is linked with an increased risk of cancer, asthma, high-risk pregnancies and learning disabilities in children, as well as greater susceptibility to COVID-19.
SB 467—the “dangerous drilling bill”—has been introduced into the California Legislature by Sens. Monique Limón (of our district) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). SB 467 bans fracking, acid well stimulation, cyclic steam injection, steam flooding, and other extreme, highly polluting forms of extraction. These methods are currently used in Cat Canyon, endangering the Santa Maria Valley water basin on which more than 150,000 residents rely for drinking water.
California is one of the largest oil-producing states in the U.S., yet we have no regulations to protect us from drilling. SB 467 includes a 2,500-foot setback between operations and schools, churches, and community centers. The bill also provides a path for oil workers to transition into oil and gas well remediation jobs.
Show your support for SB 467 by texting “CA” to 86799 before April 7.
Rachel Altman
Santa Barbara
This article appears in Apr 1-8, 2021.