After months of negotiations, today Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) announced that Senate Bill 237 has been amended to certify the Kern County EIR relating to oil and gas production. The bill is in response to the dramatic decline in state oil production that has required the state to import almost 80% of its oil to meet in-state demand.
SB 237 would allow the County to approve up to 2,000 new well drilling permits a year. Last year the state only approved 84 new well permits, and only a handful have been approved this year. Senator Grove is thankful for the strong advocacy of Governor Newsom, CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda, many of her colleagues and especially the unparalleled expertise of retired Kern County Planning Commissioner Lorelei Oviatt.
“The Kern County zoning ordinance and SSREIR is enhanced environmental protection that supports streamlined permitting, the best use of CEQA,” said Lorelei Oviatt, AICP Retired Kern County Planning Director. “CEQA, used properly, should be a bridge to a better project not a cliff ending in a dead end. SB237 represents the needed leadership in energy and common sense approach to CEQA that Senator Grove consistently brings to benefit Kern County and all of California."
SB 237 does not shortcut CEQA but supports moving forward for Kern County to provide the energy California needs.”
“Kern County has produced the most restrictive, environmentally friendly, and legally sound Environmental Impact Report in existence, a blueprint for California’s energy production,” said Senator Grove. If California is serious about securing a stable, affordable, domestic energy supply, not only for us, but for Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico as well, it must start in Kern County, where every new well achieves net-zero carbon increase. I want to thank retired Commissioner Lorelei Oviatt who is an incredibly talented expert in her field and has worked tirelessly on this issue.”
Senator Grove has long warned about the dangers of eliminating reliable energy in favor of costly green agendas. Today, California has some of the highest energy prices in the nation, worsened by collapsing oil production and refinery closures. Sacramento has crippled local oil production despite steady demand, putting our energy infrastructure at risk. Thousands of people with good incomes have lost their jobs, and the state has become increasingly reliant on oil imported from countries that do not share our democratic values or respect for the environment.
“Californians cannot afford $10-a-gallon gas,” said Senator Grove. “It’s time to unleash Kern County producers to meet our state’s energy needs with affordable, locally produced oil for Californians by Californians.”
Every day California imports about 880,000 barrels of oil to meet to needs of California consumers. If oil stays around $65 a barrel consumers will send $21 billion a year to other countries to pay for their oil instead of producing it in California. We have reduced domestic oil production by so much that the very infrastructure that sustains our energy economy is beginning to implode. Two refineries will be closing within the next year taking 20% of the state’s gasoline production capacity with them. The state’s pipeline network designed to move crude oil from Kern County to the state’s refineries is shutting down as they lack the supply capacity to safely operate.
If the pipelines shut down, the few remaining refineries will be wholly dependent on tanker ships offloading the crude needed to make gasoline for the 30 million cars that still use petroleum. The infrastructure in our ports is not designed to handle the volume of ships needed to import all this oil. California can produce much of this oil here in California, by California workers. SB 237 will give Kern County the opportunity to do just that.