After more than a year since California Governor Gavin Newsom directed oil regulators to develop a new health and safety regulation to protect people living near oil and gas drilling sites, the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) has yet to establish a new timeline for the rules.

California is the seventh-largest oil-producing state in the United States. However, the state has no statewide rules on how far the oil and gas wells must be from where people live, work, or go to school, creating health and safety problems.

California Gavin Newsom Wants the New Rules Out to Protect People

Gavin Newsom originally wanted the rules to be out last December. But the oil regulators missed another deadline to release the new health and safety measures on Monday, June 21, and said they would come out in the spring.

According to Los Angeles Times, the delay in releasing the new set of rules frustrates environmental advocates, who stated that communities could not wait any longer.

California has a reputation for being a climate leader. But compared to other oil-producing states, like Pennsylvania and Colorado, the state does not have statewide rules on how far oil and gas wells. Even the state of Texas bans wells within 467 feet or 142 meters of a property line.

Citing several studies, advocacy groups noted that drilling sites could worsen the health risks of those living nearby. Health risks include not only respiratory problems but also birth defects.

A community organizer with Central California Environmental Justice Network, Cesar Aguirre, said it is clear that CalGEM does not respect the urgency needed to prevent further damage and inequity in communities in California.

The group is among the dozens in the Last Chance Alliance that sent Gavin Newsom an open letter calling for an immediate mandate 2,500-foot or 762-meter buffer zone between wells and places like homes and schools.

The alliance also called for the issuance of a moratorium on all new drilling permits in those zones and pointed out that the leadership of Gavin Newsom can deliver equitable and effective relief for California people.

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California Oil Regulators Delay on the Release of New Rules

Lisa Lien-Mager, a spokeswoman for the California Natural Resources Agency, which oversees CalGEM, noted that the issue requires more time because of its complexity. 

Lien-Mager said regulators are working towards developing science-based health and safety regulations that will protect communities and workers from the impacts of oil extraction activities.

The camp of Gavin Newsom has yet to comment on whether he would communicate with regulators regarding the delay or respond to advocates' call for immediate action.

The Western States Petroleum Association and the State Building and Construction Trades Council opposed a statewide mandate on buffer zones. 

They said that such a rule would hurt not only workers, but also consumers as it would raise the cost of fuel, The Associated Press reported.

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