“There oughta be a law!” is my husband’s oft-repeated refrain for issues he feels strongly about. My response of late goes like this, “There probably is!”
This response occurred to me after spending oodles of hours reviewing legislation pertinent to climate change as I prepared for meetings, generally by Zoom, with advocacy groups, local, state and federal legislators or their staffers, or with friends and family. Along the way, I learned a lot about the legislative process, that our expectations of legislators far exceed their capacity to be well-versed about the multiple issues that come their way, and that we have an opportunity and a responsibility to become more well-informed as we add to the conversation.
A recent call with a staffer for our state Assemblymember demonstrates my point. In preparation, my colleagues from 350 Bay Area Action and I delved into the details of several bills before the 2023-24 legislature in Sacramento. My task was to research and comment on Assembly Bill 1866, “Oil and gas: idle wells.” We were asking for support of this bill, which calls for “[the elimination of] the option for an idle well operator to pay idle well fees,” requiring the operator instead to “on or before July 1, 2025, file a plan with the State Oil and Gas Supervisor … for the management and elimination of all idle wells.”
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Why is this important? Idle wells leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that is also hazardous to our health. Methane emissions are invisible to the naked eye. As the number of idle wells increases, some operators, though obliged by current statutes to safely cap the wells, simply pay a modest non-compliance fee, or ignore the issue altogether.
Does this mean these wells will not be attended to? No. Eventually they will be capped, most likely at public expense since the mandated fund derived from operators’ contributions will not fully cover the cost. One more thing — there’s a long timeline for action and an insufficient number of inspectors to examine idle wells throughout the state.
We often think of idle wells as a Southern California issue. However, I discovered that our own California District 4 is home to approximately 424 oil wells. Of these, 280 (66%) are estimated to be leaking methane, 298 (70%) are within the groundwater hydrologic zone and 54 (13%) are within 200 feet of a river or creek. An interactive location map shows where these wells are: https://environmentamerica.org/california/resources/mapping-the-risks-of-californias-idle-and-orphan-oil-wells/. Similar information is available at https://www.conservation.ca.gov/calgem/Pages/WellFinder.aspx
AB 1866 is one of five bills discussed during our 30-minute conference call. CalMatters reports that 2,124 new bills were introduced in the legislature this year — 1,505 in the Assembly and 619 in the Senate. Last year, legislators “introduced more than 2,600 bills (the most in a decade) and passed 1,046. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 890 and vetoed 156.”
Advocacy groups, whether well-funded or getting by on a shoestring exclusively with volunteer effort, play a critical role in formulating bills, educating others, working with legislators, and collaborating with partner organizations to enact meaningful climate laws; but that’s just the beginning. Accountability comes next and it takes work. Years, even decades, might pass before the results of legislative action comes to fruition.
In its summary of Major 2022 Climate and Energy Legislation, the Legislative Analyst’s Office noted: “The Legislature set ambitious new goals, accelerated existing targets, and adopted new policies in its 2022 climate and energy actions. However, enacting these bills was only the first step in achieving the Legislature’s ultimate objectives. Meeting these goals and carrying out the wide-ranging new policies will necessitate an intensive and sustained effort across state government.” https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4660
We owe it to ourselves and generations to come to keep the momentum going!
Actions You Can Take
- Check out the legislative efforts of 350 Bay Area Action, learn more and consider becoming involved: https://350bayareaaction.org/legislative-committee
- Track progress of current climate bills: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billSearchClient.xhtml
- Participate in calls to Legislators or letter-writing campaigns.
Napa Climate NOW! is a local nonprofit citizens’ group advocating for smart climate solutions based on the latest climate science, part of 350 Bay Area. Info, napa.350bayarea.org