How many California schools are in the 3,200-foot buffer zone where the state bans new drilling?
The Trump administration is suing California over a law preventing new oil and gas wells from being located too close to schools, homes and other sensitive sites. The 2022 law, Senate Bill 1137, prevents new drilling within a safety zone of 3,200 feet, a little over half a mile, around schools, hospitals and parks, based on public health recommendations.
In the suit filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice said SB 1137 violates federal law and hampers domestic energy development. “SB 1137 would knock out about one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in California,” said the Department of Justice in a press release. The government’s request for a preliminary injunction stopping the enforcement of SB 1137 is scheduled to be heard on March 20.…