Kern County wants to fast track over 67,000 oil and gas well permits.
Call in to stop drilling now.
BACKGROUND:
A proposed ordinance by the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department titled Final Supplemental Recirculated Environmental Impact Report (2020/2021) for Revisions to Title 19 – Kern County Zoning Ordinance (2020-A) Focused on Oil and Gas Local Permitting would fast-track the permitting of more than 67,000 new toxic oil and gas wells in Kern County, a near doubling of the 78,000 wells already present. The ordinance would have no meaningful environmental review or mitigation to protect vulnerable community members from toxins in our air and water. Kern County already accounts for 80% of all oil and gas production in the state.
Despite hours of public comments opposing the ordinance, the planning commission approved it 4-0, with 1 recusal. Now, the board of supervisors will attempt to approve it on Monday at 8am.
Agenda: https://itsapps.kerncounty.com/clerk/minutes/granicus/2445655/Agenda.html
Goal: Block them via filibuster of public comments and voicemails.
Email:
planningcommissioncomment@kerncounty.com Please include your name and clearly indicate the agenda item number you wish to address.
adenda item: Public Hearing Item 1.
Email Deadline: 5pm, Friday Mar 5th
Do BOTH VOICEMAIL AND CALL IN IF YOU WANNA
HOW TO SPEAK VIA VOICEMAIL (STILL OPEN):
Call: 661 868 3640 by 5pm, Friday Feb 5th to speak. You have 2 min. Please don’t give out your phone number, this will be played out publicly.
HOW TO CALL IN LIVE (OPEN):
Call in to (661) 868-3585 by 5pm, Friday Feb 5th to register to comment.
If the desk doesn’t pick up, leave a voicemail with phone number, first name and last name spelled out. You will be allowed to speak if you leave a voicemail.
The meeting is at 9am on Monday, March 8th, 2021, call in at 8:55am please.
At the meeting time dial 831 296 3421 and enter the meeting id 971 865 365 followed by #.
The clerk will say your phone number, you will have 2 minutes to speak.
Press *6 to speak, then *6 to mute again.
WHAT TO SAY:
Key Messages
A broad coalition of social and environmental justice groups and conservation nonprofits are working together to oppose a proposed Kern County ordinance that would significantly expand oil and gas extraction operations in California’s Central Valley.
The proposed ordinance would clear the way for the placement of 67,000 new oil and gas wells on prime agricultural land.
As California faces historic wildfires, this expansion of fossil fuels extraction would send exactly the wrong signal about how the state should approach climate policy and the effort to enact social and environmental justice.
Low-income communities of color are already harmed daily by fossil fuel pollution; if passed, this ordinance would increase air and water pollution experienced by these communities.
Numerous studies show a direct link between oil and gas production and a wide range of adverse health impacts.
The county’s environmental review process has been fundamentally flawed. The process has made it very difficult for affected communities to share their concerns about the proposal, which flies in the face of public outreach requirements under CEQA.
We call upon the Board of Supervisors to reject this ordinance. Instead of looking for ways to simply accelerate oil and gas development, they should take steps to better protect the health and safety of local communities and to diversify economic opportunities while transitioning the County to a clean energy economy.
California cannot continue to claim to be a leader in environmental and climate justice unless it focuses on reducing the supply of fossil fuels in addition to the demand. We call upon Governor Newsom to protect frontline communities and to lead a just transition to a green energy future.
Secondary/Supportive Messages
Kern County’s approach to streamlining oil and gas drilling is unacceptable. It favors petroleum industry profits at the expense of public health.
The proposed ordinance would eliminate the environmental review requirement for citing tens of thousands of new oil and gas wells in the coming decades.
The courts already struck down an almost identical ordinance; Kern County has not significantly changed its approach, and it’s highly likely that the updated ordinance, as written, will also be struck down by the courts.
Low-income communities and communities of color would be disproportionately affected by this ordinance. These groups are more likely to live and work near oil extraction facilities, and already suffer pollution-related health problems at disproportionate levels.
Recent studies have shown a correlation between exposure to air pollution and increased risk of contracting, and of dying from, COVID-19.
County leaders have a responsibility to protect the economic interests of the agricultural sector, in addition to the health and wellbeing of the entire community.
DO NOT INSULT THE COUNCIL
Example Script (please don’t steal, otherwise we seem repetative):
Hello, my name is _____, and I am asking the Planning Commission to stop the approval of “Revisions to Title 19-Kern County Zoning Ordinance (2020-A), focusing on local oil and gas permits.” Toxic chemicals from permitting oil and gas wells will harm my family and act as a catalyst for rapid environmental degradation and accelerate climate change. These toxic chemicals will pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink. We must invest in clean renewable energy instead. This ordinance will devastate Kern’s agriculture. health, environment, wildlife, and local economy. Climate change worsened wildfires are already burning down Kern county and more oil drilling will make this far worse for your children. I oppose this ordinance.
Petition:
Petition: https://crpe-ej.org/stopkernoilordinance
Tell Gov Newson:
Contact the governor. https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/ Select “Energy Issues” as your subject
Live Stream
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