LOS ANGELES, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- No new drilling permits for oil and gas wells were approved in the second quarter of 2025, extending a promising trend in reduced fossil fuel development over the last two years under Governor Gavin Newsom's administration. However, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance warn that this progress could be reversed if state leaders allow Kern County to fast-track thousands of new drilling permits under a controversial local ordinance. New proposed legislation could open the door to as many as 4,700 new drilling permits in its first year that would not be subject to environmental review, according to FracTracker's analysis. Since taking office in January 2019, Governor Newsom's administration has approved about 18,515 oil and gas permits. While this figure is high, annual permit approvals have sharply declined during his tenure. In 2019, the state issued 2,366 new drilling permits. By comparison, just 73 were approved in all of 2024, and only 4 have been granted in the first half of 2025. This downward trajectory reflects a deliberate shift away from oil and gas expansion, but that momentum is now at risk.In June, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a revised oil and gas ordinance that would permit roughly 2,700 new wells per year in unincorporated areas, based on a single EIR. Courts had previously struck down two similar attempts due to failures to evaluate key environmental risks, including air and water quality, noise, cancer risk, and farmland impacts. It is up to Newsom to decide whether to back CalGEM's authority to deny permits based on insufficient environmental review or to direct CalGEM to accept the fast-tracked permitting without the agency's environmental review."This ordinance would be a dangerous reversal of Governor Newsom's commitment to rein in the oil ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
Newsom Oil Permits At Standstill, But New Administration Proposal Could Lead to Approval of 4,700 More Oil Wells Next Year, says consumer watchdog
