Protect Playa Now! September, 2022 Newsletter

SB 1137 Passed the Senate!
​VISION Press Release Aug. 31st, 2022

3,200ft Setbacks on New and Existing Wells passes through the Legislature! Environmental justice groups applaud SB 1137 to enact health and safety buffer zones for oil and gas wells.
Senators voted 25-10 in a decisive victory to advance SB 1137 (Gonzalez, Limon) to the Governor’s desk. When signed by Governor Newsom before the September 30th deadline, SB 1137 will prevent new permits for oil and gas drilling within a 3,200ft comprehensive health and safety zone. The bill also will create a pathway to an end of existing drilling in the setback zone by prohibiting operators from seeking rework permits and through a broad set of engineering and pollution controls.
This decisive legislative victory for oil and gas buffer zones comes three years after a broad coalition of environmental justice, public health, labor, youth and environmental organizations first launched an effort to pass statewide setbacks policy.
Governor Newsom, who has publicly championed a phaseout timeline for oil extraction in California, introduced the setbacks bill as part of a late-session set of Climate Pillars. A regulatory effort to achieve setbacks had stalled for years in the state oil and gas regulatory agency, CalGEM, even after residents from across California submitted over 80,000 public comments to the state agency in support of health and safety setbacks.

Updates and Actions
Oil & Gas Setback LA City - The City Council unanimously voted this January directing the City Planning Department to draft an ordinance to phase out oil drilling. There is a Planning Commission hearing that is tentatively scheduled for the 22nd. STAND-LA is encouraging supporters to echo these key points:

• The City should move quickly to adopt this ordinance that will zone out oil drilling city-wide. 
• The City code should maintain existing health protections during the phase-out period and immediately prohibit dangerous activities like acidization. 
• The City should commit to shortening the phase-out period from the existing 20-year timeframe. 
• The City should mandate oil companies pay for comprehensive well plugging and site clean up after oil sites are shut down, and promote community-benefiting redevelopment based on feedback from impacted residents. 
• We look forward to working with the City to continue making progress toward environmental justice.
• We hope that the Planning Department can take this first draft and strengthen it with the input of frontline communities and public health experts.

Scattergood Hydrogen Vote - The LA City Council's Energy Committee has delayed a vote that was scheduled for tomorrow to approve LADWP's proposal of hydrogen modernization at Scattergood without any public input. The vote will be rescheduled for October. We're calling on the committee members to hold an educational event for constituents to discuss alternatives to hydrogen. Join us in calling the members of the Energy Committee.
Council Members To Call:

• Mitch O'Farrell: 866-971-9148
• Paul Koretz: 866-584-6799
• Kevin de León: 855-969-5216
• Paul Krekorian: 855-971-2589
• Gil Cedillo: 866-835-0995

Calls to Action

• Sign and Share our petition to tell Governor Newsom to Shut Down the Playa del Rey Gas Storage Facility!
• Help us get organizations to Sign-On to our letter telling Governor Newsom to decommission the SoCalGas Playa del Rey storage facility!
• Every time you smell gas, call 1-800-CUT-SMOG or 1-800-288-7664
• Join us at the virtual and in person events below!

Events​
Los Angeles Global Climate Strike
Youth Climate Strike LA is hosting LA’s Global Climate Strike here on September 23rd. YCS demands that elected officials stop using the climate crisis as a talking point and commit to transparency and accountability in fighting the crisis. There will be speakers, music, art and a march. Meet at City Hall. RSVP Here - Sept. 23rd, Friday 12pm