Lawmakers voted down a bill to require buffer zones around oil and gas extraction. Environmental justice activists still see hope.
The protests demonstrate that even with the defeat of Assembly Bill 345, the environmental justice movement that’s coalesced around setbacks isn’t going away.Yesterday I spoke with Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and co-chair of, which opposes neighborhood drilling. She was still “a little pissed,” in her words, about lawmakers rejecting AB 345.
Environmental justice advocates have been sounding the alarm about the dangers of living near drilling sites for years. But the campaign for setbacks has gained steamed as more scientific studies have attested to the risks.found that pregnant women in rural California who live within 6 miles of oil and gas wells — much further than the half-mile buffer activists are seeking — were significantly more likely to give birth to babies with low birth weights.
Even with hope for statewide legislation temporarily extinguished, clean air and racial justice advocates see several places where they can advance their campaign.rules meant to protect the health of communities near drilling sites. The agency has already received 40,000 public comments, many of them urging state officials to adopt a 2,500-foot buffer zone, the number originally contemplated by AB 345 before the bill was watered down.
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