Credit: BLM
November 15, 2020 - Rural County Representatives of California report last Monday, California filed a critique of the federal government's forthcoming sale of fossil fuel drilling leases on public lands,
arguing the work would harm the environment and public health. The California Department of Justice wrote a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) claiming that the agency is relying on a flawed programmatic environmental review finalized in December 2019 that opened more than one million acres of public lands in Central California to oil and gas drilling.
Despite criticism from Governor Newsom, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the letter is unlikely to sway the BLM, particularly in the waning weeks of the Trump Administration.
However, the ultimate prospect of production actually occurring is still uncertain because of the legal challenges and further regulatory processes.
Source: Rural County Representatives of California
