Tell Governor Newsom: Don’t let Californians pay for Big Oil’s mess

The California legislature passed a bill called AB 1167 that would hold oil companies responsible for cleaning up their own oil wells instead of burdening taxpayers with the costs. Now, Governor Newsom will decide whether to sign this bill into law. There are currently tens of thousands of idle and very low-producing wells at risk of becoming orphaned. Once they stop producing, these wells must be safely closed to protect our communities, and without this bill, taxpayers may be left to pay the cost.

The Governor must sign AB 1167 to stop this problem.

Send a message to Governor Newsom and tell him to sign AB 1167.

Send a message to Governor Newsom and tell him to sign AB 1167 by Wendy Carrillo into law.

A rusty pumpjack at an abandoned oil well

Jim West/Alamy

Oil companies are drilling in California communities, exposing residents to a long list of health hazards and lining their pockets - and then forcing the rest of us to pay to clean up their mess when the wells are no longer profitable. It’s time to take action against this reckless and unfair practice.

AB 1167 would interrupt the practice of big oil companies selling off their wells to smaller and often less solvent operators, who then walk away from their obligation to clean up the wells when they’re no longer producing and leave taxpayers to foot the bill.

Oil drilling often takes place right next to schools, hospitals, and homes, and even after production stops, idle wells continue to threaten neighborhoods. Last year, dozens of wells were found to be leaking air pollution within a few hundred feet of people’s homes and a day care center. It is essential that resources be consistently and immediately available to clean up these wells - on the oil companies’ dime - rather than relying on taxpayer money.

It’s time for a change. The Governor must sign this bill into law.

CTA

Your Message

Subject Sign AB 1167 to clean up hazardous oil wells

Dear Governor Newsom:

Message Body

I’m writing to urge you to sign AB 1167, the Orphan Well Prevention Act, which would help ensure that California taxpayers are not stuck with the bill for cleaning up oil wells that their operators have walked away from.

Currently, anyone drilling a well must post a bond to pay for plugging and abandonment, but the required bonding amounts fall far short of the actual costs. Estimates show the average cost of plugging and abandoning a well is roughly $68,000 statewide, but required bonding amounts can be as low as a few hundred dollars per well. So if the well is sold off and an operator down the line becomes insolvent, taxpayers are left to foot the rest of the bill.

In addition to the financial risks to the state, any shortfall in available bond funds leads to significant health and safety risks for people living near orphaned wells that have not been plugged and abandoned due to lack of resources. It is essential for health, safety and the environment that oil companies make available the funds needed to properly close oil wells once they have ceased operation, to ensure that they do not leak toxic air contaminants that harm community health.

AB 1167 would address the twin problems of insolvent operators and insufficient bond funds by requiring that any buyer of an oil well in California post a bond for the full cost of plugging and abandonment, ensuring that well owners cannot use sales to pass the buck for their cleanup costs to the state’s taxpayers. It’s the commonsense solution to a growing problem.

Please sign AB 1167 to help keep our communities healthy and safe and to ensure that oil operators do not pass off their responsibility to pay for the clean up of their own drilling operations.

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