California: Signal Hill employs firm with oil industry ties for drilling permit review

Residents of Signal Hill are opposing a proposal to extend a neighborhood oil drilling permit for 20 years, citing health risks and environmental concerns.

Liza Gross reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

Community members expressed concerns about health impacts, such as asthma and cancer, linked to local oil drilling operations.
Signal Hill Petroleum seeks to extend its drilling operations, relying on an environmental review by a firm connected to the oil industry.
California's Senate Bill 1137, if upheld, would restrict new wells and impose tighter regulations on existing ones near residential areas.

Key quote:

"The International Panel on Climate Change has stated that we must urgently ramp down fossil fuel production in order to avoid the most extreme effects of climate change. A proposed 20-year permit extension does the opposite."

— Catherine Ronan, Sierra Club’s Los Angeles chapter

Why this matters:

Extending oil drilling operations in residential areas poses significant health risks to the community, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The decision also challenges California's efforts to reduce fossil fuel dependence and mitigate climate change.

insideclimatenews.org

Coal mining operation featuring yellow rock trucks and excavators as well as one orange excavator in the center.

Credit: Dominik Vanyi/Unsplash

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