"Now, the Trump administration is suing to overturn it. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice challenged Senate Bill 1137, state legislation passed in 2022 that establishes a 3,200-foot minimum setback between new oil wells and "sensitive receptors," defined as homes, schools, community centers, parks and playgrounds, healthcare facilities or any public building."
"But the Trump administration says the law would "knock out" about one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in California, amounting to unconstitutional state regulation of federal lands. In its complaint, the administration argues that federal law - specifically, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act - supersedes SB 1137, and asks that the court declare the state law unconstitutional and prevent it from being enforced."
California enacted SB 1137 in 2022 to require a 3,200-foot minimum setback between new oil and gas wells and sensitive receptors such as homes, schools, parks, healthcare facilities and public buildings. Existing wells within that distance may continue operating but must monitor emissions, control dust and limit nighttime noise and light. The U.S. Department of Justice sued to block the law, arguing it conflicts with the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act and would affect about one-third of federally authorized leases. The Bureau of Land Management administers over 600 leases in California, with roughly 218 overlapping the buffer zone. California officials defend the setback as a science-based pollution protection measure.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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