Court shoots down Monterey County’s oil drilling ban
August 5, 2023
By KAREN VELIE
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that counties cannot ban oil drilling because regulating oil production is the job of state regulators.
In 2016, 56% of Monterey County voters supported an ordinance banning new oil drilling and certain extraction methods. Chevron and other oil drilling companies then filed a court challenge to Measure Z.
The plaintiff’s argued Measure Z promoters misled voters by promoting a fracking ban, even though there is no fracking in Monterey County. Fracking is a process used to extract oil deposits in shale at depths of more than 10,000 feet while most oil on the Central Coast is located at depths of under 4,000 feet.
Even so, the court allowed the fracking ban to remain. The state is currently planning to stop issuing fracking permits in 2024.
“Chevron is pleased that this decision brings an end to seven years of litigation and appeals,” according to a statement by Jeffrey Dintzer, a lawyer representing Chevron.
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