Oil and gas safety buffer zones and community resilience investments lead the 2021 EJ agenda FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Contact: Isa Flores-Jones | isa@caleja.org Sacramento, California | April 20, 2021 – On Tuesday, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action announced its priority bills for the 2021 Legislative session. As the state enters the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CEJA Action is prioritizing a health and safety buffer zone between homes and to neighborhood oil drilling in California with SB 467 (Wiener and Limon), and critical investments in clean energy infrastructure with AB 1087 (Chiu). CEJA Action is adopting supporting positions on SB 222 and 223 (Dodd),to ensure access to clean and affordable drinking water to low-income Californians; SB 342 (González), to add two environmental justice board members to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD); and AB 339 (Lee), to ensure that all local agency meetings are accessible to frontline residents. Read more about our priority bills here at ceja-action.org. “California cannot claim to be a climate leader while it continues the dangerous practice of oil drilling next to where people live, work, learn, and play,” said Martha Dina Arguello, Executive Director with Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
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Coalition Supporting SB 467 Vows to Continue Fight for Setbacks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEKobi Naseck, VISION, kobi@vision-ca.org, (214) 609-2439Riddhi Patel, CRPE, rpatel@crpe-ej.org, (661) 865-4881Catie Stewart, Senator Wiener’s Office, catie.stewart@sen.ca.gov, (610) 675-6342 Coalition Supporting SB 467 Vows to Continue Fight for SetbacksOpposition from 3 Democratic Senators kept the bill from moving forward Sacramento, CA (April 13, 2021) – Yesterday, Senate Bill 467 (Wiener, Limon) – the bill tocreate health and safety buffer zones; phase out the most dangerous fracking methods inCalifornia; and provide steps to protect workers from volatile oil markets – was blocked in aninitial vote by members of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment. One Democrat, Senator Eggman (D-5) joined Republicans to oppose the broadly popularfracking and setbacks bill, while two Democrats, Senators Hueso (D-40) and Senator Hertzberg(D-18) abstained from casting their votes. Following their no vote on Assembly Bill 345 last year,this is the second time these moderate Democrats, Sen. Hueso and Sen. Hertzberg haverefused to support a major oil and gas regulation bill that would protect frontline communities.The bill will be reconsidered in two weeks time before the Sen Natural Resources Committee. At the April 12th hearing, residents and advocates called on Senators to consider the healthimpacts of oil and gas drilling, including, “birth defects,
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