California Oil and Gas Health Protection Law Survives First-Round Trump Administration Attack

A federal court today denied the Trump administration’s request to pause enforcement of Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137), California’s landmark oil and gas health buffer law, during its legal challenge. The court’s denial of the administration’s request for a preliminary injunction means the state’s 3,200-foot health protection zones between new oil drilling and communities, established by SB 1137, will remain in effect while the lawsuit is heard.

“Today’s decision is a win for Californians who have been saying for years that oil and gas drilling and its rampant pollution shouldn’t be anywhere near our schools, hospitals and communities,” said Tomás Rebecchi, Central Coast organizing manager at Food & Water Watch. “This is an important moment for our health and safety, which is under threat from the Trump administration, and we applaud the court for keeping this important protection in place while the lawsuit plays out.”

In January, the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sued California, claiming that federal laws override the state’s buffer law on federal land or leases. Enacted in 2022, SB 1137 prohibits new oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, hospitals, and other sensitive places where science shows increased health and safety risks. The goal of the law is to improve public health by reducing exposure to pollution.

Shortly after filing its lawsuit, the BLM asked the court to stop the state from enforcing protections against operations on federal lands while the lawsuit is pending, which would have endangered people living near thousands of acres of federal lands throughout California. A coalition of advocacy groups joined the state in opposing that request, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Los Padres ForestWatch, and Sierra Club. The groups are represented by counsel at Earthjustice and Center for Biological Diversity.

The court characterized SB 1137 as a “reasonable environmental regulation” with an “obvious and important purpose” of protecting people from adverse health effects that is backed by science. In denying the BLM’s request for a preliminary injunction, the court found that it “has not demonstrated that it is likely to succeed in showing SB 1137 conflicts with federal law.”

“Californians can breathe easier knowing that the state’s protections against oil and gas drilling are still in place,” said Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “We’ll continue fighting to ensure these critical safeguards aren’t ripped away by the Trump administration’s dangerous ‘drill, baby, drill’ policies.”

“This initial ruling keeps vital protections in place for our neighborhoods and the precious parks and open spaces that surround them,” said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “The Trump administration’s desperate quest to drill next to homes, schools and open spaces knows no bounds, but today justice prevailed.”

“It’s unfortunate that the federal government would rather pander to the oil and gas industry than protect public health. Thankfully, today’s decision leaves in place for now the protections that community members and the public fought hard to secure,” said Colin O’Brien, an attorney at Earthjustice.

“The court made clear that SB 1137 is a lawful, science-based safeguard to protect people from the well-documented harms of oil drilling. Efforts to block these protections are nothing more than an attempt to shield the oil industry at the expense of communities that have already borne the brunt of pollution for decades. This ruling ensures that those protections stay in place while the case proceeds, and Sierra Club California will continue fighting to hold the line for public health and environmental justice,” said Miguel Miguel, Director, Sierra Club California.

California’s buffer law is based on a growing body of scientific evidence showing that close proximity to oil and gas activity likely causes a host of serious health and safety harms including adverse birth outcomes, respiratory illness, and higher rates of cancer.

More than 3 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an active well. Those neighborhoods are predominantly low-income and nearly 70% non-white, disproportionately saddling communities of color with decades of health harms and their attendant costs.

The Center for Biological Diversity is seeking to intervene in the case to protect SB 1137, alongside Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Los Padres ForestWatch, and Sierra Club.