Still, environmentalists and advocates celebrated the announcement as a victory and promised to challenge any litigation.
Philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, the top funder of the campaign in support of the buffer law, said in a statement that it is “time to move ahead and connect public health with the amazing growth industry of renewable energy in California.”
“Big Oil spent tens of millions of dollars trying to fool voters, using the profits made at the expense of community health, but it was no match for the groundswell of people power and community support we were able to unite all across California,” said Darryl Molina Sarmiento, executive director of Communities for a Better Environment.
Jonathan Gregory, CIPA’s chairman and CEO of well operator RMX Resources, said in a press release that the industry group was pulling its referendum and pursuing legal action instead because backers of the buffer law “can make unfounded claims in the press and paid advertisements, but they can’t make those claims in court without evidence.”
The law, Gregory said, would not only prevent the drilling of new wells but also limit the maintenance of thousands of existing ones.
He argued it is unconstitutional for California to “illegally take private property, particularly operations that were duly permitted by the government and all impacts mitigated.”
“Californians do not want to further increase our dependence on expensive foreign crude when California workers can create the energy locally under the strictest regulations in the world,” he said.
Editor’s Note: The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Family Foundation is a supporter of KQED. KQED maintains editorial control of its coverage and our editorial judgments are made independently — not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source.
