More than 7 million Californians live within one mile of an oil or gas well. Of those, 362,000 live in Santa Barbara County, the majority in low-income communities or communities of color.
Living near oil and gas wells is linked with an increased risk of cancer, asthma, high-risk pregnancies, and learning disabilities in children, as well as greater susceptibility to COVID-19.
SB 467 — the “dangerous drilling bill” — was introduced by Senators Monique Limón (D-S.B.) and Scott Wiener (D-S.f.). SB 467 bans fracking, acid well stimulation, cyclic steam injection, steam flooding, and other extreme, highly polluting forms of extraction. These methods are currently used in Cat Canyon, endangering the Santa Maria Valley water basin on which more than 150,000 residents rely for drinking water.