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Kern County Board Of Supervisors Approves New Drilling

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Kern Drilling

Kern County is home to most of the state’s oil and natural gas drill sites. Now, more will be added to the list.

 

 

Land in Central California’s Kern County already accounts for 80% of the 1.35 Billion dollaroil and gas production industry in the state. This number could be increasing by a lot.

When the county tried to speed up its oil and gas drilling back in 2015, a state appeals court blocked it after a lengthy legal process. Judges said the proposal didn’t fully disclose the environmental damage drilling would cause.So officials revised their proposal. 

 

At a public hearing, Monday, Eddie Peña, a commenter representing a local labor union said the proposal would increase jobs and income availability for workers. He said, "With the growth of the industry, there will be new job opportunities through the program, and through the local unions, we’ll provide residents with a chance to live the American Dream."

 

But another commenter, Laurie Pesante, shared concerns about the long-term viability of the industry, given its impact on the land. She said, "I want not just the families that are working in the oil industry now, like my neighbors and family members and colleagues, but future families to be able to have good jobs with benefits and retirement and livable wages."

 

The Kern County Board of Supervisors had an outpouring of live calls and voicemails. They approved the plan Monday evening, streamlining a process that will allow blanket permits for up to2,700 new wells a year for 15 years. That’s a total of just over 40-Thousand. 

Originally from the East Bay, Vivian began working in radio at KZSC in Santa Cruz. After KZSC she hosted a show at New York radio station Radio Free Brooklyn, covering artists and art local to NYC. As a KALW intern, she works on news and stories local the Bay Area. Outside of the radio station, she loves to visit galleries and museums and go on hikes.