Not in My Backyard: Bureau of Land Management Hits Setback in Lawsuit to Open Central Coast to New Oil and Gas Drilling 

Amid efforts to expand oil and gas drilling in backyards across the Central Coast, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has hit a snag. 

The agency recently asked a federal court to pause enforcement of a California law that prohibits new drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, hospitals, and other “Health Protection Zones.” 

On March 31, the court denied that request, allowing the protections to remain in place while the case proceeds. 

The ruling comes as the BLM proposes to open up 850,000 untapped acres across the region to new oil and gas development. That plan, however, butts heads with Senate Bill 1137, a state law forbidding new drilling near communities that may be at heightened risk from pollution. 

Research shows that multiple public health risks are linked to living near oil and gas operations, including adverse birth outcomes, respiratory illness, and higher rates of cancer. 

Unhappy with this legislative obstacle — claiming it “unreasonably burdens domestic energy development,” undermining affordability and American energy independence — the BLM sued the State of California in January to get around it.

The federal agency says that SB 1137 would “knock out” about one-third of all federally authorized oil and gas leases in California. It argues that federal law — namely, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act — preempts SB 1137.

Shortly after filing the complaint, the BLM asked the court to halt enforcement of the state’s health buffer zones. A federal court denied it, characterizing SB 1137 as a “reasonable environmental regulation” with an “obvious and important purpose” of protecting people from adverse health effects.

The BLM has “not demonstrated that it is likely to succeed in showing SB 1137 conflicts with federal law,” according to court documents. 

Environmental groups — including the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch, which are seeking to intervene in the case — are taking this latest decision as a win.

“This initial ruling keeps vital protections in place for our neighborhoods and the precious parks and open spaces that surround them,” said Jeff Kuyper, ForestWatch executive director. 

“The Trump administration’s desperate quest to drill next to homes, schools, and open spaces knows no bounds, but today, justice prevailed,” he said.

Efforts to expand drilling on the Central Coast have been met with widespread public opposition. More than 175,000 public comments were submitted criticizing the BLM’s proposal, which would open up areas near neighborhoods, sensitive habitats, and waterways to new drilling. 

Among those proposed 850,000 acres are a 40-acre parcel located within 2,000 feet of Cate School in Carpinteria, a 42-acre public park in Lompoc, and land bordering Lake Cachuma.

In response, 50 Central Coast organizations submitted a joint letter urging the agency to revise the proposal and address “neglected concerns related to public health, water resources, wildlife habitat, and land use conflicts.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta also submitted his formal objections, warning of worsening pollution in already burdened communities. 

More than three million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an active well. Those neighborhoods are predominantly low-income and nearly 70 percent non-white.

Critics say the BLM’s proposal relies on an outdated environmental analysis that does not consider the plethora of potential impacts to sensitive areas and communities.

“These studies are supposed to be more than paperwork and rubber stamps,” said Benjamin Pitterle, director of advocacy at ForestWatch, in a statement. 

“This plan puts some of the Central Coast’s most treasured public lands, beaches, communities, and drinking water sources at risk, yet it ignores new evidence and directly conflicts with new state law,” he said. “The BLM should go back to the drawing board. The public deserves better.”

With the close of the comment period, the Bureau of Land Management will review public input before making a final decision in July.

For clarity’s sake, this proposal is for onshore drilling. There are many different conversations around oil permeating through Santa Barbara County right now, including the ongoing saga of Sable Offshore Corp. — which has restarted production at its offshore platforms and pumping it through a once-ruptured pipeline — and proposals to open up areas off the coast to offshore drilling. This is a different proposal by the BLM to open up lands onshore. 

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission is also currently considering an ordinance to prohibit new oil and gas drilling in the county. Public comments on the ordinance are due by Monday, April 6, at noon, and can be submitted via email to dvillalo@countyofsb.org. The commission will hold a hearing at their upcoming meeting on Wednesday, April 8, at 9 a.m., which is open to the public.