Old Oil Well Cleanup Bill Headed to Gov’s Desk

The Coast Oil Well Cleanup Act, aimed at properly capping leaky abandoned oil wells along California beaches, is headed to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, after passing the Senate floor earlier this week with a 31-5 bipartisan vote. The bill, authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, requires that the California State Lands Commission locate and plug so-called legacy wells that were improperly shut down by companies no longer in business, such as Summerland’s Becker Well. There’s an estimated 200 such wells statewide, the majority in Summerland and Ellwood.