Kern County planning panel recommends readopting oil-and-gas zoning ordinance, forwards EIR to supervisors

The Kern County Planning Commission on a 4-0 vote recommended that the Board of Supervisors certify a supplemental recirculated environmental impact report and readopt revisions to Title 19 of the county zoning ordinance that would restore local oil-and-gas permitting and impose new mitigation and design standards.

Lorelei Oviatt, director of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, told the commission the ordinance under consideration is the 2015 ordinance the board previously adopted, revised to address three court-mandated CEQA issues: use of agricultural conservation easements, a multi-well health risk analysis regarding setbacks from sensitive receptors, and impacts of drilling on water supplies for disadvantaged communities. "The ordinance before your commission tonight is the same as the ordinance originally adopted by the board of supervisors 11/09/2015, with minor amendments implemented to comply with the findings of the supplemental recirculated EIR," Oviatt said during the staff presentation.

The ordinance would reestablish a local, largely ministerial permitting system for oil-and-gas activities in unincorporated Kern County. Under staff descriptions, a new drilling project would generally require an "oil and gas conformity review" (the primary permit) while smaller changes would use a "minor activity review." "What ministerial means is if you comply with the requirements, you get a permit. There's no discretion in this," Oviatt said. Staff said the ordinance includes many mitigation measures and development standards; the staff report and appendices contain the detailed requirements.

Why it matters: the county has not issued local permits since the ordinance was rescinded by court actions. Staff said reauthorizing local permitting with a mitigation monitoring and reporting program would restore a county-level review that it says provides site-specific mitigations that CalGEM-led permitting has not required. Opponents, including environmental justice organizations and community residents, said the changes would fast-track tens of thousands of wells, worsen air and water harms in already overburdened communities, and do not guarantee adequate local notice or protection.

Key provisions and staff clarifications

- Agricultural mitigation: The 2015 requirement to pay for acreage via conservation easements was found invalid by a court; staff said the supplemental EIR replaces that payment approach with a legacy equipment removal requirement plus a new requirement that operators submit an executed agricultural conservation easement for an equal number of acres disturbed by a new well. Staff said language was revised to conform with the California Civil Code so only entities authorized under the Civil Code can hold the easements.

- Legacy equipment removal: Under the revised mitigation measure, when a new well would disturb X acres and the operator controls legacy equipment on that parcel, the operator must remove X acres of legacy equipment from that parcel; if the operator does not control legacy equipment there, the operator must identify and remove legacy equipment on other agricultural land. Oviatt said the full implementation details are in the mitigation monitoring and reporting program in the staff report.

- Setbacks and SB 1137: Staff said the state’s SB 1137 (effective June 2024) created a health protection zone generally described in the staff presentation as a 3,200-foot buffer from sensitive receptors. Oviatt said the county is not endorsing the scientific basis of the setback but "we honor the law" and that permitting inside the state-defined health protection zone will be done by CalGEM, not the county. "There'll be no oil and gas conformity reviews, there will be no minor activity reviews, and there'll be no permitting from Kern County in what's called a health protection zone," Oviatt said. Opponents said the county should retain the buffer regardless of pending litigation over SB 1137; staff noted the law is subject to litigation.

- Water mitigation fund: The supplemental EIR and revised mitigation add a disadvantaged-communities water relief fund funded by a per-well fee. Staff said the fee is $9,732 per new well, of which $140 per well would pay staffing to manage the program; the remainder would support grant programs administered through the State Water Board for projects such as pipeline extensions and consolidation projects for failing small water systems. Staff estimated the fee stream could produce roughly $11.7 million up to more than $26 million annually, depending on permit volumes. The EIR analysis also states that, in an illustrative scenario, drilling all permitted wells in a year would use 11,761 acre-feet of potable water; staff provided that figure to show context relative to total county water use.

- Advisory work group: Staff recommended creating an advisory work group limited to 12 delegates from established Kern County organizations representing disadvantaged-community water concerns (examples listed by staff include the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment and the Committee for Better Arvin).

Public testimony and positions

Industry groups and local business organizations urged approval. Suzanne Noble, senior director of production operations for the Western States Petroleum Association, said the association and its members "appreciate the opportunity to address the Planning Commission" and urged the commission to recommend adoption. Business and economic representatives — including the Greater Bakersfield Chamber, local economic development organizations, BizFed, and construction and contractors groups — emphasized jobs, local tax revenue, and the county’s role in state energy supplies.

Opposition came from environmental justice, public-health advocates, and community members. Kayla Karimi of the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment said the ordinance "would fast track tens of thousands of new oil and gas wells" and urged the commission to deny the ordinance and keep the health protection zone in place regardless of SB 1137 litigation. Several residents and health professionals described local health concerns attributed to oil-field activities and urged prioritizing community health and expanded mitigation.

Commission action

Commissioner Clint Oliver moved to recommend the Board of Supervisors certify the supplemental recirculated EIR, adopt the findings and statement of overriding considerations, adopt the mitigation monitoring and reporting program, and recommend enactment of the Title 19 revisions as set out in the staff draft. The motion carried on a 4-0 vote with one commissioner absent. The chair and staff noted that commission action is a recommendation; the Board of Supervisors will consider the ordinance at a special meeting scheduled for June 26 at 10:00 a.m. in the same chambers.

Votes at a glance

- Consent: CUP 7Map13922 (Verizon Wireless, 27967 Dustin Acres Road) — conditional use permit for a 90-foot wireless facility disguised as a water tower on an approximately 19.19-acre parcel. Approved on the consent calendar (4 ayes, 1 absent). Staff noted an addendum clarifying Condition 6(a) about the location of a concrete paved drive approach. The county staff advised that appeals of final commission actions are filed to the Board of Supervisors at the Planning and Natural Resources Department within 14 days with a $562 filing fee.

- Main item: Readoption of Title 19 oil-and-gas ordinance and certification of the supplemental recirculated EIR (staff recommendation to Board of Supervisors). Motion to recommend adoption carried 4-0, 1 absent. Chair and staff said this commission vote is a recommendation; the board will hold a special hearing on June 26 at 10:00 a.m.

What the commission did not decide

The commission did not itself adopt the ordinance; it forwarded a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Staff repeatedly distinguished between ministerial permitting under the local ordinance (county-issued conformity reviews and minor activity reviews) and permitting that will remain with CalGEM inside the state-defined health protection zone. Several opponents urged the commission and board to commit to the 3,200-foot buffer irrespective of state litigation; the commission did not adopt any additional local buffer at this hearing.

Next steps

The Board of Supervisors will consider certification of the supplemental recirculated EIR and potential re-adoption of the revised Title 19 ordinance at a special public hearing on June 26 at 10:00 a.m. in the Kern County administrative chambers. If the board takes final action, certain administrative and implementation tasks described in the staff report (mitigation monitoring, advisory work group formation, and permitting-system roll-out) would follow.

Sources: staff presentation and staff report excerpts; public testimony and the Planning Commission hearing record.