LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a ban on permit approvals for oil drilling near vulnerable communities looms on January 1, oil drillers seeking to overturn the ban have received 86 permits for drilling closer to communities than the ban allows ahead of the deadline, according to a review by the FracTracker Alliance and Consumer Watchdog. These oil drillers currently operate thousands of wells within the banned distance and have kicked in $7.5 million of the total $9.2 million raised to overturn the law by gathering signatures to qualify a referendum. As of January 1, SB 1137 bans the approval of permits for drilling new wells or fixing old ones within a 3,200-foot setback but does not shut down any existing wells. Out of the 16 drillers financing the effort, half won 86 permit approvals for work within the zone in the first nine months of 2022, FracTracker Alliance analysis shows. (See Table 1 below.) More than one in five of all oil permits approved statewide in the third quarter were for well work within the setback and drillers have two years to use them. Overall, permits dispensed statewide by the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) in the first nine months of 2022 jumped by one third over the same period last year. More than two thirds were to fix or deepen wells rather than drill new ones, continuing a statewide trend. All permit updates are posted on a map at www.newsomwellwatch.com "After a decade of vulnerable communities fighting for this setback and finally getting it, oil drillers know the jig is up and they won't get new permits for wells near residences after January 1, and so are now trying to upend the law," said Consumer Advocate Liza Tucker. "State oil regulators should hold off on any fourth quarter permit approvals within the setback zone, just as they have been holding off on approvals of fracking permits ahead of a 2024 ban on that practice." "CalGEM and the administration understand perfectly that permitting new wells and reworking wells near homes, schools, hospitals and other receptors puts communities at undue risk of exposure to toxic and carcinogenic pollutants," said Kyle Ferrar, Western Coordinator at FracTracker Alliance. "In light of this, regulators should stop all new permitting immediately."See: https://www.fractracker.org/2022/04/implications-of-a-3200-foot-setback-...