May 13, 2019

The Honorable Lorena Gonzalez

Chair, Assembly Committee on Appropriations

State Capitol, Room 2114

Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Assembly Bill 345 (Muratsuchi) Oil Production Buffer Zones – SUPPORT

CC: Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, Members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Dear Chair Gonzalez,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are writing in strong support of Assembly Bill 345 (Muratsuchi)

which will provide a 2,500-foot health and safety buffer zone between new oil and gas wells and sensitive land uses

(e.g., schools, day care centers, residential homes, and hospitals).

Nearly five and a half million Californians—mostly in communities of color—live within one mile of an oil or gas

well. Numerous studies link proximity to oil and gas wells to a host of health impacts, including increased risk of

asthma and other respiratory illnesses, pre-term births and high-risk pregnancies, and, in some cases, cancer. Oil

and gas extraction also produces toxic air pollutants, volatile organic compounds like benzene and formaldehyde,

fine and ultra-fine particulate matter, and hydrogen sulfide. Other potential harms include water contamination,

noise pollution, spills of toxic chemicals, and explosions. Clearly, a safe distance between drilling operations and

residences, schools, and other sensitive places is necessary to avoid these serious public health risks.

Of the approximately five and a half million Californians who live within a mile or more of oil and gas wells, one-

third live in areas most burdened by environmental pollution and the vast majority of these Californians living in

these communities are people of color. These disproportionate, cumulative impacts constitute significant

environmental justice concerns and state legislative action is long overdue to address the public health and safety

harms caused by oil and gas extraction.

In 2015, the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) conducted an analysis of the health and

environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing, in which they strongly recommended buffer zones

between sensitive land uses and oil and gas wells in order to protect the health and safety of communities where

drilling occurs. Four years later, no meaningful legislative action has been taken in response to this

recommendation.

AB 345 would finally begin to address these harms by preventing new wells in areas where they present the greatest

health and safety risks. For these reasons, we respectfully urge your “Aye” vote on AB 345.

Ingrid Brostrom Assistant Director Center for Race, Poverty, & the Environment

Dan Jacobson State Director Environment California

Alvaro Palacios Coalition Coordinator VISION

Victoria Rome Director of California Government Affairs Natural Resources Defense Council

Melissa Romero Legislative Affairs Manager California League of Conservation Voters

Kathryn Phillips Director Sierra Club California

Gladys Limón Executive Director California Environmental Justice Alliance

Brian Nowicki California Climate Policy Director Center for Biological Diversity

Evan Minton Policy and Programmatic Manager Voices for Progress

Deborah Silvey Board Chair Fossil Free California

Erica Martinez California Policy Advocate Earthjustice

Dianna Cohen Chief Executive Officer Plastic Pollution Coalition

Anna Cummins Co-Founder and Executive Director The 5 Gyres Institute

Leslie Mintz Tamminen Director Seventh Generation Advisors

Christopher Chin Executive Director The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE)

Janet Nudelman Director of Program & Policy Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Dan Howells CA State Director Clean Water Action

Kathy Dervin Co-Chair, Legislative Committee 350 Bay Area Action

Miya Yoshitani Executive Director Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Genevieve Gale Executive Director Central Valley Air Quality (CVAQ) Coalition

Alan Weiner Chapter Co-Chair 350 Conejo, San Fernando Valley

Nicole Kemeny President 350 Silicon Valley

Laurie Litman President 350 Sacramento

Bill Magavern Policy Director Coalition for Clean Air RL Miller Director Climate Hawks Vote Juan Altamirano Associate Director of Policy Audubon California