CALIFORNIA—On Friday, February 9, the Food and Drug Watch announced Governor Newsom’s plan to end fracking in California. In what Newsom’s California Geologic Energy Management (CGEM) referred to as, “A three-year de facto ban,” CGEM released its plan to phase out fracking in the state of California by prohibiting the issuing of new fracking permits.

This would put an end to new drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure along with transitioning off fossil fuels.

On October 21, 2021, Governor Newsom issued the following statement of intent to end fracking in California:

“Our reliance on fossil fuels has resulted in more kids getting asthma, more children born with birth defects, and more communities exposed to toxic, dangerous chemicals. California is taking a significant step to protect the more than two million residents who live within a half-mile of oil drilling sites, many in low-income and communities of color.

We are committed to protecting the public health, the economy and our environment as we transition to a greener future that reckons with the realities of the climate crisis, we’re all facing.”

California is not one of the main manufacturers of oil and gas. Reports indicate that as of 2021, approximately 13 percent of California’s oil and gas wells were fracked at least once with overall permitted fracking operations accounting for two percent of the state’s oil production.

Cal Gem indicated that the new ban to be approved by the end of 2024 would have, “a moderate impact on oil production.”

Initially Phys.org reported that “California passed a restriction in 2022, but that law has been suspended pending a referendum vote in 2024.”

Cal Gem indicated they would hold a virtual public hearing on the fracking rule on Tuesday, March 26.

According to Californians for Energy independence, California produces 463,000 barrels, and consumes 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. Californians consume every barrel of oil and gas produced in the state and import almost three times more. Californians pay over $25 billion a year for imported oil.

California statewide summary oil and gas data that goes back to 1977 and contains information on the 249,313 wells that have been drilled in the state since that time. California is ranked #10 in the US based on Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) produced in March 2023.

Close to 46,000 people hold jobs in the oil and gas fracking industry in the state of California.