WSPA President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd has issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Kern County concerning the de facto moratorium on Well Stimulation (WST) permits.
“WSPA and its members recognize the importance of the need to address environmental issues that impact global climate change and are leading the way through investments and innovation in addressing this challenge. We must get this right. Our industry is committed to climate solutions and an equitable energy future that includes more renewable and sustainable energy sources, and for the foreseeable future based on multiple scientific studies, reliable fossil fuels.
“Unfortunately, the State of California continues to take arbitrary actions that deliver little positive benefits for our fight against climate change but imposes big impacts on Californians – to our finances, to our freedoms, essentially to how we live and work every day.
“Real solutions do not come through arbitrary bans, mandates, and the whim of elected leaders. And, it should not take legal action for the state to do its statutory work and ensure that we have stable, affordable, and safe domestic sources of energy that we need for California’s families and businesses. WSPA and its members are willing to stand up for people and our industry when real progress on the climate and our economy is threatened.
“Today, on behalf of the people who work in and whose jobs are supported by the oil industry in California, and to protect domestic production of safe, affordable, and reliable energy, WSPA filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Kern County asking the court to rule that California Geologic Energy Management Division’s (CalGEM) de facto moratorium on Well Stimulation Treatment (WST) permits is illegal and void and should be enjoined.
“In the past several months, CalGEM has rejected numerous permits for reasons not supported by relevant technical evidence or deficiencies. Rather, CalGEM’s rejections are based on arbitrary assertions that the production and combustion of fossil fuels in general—not well stimulation activities specifically—cause greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change and are therefore unacceptable “as a matter of conscience” rather than science.
“CalGEM’s decision to deny future permits for WST operations ignores the law and is contrary to all scientific studies and evaluations that have been conducted by CalGEM itself as well as by other independent scientific bodies. Banning WST operations in California will only serve to constrain domestic oil production, resulting in the need to import more oil from foreign sources. Increased imports of foreign oil will also increase global greenhouse gas emissions, further contributing to global warming, contrary to the very goals CalGEM seeks to promote.
“While this legal action moves forward, WSPA and its members will continue its work to deliver needed energy while tackling climate challenges that Californians face every day.”
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