Oil and gas producers could find themselves increasingly on the defensive in California now that two communities near the heart of the state’s largest concentration of oilfields have won inclusion under its community air protection law on Thursday.
Residents of Arvin and unincorporated Lamont, both in rural Kern County, have been organizing for three years with the goal of gaining status under Assembly Bill 617, a law intended to force California’s regional air pollution districts and Air Resources Board to share power with communities and reckon with their priorities. All members of the Board save one voted for the inclusion of Arvin and Lamont after hours of public testimony Thursday night.
Here are some of the top quotes from key stories in 2020:
âThis is a very emotional night for me. I feel a little weepy, not in an unhappy way, but not in a happy way. But just deeply moved and Iâm thankful to God for giving me this wonderful privilege, wonderful opportunity.â
â Jacquie Sullivan on her last night as a Bakersfield city councilmember after 25 years of service. We have fires to the north of us, to the south of us, the east and the west, so the challenge we ve had is it doesn t really matter which way the wind is blowing. The smoke continues to come into the San Joaquin Valley.