SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- As a bill holding oil drillers accountable for
health harms awaits a vote on the California Assembly Floor,
Chevron reported spending $3 million
lobbying in the first three months of the year to defeat that bill,
AB 3155, the only bill it claims to be lobbying against, according
to state disclosures analyzed by CalMatters.
Chevron spent more lobbying in the first quarter than any entity
in the state according to the analysis. In addition to lobbying
against AB 3155, Chevron also lobbied various state agencies.
AB 3155 (Friedman) holds oil drillers legally accountable for
birth defects, cancer, and respiratory problems in people who live
within a half mile of an oil well that doesn't use the most
protective leak control technology that is commercially available.
The bill creates a presumption of liability that can be rebutted if
the company uses the best pollution control technology or can prove
the health problems were caused another way.
"Chevron is scared of AB 3155 because it will hold the company
accountable to the people it harms in communities surrounding its
wells," said Jamie Court, president
of Consumer Watchdog. "All the company has to do to avoid liability
is use the best commercially available pollution control
technology. But Chevron spends its money trying to influence
politics instead of cleaning up its wells. The Assembly should tell
Chevron it needs to be accountable for unsafe drilling."
A state scientific panel for CALGEM found a link between birth
defects and respiratory problems and living within the setback
zone. 5 of the top 12 most common toxins at LA oil drilling sites
are carcinogens. More than 2.7 million Californians live within
3,200 feet of an existing operational oil or gas well.
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SOURCE Consumer Watchdog