SACRAMENTO — California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra has voiced his support for a new ordinance recently passed in Arvin, which will require new oil and gas operations to take additional precautions related to public health and safety.
After the Arvin City Council unanimously passed its new ordinance, Becerra called the move a win for families who face pollution issues.
“For far too long, Arvin – a community that is home to mostly modest-income, hard-working families – has had to bear significant pollution burdens," Becerra said in a statement. “The California Department of Justice supported Arvin’s right to protect its residents’ health and safety by prohibiting oil and gas sites in residential and other sensitive areas, and by establishing buffers for homes, schools, and hospitals."
According to the Attorney General's Office, Arvin, 20 miles south of Bakersfield, has a high percentage of children under 10. The community's air quality from oil and gas work has created many health complications such as asthma, allergies and respiratory diseases, the office said.
The new Arvin regulations include prohibiting new oil and gas sites near residential, mixed used and open spaces as well as requiring oil and gas operations to be over 300 feet from homes, schools, hospitals and parks.