In Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. County of Monterey, the Supreme Court today invalidates a 2016 county law enacted by initiative that prohibited oil and gas wastewater injection and impoundment and the drilling of new oil and gas wells in the county’s unincorporated areas.
The court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Martin Jenkins holds the initiative is preempted by state law. Specifically, the initiative is found to contradict Public Resources Code section 3106, which, as paraphrased by the court, “directs the [State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who heads the Geologic Energy Management Division] to administer the state’s regulations in a way that serves the dual purpose of ensuring the state has adequate oil and gas resources, while protecting the environment.” The opinion concludes that the county law has “usurped the supervisor’s statutorily granted authority” over oil production methods.
The court does allow that certain state statutes might permit local “ordinances that restrict the location at which oil may be extracted,” but they don’t leave room for “a local ordinance that regulates certain methods and practices of oil extraction in areas where oil production has already been approved and is ongoing.”
The court affirms the Sixth District Court of Appeal’s published opinion. Justice Carol Corrigan is recused; Fourth District, Division Two, Justice Michael Raphael is sitting pro tem in her place.
