Supreme Court won’t review ruling barring offshore fracking in California

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request by the oil industry to review a lower court ruling barring fracking off California’s shore.

In 2014, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) sued to halt offshore fracking in federal waters off the Golden State. Four years later, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California, a George W. Bush appointee, found the federal government had violated the Endangered Species Act and Coastal Zone Management Act by issuing fracking permits for the area.

Last year, a three-judge federal appeals court upheld the ruling but also went further than the Central District, finding that the Interior Department also failed to conduct required environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

“The agencies also should have prepared a full [environmental impact statement] in light of the unknown risks posed by the well stimulation treatments and the significant data gaps that the agencies acknowledged,” the appeals court wrote.

The plaintiffs in the case hailed the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement Monday.

“The Supreme Court was right to reject the oil industry’s latest attempt to allow fracking and acidizing in our waters with zero meaningful environmental review,” Maggie Hall, senior attorney at EDC, said in a statement.

“The Santa Barbara Channel is one of the most ecologically rich and important regions in the world. As the climate crisis escalates, ending these destructive extraction practices is a matter of survival — not just for the whales, otters and other animals in the Channel, but for all life on earth.”

“Access to the vast energy resources offshore is essential for meeting the growing demand for affordable, reliable energy while achieving our climate goals,” said Holly Hopkins, vice president of upstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute (API), the intervenor-defendant in the case.

“API will continue to work with policymakers to advance opportunities that allow for the safe and responsible development of the Outer Continental Shelf.”