"The Trump administration is suing California over a law that creates a 3,200-foot buffer zone between new oil and gas wells and homes, schools, hospitals and parks."

"California communities and environmental justice groups worked for years to win a law to prevent new oil and gas wells from being drilled near where people live, work and gather. Now, the Trump administration is suing to overturn it.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice challenged Senate Bill 1137, state legislation passed in 2022 that establishes a 3,200-foot minimum setback between new oil wells and “sensitive receptors,” defined as homes, schools, community centers, parks and playgrounds, healthcare facilities or any public building.

Under the law, existing wells that are close to these places can continue to operate, but must monitor emissions, control their dust and limit nighttime noise and light."

Hayley Smith reports for the Los Angeles Times January 15, 2026. [2]