SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has denied 21 oil drilling permits in the latest move toward ending fracking in a state that makes millions from the petroleum industry but is seeing widespread drought and more dangerous fire seasons linked to climate change.
The head of the state's oil regulatory division on Thursday notified Aera Energy that it wouldn't get permits to use hydraulic fracturing at two fields in Kern County.
Gov. Gavin Newsom directed the agency in April to work up a plan to stop issuing new fracking permits by 2024. He wants to end all oil production in the state by 2045. California is the nation's seventh-largest oil producer.
