Last week, Governor Newsom signed SB 614 – a bill that would create a pathway to prematurely lift California’s current moratorium on CO2 pipelines. 

Environmental and public health groups sounding the alarm about the potential risks of prematurely lifting the moratorium released the following statements: 

“The state’s focus on carbon capture is a false climate solution that only locks us into the same oil dependence that Trump wants,” said Ileana Navarro, Policy Associate, Central California Environmental Justice Network. “Carbon capture is expensive, unproven on a large scale, and ignores the full impact of continued oil and gas drilling in our neighborhoods. The captured carbon will then be routed through our communities in pipelines that are extremely hazardous. SB 614’s safety provisions depend heavily on local governments making siting decisions that won’t endanger residents – the same local governments have allowed oil drilling in our backyards – that does not give us confidence that our safety will be protected.”

In 2022, as part of the Governor’s climate package, the Legislature adopted SB 905 (Caballero) which imposed a critical moratorium on the construction and operation of carbon dioxide pipelines and tasked the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to establish a CCUS Program. 

“As CARB begins implementing SB 905 and setting up the process to permit and approve CCUS projects – the state needs to implement a precautionary approach that prevents new harms, uses safer systems and does not add to the cumulative pollution load,” continued Navarro. “This makes sure frontline communities aren’t left to bear the burden once again.”

“By signing this bill, Governor Newsom has continued his backsliding on climate progress,” said Isabel Penman, Food & Water Watch Northern California Organizer. “At a time where the federal government has made clear that it has no plans to complete safety guidelines rulemaking on CO2 pipeline safety anytime soon, it is ludicrous for California to lift what protections we do have. We now call on the fire marshal to ensure that communities living near these pipelines get the necessary protections to keep them safe from any leaks.”