SIGN THIS PETITION TO TELL THE CITY OF SHAFTER TO ADOPT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RECOMMENDATIONS
Tell the City of Shafter to Adopt Environmental Justice Recommendations
Shafter, Kern County is one of the most disadvantaged communities in California, where residents suffer from more pollution and socioeconomic burdens than 74 to 92 percent of the State.
Why This Matters:
SB 1000 requires cities and counties to adopt environmental justice (EJ) policies in their general plans that reduce pollution exposure, improve air quality, promote public facilities, improve food access, advance access to housing, and increase physical activity in disadvantaged communities. However, the City of Shafter’s draft EJ program would increase pollution levels, and would not protect residents from harmful activities including heavy-duty truck traffic, pesticide spraying, oil and gas drilling, and warehouse operations.
Sign this petition to urge the City of Shafter to adopt the environmental justice policies recommendations listed below.
As a resident of the Shafter area, I support the following SB 1000 policy recommendations to promote environmental justice and protect the health and safety of Shafter residents.
Environmental Justice Communities’ Policy Recommendations for the City of Shafter’s General Plan Update
The City of Shafter should reduce EJ communities’ exposure to industrial facilities.
1. Require buffers between sensitive locations and industrial sources of pollution.
a. In particular, the City should place a minimum buffer distance of 2,500 feet between oil and gas facilities and sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals, and homes.
b. The City should require a minimum buffer distance of 1 mile between industrial facilities, including warehouses, and sensitive locations.
2. Establish new truck routes away from sensitive locations.
3. Work with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (Air District) to improve enforcement on truck idling.
4. Work with the Air District to install technology controls to reduce air pollution emission from existing industrial facilities.
5. Require all new industrial facilities to install energy efficiency and emission reduction technologies, and to reduce vehicle trips, through the land use permitting process.
The City of Shafter should reduce EJ communities’ exposure to agricultural impacts.
6. Require a minimum buffer distance of 1 mile between sensitive locations and agriculture operations.
7. Prohibit new dairies or dairy digesters.
8. Establish new agricultural zones that promote the use of alternative pest management strategies.
9. Collaborate with the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Kern County Agricultural Commissioner to create a notification system to alert residents at least 72 hours prior to all pesticide spraying near sensitive locations.
10. Ban agricultural burning, and increase enforcement of such activities.
The City of Shafter should increase community investments and community-led land use decisions.
11. Promote community engagement for all land use decisions.
a. Hold at least one public hearing as well as post notice materials in Spanish and English regarding any proposed industrial or commercial facility or facility expansion, and mail these materials to residents within 2,500 feet from the facilities.
12. Complete basic services to all colonies within its sphere of influence by 2025.
13. Prioritize planning and investing in parks and recreation opportunities within the Shafter colonies.
14. Design and install comprehensive complete streets (including sidewalks, street lights, bike paths, and pedestrian routes) by 2023.
15. Complete urban greening projects by 2023.
16. Increase public transit, rideshare, and dial-a-ride programs.
17. Promote the installation of residential solar units.
18. Minimize the economic and pollution impacts of High Speed Rail on low-income residents.
19. Prioritize creating recreation facilities and services that meet the needs of seniors.
20. Provide high quality water for domestic use within the City and all colonies within its sphere of influence.
21. Increase services for solid waste, recyclables, and green waste collection.
To Governor Gavin Newsom and members of the Kern County Board of Supervisors,
I call on you to stop the planned massive expansion of oil and gas production in Kern County. Kern County planning staff have proposed an oil and gas ordinance that would fast track the permitting of more than 67,000 new oil and gas wells – a near-doubling of the 78,000 wells that are already operating in the County.
This ordinance, “Revisions to Title 19-Kern County Zoning Ordinance (2020-A), Focused on Oil and Gas Local Permitting,” would take California and Kern County in exactly the opposite direction they need to go, undermining state and local efforts both to realize social and environmental justice for already overburdened communities and curb the worst effects of climate change.
Kern County is already home to about 80 percent of California’s oil and gas production. People in low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to live and work near oil extraction facilities, and they already suffer pollution-related health problems at disproportionate levels. Massively expanding the number of these facilities and denying local residents notice or comment for drilling near their homes and schools would perpetuate the social and environmental injustices borne by the residents of Kern County and California’s Central Valley.
Governor Newsom, I urge you to protect Kern communities by stopping business as usual and prioritizing community health and well-being and a sustainable economy and climate instead.
County Supervisors, I urge you to reject this ordinance. Instead of looking for ways to accelerate oil and gas development and shield it from meaningful environmental review, you should take steps to better protect the health and safety of local communities, to enhance the long-term economic well-being of the County, and to promote a more sustainable future for all of California.