“Voters were loud and clear that we want to move Monterey County away from dirty fossil fuels and toward a healthy future,” said Solorio. “Enough with the oil industry lawsuits standing between us and our right to a clean community.”
The state Supreme Court’s review of the case will focus on whether state laws override local laws that restrict land uses like those passed in Measure Z.
“Local governments have always had the ability to protect their residents from the dangers of oil and gas pollution, and Measure Z is no different,” said Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.
Protect Monterey County is represented by Shute Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, Robins Kaplan LLC, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Before the court hearing, Measure Z backers are rallying to support Monterey County’s ban on new drilling and fracking in advance of state Supreme Court hearing at Monterey County Superior Court, Salinas Courthouse, 240 Church St., Salinas, CA 93901
Speakers include former California Senate Majority Leader Bill Monning and leaders of Protect Monterey County.
According to Measure Z advocates, Monterey County’s oil largely comes from the San Ardo oilfield, which produces some of the most climate-damaging oil in the world, comparable to the Canadian tar sands.
“Its heavy, bottom-of-the-barrel consistency means oil companies use dangerous techniques like steam injection to extract the crude. These processes require substantial amounts of energy and lead to much higher air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,” the advocates stated.