BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — No new lawsuits have been filed against Kern County’s revisions to its zoning ordinance to resume oil and gas permitting, but the county will still have to overcome hurdles if it wants to revive its oil industry.
On June 26, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the revised the final environmental impact report regarding an amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance to allow local oil and gas production in unincorporated areas of the county.
That was the third time the county has approved revisions to the zoning ordinance to allow oil drilling. The board has approved revisions for oil production on two separate occasions — once in 2015 and again in 2021 — but both decisions were knocked down per court order.
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According to Lorelei Oviatt, director of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, the public has 30 days to file a lawsuit to oppose a decision once a notice of determination is filed…