Berry draws fire for offering to buy up homes in McKittrick

Sep. 25—A Kern County oil producer has stirred controversy by trying to buy up residential property in the McKittrick area in preparation for a buffer zone the state is placing between oil field operations and sensitive sites like homes.

Berry Corp. recently sent out what it called fair-market offers to owners of property that might fall within the mandated 3,200-foot setbacks scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. New drilling will be off-limits within the buffer, and existing wells there face added monitoring and reporting costs.

The Dallas-based company said it continues to assess exactly where the buffer might affect its operations, and that as part of those deliberations, "we are considering what is best for the communities where we have those operations, where many of the residents also work in the industry."

The public response has divided along familiar lines: The industry sees Berry's move as the kind of unintended consequence it warned would come of Gov. Gavin Newsom's last-minute circumvention of a stalled administrative effort. But among environmental justice groups that fought hard for setbacks it said will protect the health of people living near oil fields, the company's actions have stoked outrage.

A co-author of the law that established the new setbacks law, Senate Bill 1137, called Berry's offers "another disgraceful display of Big Oil's greed and scare tactics."

"Oil would rather line their pockets and uproot entire families from their homes, than continue to operate with basic health and safety protections, like leak detection and monitoring," state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, said by email.

Community organizer Cesar Aguirre at the Central California Environmental Justice Network said by email residents the industry sees as replaceable are being "held hostage" by the industry.

"If it is cheaper to buy out an entire community than to operate safely, it is an unsustainable practice," he wrote.

Kern County Supervisor David Couch, whose 4th District includes McKittrick, said he was unfamiliar with the details of Berry's actions but that the setbacks are "one more requirement" on an industry facing increased pressure from Sacramento.

"It's important for them to be able to continue their operations," Couch said, adding he was curious whether Berry intends to buy McKittrick oil field leases now controlled by Chevron Corp. (Chevron declined to comment on "rumors or speculation about possible business transactions," and Berry did not respond to a question about its holdings in the area.)

Industry groups would not address Berry's actions directly, but they said other communities around the state will also be impacted by SB 1137, which they asserted was rushed into law at the end of the legislation session without adequate review.

CEO Rock Zierman of the California Independent Petroleum Association said oil companies are figuring out how to navigate the law while giving consideration to neighbors and trying to maintain production.

He noted the setbacks law has already resulted in a challenge to a housing project proposed in Manhattan Beach — "another unintended consequence with ramifications the state has not considered in (its) rush to pass SB 1137."

Scientific research has established a correlation between proximity to oil and gas wells and health problems such as adverse birth outcomes, heart disease and respiratory diseases such as asthma.

SB 1137 bans oil procedures within the 3,200-foot buffer, including new drilling, well deepening and reworks. It also imposes pollution controls on existing wells within the zone, and will restrict noise, light and dust while mandating new testing and paperwork.

Berry, a midsize producer hoping to cooperate with the state on plugging and abandoning orphaned oil wells, emphasized it continues to explore its options in the McKittrick area, home to a little more than 100 people residing 14 miles northwest of Taft.

Property owners are free to accept or decline its purchase offers, the company noted, adding it is engaging with "a number" of property owners who responded positively to its outreach.

Berry acknowledged by email that some people living in the area are not property owners but renters. It said it aims to assist affected families "to help find solutions that can work for all parties, recognizing that each such situation will be unique."

If property owners decline to sell, the company said, Berry will adapt its operations accordingly while maintaining compliance with state law. It said it has not yet determined its total costs in McKittrick.

The bigger impact of SB 1137 will be its impact on the local economy and the county's tax base, Berry stated. It said it has heard about McKittrick residents wanting to stay where they are but who are worried the new law's impacts "might then cause them to have to leave or move."