Azul Responds to Signing of SB 237, Dangerous California Drilling Deal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: media@azul.org
Azul Responds to Signing of SB 237, Dangerous California Drilling Deal
SACRAMENTO, CA (September 23, 2025) – This week, Governor Newsom signed SB 237 into law, a bill that trades one environmental injustice for another, placing predominantly Latino, low-income communities in the crosshairs of increased fossil fuel activity and its toxic impacts. SB 237 proposes to reduce offshore oil drilling at the expense of expanding onshore oil extraction in Kern County, a region already overburdened with some of the worst air and water quality in the nation.
In response, Azul Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš released the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed by the passage and signing of SB 237. This legislation represents a step backward for environmental justice, public health, and California’s climate leadership. At a time when our state should be accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels, SB 237 opens the door for more oil drilling in the Central Valley, one of the regions already bearing the heaviest environmental burdens in the nation.
Let’s be clear: more oil wells mean more pollution, more respiratory illness, more cancer risks, and more lives put in danger, especially in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods that have long been treated as sacrifice zones. Central Valley residents have endured decades of environmental injustices, and this legislation only deepens that legacy.
We are also concerned about the false narrative being advanced that reducing offshore oil production necessitates an increase in onshore drilling. This is a dangerous and misleading false choice. California can and must pursue a future rooted in clean energy, not simply shift the harms of fossil fuel production from coast to inland communities. If we are serious about climate leadership and environmental justice, we must reject the logic that we can drill our way out of a crisis.
Azul remains committed to working alongside frontline communities, public health advocates, and environmental partners to oppose harmful fossil fuel expansion and push for bold, just climate solutions.”
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Azul is an ocean justice organization working with Latino communities to protect our blue planet. Founded in 2011, Azul has developed and executed campaigns that achieved groundbreaking ocean conservation policy victories at local, national, and international levels. To learn more, visit: Azul.org