California judge issues tentative ruling against state fracking ban

A Kern County Superior Court judge has issued a tentative ruling that could overturn California’s ban on hydraulic fracturing, potentially allowing producers to access up to one billion barrels of oil in the state’s diatomite formation.

Judge Bernard C. Barmann Jr. characterized the state’s prohibition on well stimulation treatments as an “invalid underground regulation” that failed to follow the rulemaking processes required by the Administrative Procedure Act. The ruling targets both a formal ban enacted two years ago and a five-year freeze on permit approvals under Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration.

In his decision, Barmann noted that permit denials were “arbitrary and unsupported” because they relied on a climate-change rationale that was not the actual operative basis for the ban. He further observed that the state agency’s own findings suggested a categorical ban might increase global greenhouse gas emissions by forcing California to import more oil rather than producing it domestically.

The decision follows consolidated lawsuits brought by Chevron and Aera Energy. While the Western States Petroleum Association praised the ruling as “common sense,” environmental justice groups have expressed opposition to the decision.