From: Ann Dorsey
To: City Clerk Internet EMAIL Group
Subject: Comment on Agenda Item R, 5/13 meeting [email protected] Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026 9:52:49 PM
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Camarillo City Council,
I urge you to support the proposed resolution calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels in Ventura County, defense of the SB 1137 health and safety setbacks rule, and support for Polluters Pay Climate Superfund legislation for the following reasons:
By expressing their support for the County of Ventura to exercise their authority under AB 3233 to phase out oil and gas operations the City will help build grassroots pressure that can eventually result in the passage of County-wide ordinance that ultimately benefits Camarillo residents. The cities of Oxnard and Ojai, as well as the Counties of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, have passed similar resolutions.
A phase out will improve air quality and help protect public health by reducing methane, benzene, hydrogen sulfide, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions which can cause serious negative health impacts such as cancer, asthma, heart disease, and other serious conditions, both acute and chronic, thereby preventing an estimated $54 to $81 million in mortality-related costs by 2045.
Prevent contamination of the freshwater aquifers in Ventura County that we depend on for the agriculture that sustains our economy and clean drinking water to ensure community health.
A phaseout policy could prevent the release of 344,072 metric tons of CO2e by 2045, with avoided climate damages valued at $21.8 million and would also directly support the state goal to phase out oil production no later than 2045.
The economic impact of an oil phaseout would be limited, with minimal job losses and fiscal effects. Industry job losses could be offset by employment in asset decommissioning and in growing clean energy sectors. In Santa Barbara County, oil property taxes contribute just $3.3 million or ~0.2% of county revenues. While this analysis has not been done for Ventura County specifically, both counties have similar production levels.
Oil operations reduce the value of adjacent properties, leading to lower property tax revenue, with research showing declines between 10-30%.
Oil-related activities impose significant costs on county resources, including fire and emergency response, road maintenance, and regulatory oversight. Companies often fail to cover the full cost of spills and may abandon sites, leaving state and local governments responsible for expensive cleanups.
A phase-out of oil and gas operations in Ventura County should not affect the price of gas, as some opponents would claim, because gas prices are determined by the global oil market and refining volume.
In 2022, the California legislature passed SB 1137, which establishes a 3,200-foot Health Protection Zone (HPZ) around sensitive receptors like homes, schools, and hospitals to restrict new oil and gas wells. It is important that Governor Newsom and state leaders fiercely defend this public health law, and that local governments and impacted communities urge them to do so.
More than 60,000 residents in Ventura County live within 3,200 feet of an active or idle oil and gas well and there are nearly 1,400 idle wells that are unplugged but no longer produce oil or gas. Idle wells can leak climate-polluting gases like methane – explosive at high concentrations – as well as toxic chemicals like benzene, which is linked to several kinds of cancer. In fact, an average of 67 percent of unplugged wells in California leak. Ventura County has 119 schools, healthcare facilities, playgrounds, and eldercare centers near one or more idle wells. Nearly 12% of the county’s idle wells have been idle for more than a century.
A safe distance between drilling operations and residences, schools, and other sensitive places is necessary to avoid serious public health and safety risks. Studies link proximity to oil and gas wells to a host of health problems, including increased risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, pre-term births and high-risk pregnancies, and in some cases, cancer. Other harms include water contamination, noise pollution, spills of toxic chemicals, and explosions.
By formally supporting the defense of SB 1137, the city can protect communities from these harms, and join a growing list of cities that have done so, including: Oxnard, Ojai, San Diego, and Encinitas.
When climate disasters strike our region, as they have and will continue to do, residents, local governments, and state budgets are having an increasingly difficult time in their ability to effectively respond to the millions, sometimes billions, dollar cost of these disasters. The solution is simple: shift the financial burden of climate disasters to those most responsible for causing them: the fossil fuel industry, which is what the California Polluters Pay Climate Superfund does.
If the state were to adopt Polluters Pay Climate Superfund legislation, Camarillo would likely see much-needed funding brought to communities to support efforts such as disaster response and recovery, first responder preparedness, home hardening and wildfire mitigation, flood prevention, resilient infrastructure, green energy, local jobs, small business support, and more.
In California, there have been over 25 letters and resolutions of support passed at counties, city councils, and school boards across the state – including the Cities of Port Hueneme, Oxnard, Agoura Hills, Santa Barbara, and the County of Santa Barbara.
Many of the goals and objectives included in the 2025/26 Council Goals and Objectives can be supported and advanced by the passage of the proposed resolution and solutions it calls for.
I urge the Camarillo City Council to vote in support of passing this resolution to phase out fossil fuels, defend safety setbacks, hold polluters accountable, and demonstrate the city’s commitment to uplifting youth voices.
Thank you,
Ann Dorsey
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