Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the Central Valley on Wednesday for a firsthand look at one of the largest oil spills in California history, vowed to go beyond the state’s already aggressive efforts to curtail the use of fossil fuels and seek a long-term strategy to reduce oil production.
LATIMES.COM
Gov. Gavin Newsom is briefed on a million-gallon spill in McKittrick by Billy Lacobie of Chevron, center, and Jason Marshall of California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.
While the incoming administration was still learning the ropes in Sacramento, agency employees quietly doubled the rate of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) permits issued to oil companies.
In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom took swift and decisive action, firing the head of the agency and vowing to appoint a replacement who shares his opposition to fracking.