BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — California Resources Corporation's Carbon TerraVault 1 project has hit a legal roadblock, months after its first CO2 injection. A Kern County judge has ruled the project's environmental impact report falls short and must be redone.
Carbon TerraVault 1 is at the center of the dispute, but the lawsuit was filed against Kern County by environmental groups challenging the county's review of the project.
Judge Marcos Camacho ruled the report did not fully address several environmental concerns, including where the carbon dioxide would come from, the potential for leaks, and how much carbon the project would actually capture.
CRC CEO Francisco Leon pushed back on the ruling.
"This project is the result of years of work, including close consultation with surrounding communities where we received overwhelming support for our efforts. This order is a step in the wrong direction for addressing the impacts of climate change and reflects the weaponization of CEQA by a narrow group of special interests," Leon said.
Environmental groups behind the lawsuit argue the project violates California environmental law.
Cesar Aguirre with the Central California Environmental Justice Network says the ruling is a step toward greater transparency.
"Kern County has to come back to the table and make sure things are done right, make sure things are transparent, and that the community is a part of that decision-making, because the idea of the benefit for Kern County is, and the benefit for California is something that carbon capture as a whole is being sold on. And so I think if transparency is something that works against that, then it should be clear to people that this is something that we need to make sure has proper guardrails, has proper regulations," Aguirre said.
I also reached out to Kern County. A spokesperson responded to the decision.
"The County is currently reviewing and evaluating the ruling. We are disappointed in the decision given the extensive amount of environmental review, mitigation, and careful consideration that was applied to this project," the spokesperson said.
Kern County says it is reviewing the ruling and weighing its next steps following the judge's decision.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
