California Appeals Court overturns oil refinery expansion lawsuit

The California Appeals Court overturned a lawsuit on Tuesday that would have expanded the oil refinery on Rosedale Highway and would have brought more crude oil trains through Bakersfield.

In 2014, the Association of Irritated Residents filed suit against the Kern County Board of Supervisors. The group argued that bringing the heavier crude oil to Bakersfield could more likely result in a train explosion, should an accident happen.

The Appeals Court ruled that to be true, saying an error in the environmental impact report underestimated the risk of a hazardous materials accident by fivefold. The case will now go back to Kern Superior Court for further proceedings. 

23ABC reached out to attorneys representing Alon USA Energy, the company who owns the refinery, as well as Kern County Counsel, Mark Nations. They did not immediately respond.

Read the full lawsuit here .