On September 30th, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will give oil and gas companies several extra years before they begin detecting and repairing wells that leak into the air and water near homes and schools.

Under the new law, state officials won't require California oil companies to monitor leaks from their operations within a 3,200-foot buffer zone around residential areas until July 2030, three and a half years later than the deadline that Newsom and the legislature set into law two years ago.

More than 2.5 million Californians, including many in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Kern County, live within 3,200 feet of an oil or gas well, predominantly in low-income communities of color.

The request for the delay didn't come from oil companies, instead, it was called for by the Newsom administration.

State air and water regulators said they needed more time to hire staff, test leak detection techniques, and develop specific policies.

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney for the Climate Law Institute, called the delay extremely troubling and will force front-line communities to wait longer for much-needed pollution protections.

Oil wells can leak dangerous contaminants into the air and groundwater, and research has linked an array of health impacts, including a higher incidence of premature and low-birthweight babies, to proximities to wells.

Oil industry executives say the law will eliminate jobs, drive up gasoline prices, and increase California's dependence on imported oil.

They also say their facilities are already subject to inspections and required to have spill cleanup plans.

Newsom called the legislature into a special session to address gas prices, giving him more time to persuade lawmakers to act on a package of energy bills he failed to push through in the final weeks of the regular session.

Three other laws signed by Newsom last month will accelerate cleanup of California's idle oil wells, shut down one low-producing oil field in Los Angeles County, and allow cities and counties to restrict oil drilling.

With CalMatters, I'm Julie Cart.