California judge overturns secret statewide fracking ban imposed by Newsom administration

In an October 8 tentative ruling, Kern County Superior Court Judge Bernard Barmann Jr. invalidated California’s clandestine fracking ban that the Newsom administration had enforced since 2021 and later codified in 2024. The judge concluded that CalGEM’s blanket denial of well-stimulation permits bypassed the Administrative Procedure Act and relied on climate-change arguments that conflicted with the agency’s own 2015 impact study, which warned that a ban would increase imported oil and global emissions.

The court described the denials as “arbitrary and unsupported,” vacating the regulation but not ruling on the governor’s power to issue such a ban. The ruling obliges the agency to conduct genuine individual permit reviews and opens the door for appeals. While the decision does not automatically restore drilling, it highlights the legal and policy challenges facing Newsom’s anti-oil strategy amid soaring gasoline prices and heightened reliance on imported fuel.