Congress Urges EPA to Rein in California’s UIC Obstruction, Empower Federal Production

In a forceful letter sent to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on July 9, 2025, nine members of California’s congressional delegation called for urgent action to resolve the State of California’s obstruction of Underground Injection Control (UIC) permits, which has stalled over 6,000 drilling permits and left millions of barrels of domestic crude unnecessarily shut in.

The letter, which was prompted by CIPA, lays bare California’s failure to process any new or expanded UIC applications for the past two years, some of which have languished for more than eight years, despite operators meeting all requirements under federal law. The backlog is preventing responsible disposal of water produced alongside oil, effectively halting drilling across vast swaths of California’s oilfields and forcing the state to import increasing volumes of foreign oil.

EPA Administrator Zeldin Positioned to Unlock Production

CIPA strongly supports the proactive role Administrator Zeldin has taken to highlight this issue and protect the EPA’s authority. The congressional letter encourages him to go further by issuing a formal notice to the State of California clarifying that UIC permitting authority rests with the federal government, not with state agencies intent on shutting down production.

“Administrator Zeldin has a clear opportunity to unlock thousands of wells across California by defending the EPA’s primacy in regulating underground injection,” said Rock Zierman, CEO of CIPA. “He understands it’s about restoring lawful, science-based permitting to allow domestic energy production to proceed.”

State Delay and Legislative Overreach

In addition to the permit backlog, the letter blasts California’s failure to process Aquifer Exemption (AE) applications in a timely manner and criticizes the state’s recent passage of AB 3233 (Addis), which unlawfully delegates federal UIC authority to local governments, potentially creating a patchwork of conflicting and illegal regulations.

The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1973 grants the EPA exclusive authority to manage Class II wells unless a state has received formal primacy, as California did in 1983. But California’s current inaction, and now its legislative attempt to offload authority to counties and cities, violates the spirit and structure of that agreement. The letter notes that California's handling of the UIC program has brought the state’s oil production to a “screeching halt.”

CIPA's Call to Action

CIPA joins the Congressional members in urging the EPA to take the following actions:

1. Notify California that its obstruction of UIC permits undermines federal law and must cease.

2. Reassert EPA’s primacy over the Class II injection well program.

3. Investigate California’s implementation of AB 3233 and challenge any unauthorized delegation of federal authority.

The consequences of inaction are severe: continued reliance on foreign oil, higher gas prices for Californians, and the slow dismantling of a critical domestic energy industry.

CIPA remains committed to supporting Administrator Zeldin and federal leaders in restoring permitting sanity in California.

Read the full letter here: [Congressional Letter to EPA Administrator Zeldin – July 9, 2025]