Ventura County v. Gulf Oil Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
601 F.2d 1080 (9th Cir. 1979)
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leased oil and gas rights in a national forest within Ventura County (plaintiff) to Gulf Oil Corporation (Gulf) (defendant), issuing a permit approving Gulf's proposed drilling that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and California Resources Agency had also approved. Ventura's own zoning ordinances separately required operators to obtain a county drilling permit, and when Ventura informed Gulf of this requirement, Gulf refused to comply; Ventura sued seeking a preliminary injunction against Gulf's drilling operations, arguing they could unnecessarily harm the local environment. The district court denied the injunction and dismissed the suit, and Ventura appealed.
Whether a state or local government may require an oil and gas lessee of the federal government to obtain a state or local drilling permit before the lessee may exercise its drilling and exploration rights under its lease and federal drilling permits.