bc-oilpumphouses

An oil pumpjack is situated between houses on La Mirada Drive in this file photo from April 2022.

The California Legislature gave just as it took away last week on both sides of the conflict between Kern's oil industry and the county's environmental justice community.

After a long fight, environmental justice advocates welcomed — and the industry criticized — Wednesday's passage of a bill establishing a 3,200-foot buffer between oil production and sensitive sites like homes and schools.