BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— A Kern County trial court has issued a tentative ruling that California’s statewide fracking ban is invalid. If finalized, the ruling would vacate the 2024 regulation banning fracking and direct state regulators to reconsider fracking permits that were denied over five years ago.

“If this tentative decision is finalized, it’ll put fracking pollution back on the table five years after it should’ve ended,” said Kassie Siegel, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Gov. Newsom’s fracking ban is one of the most important health and environmental achievements in California’s history and it’s backed by strong science. If the judge doesn’t change his mind, the state should immediately appeal and do everything in its power to keep protecting Californians from this dangerous, dirty business.”

The Western States Petroleum Association, Chevron U.S.A., and Aera Energy LLC sued the state and Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and 2022 in Kern County Superior Court. They alleged that California’s denial of fracking permits, and subsequent regulation ending fracking permits altogether, violated state law.

While Thursday’s tentative decision rejects some of industry’s legal claims, it finds that the agency did not adequately explain the reasons for the ban. It faults the agency for not establishing “the necessary rational, evidence-based connection between the identified harms and a statewide categorical prohibition, as distinct from regulation or denial of particular treatments.”

Fracking is known to be harmful to people’s health, air, water and wildlife. Fracking can also cause earthquakes, making the practice particularly dangerous in California.

State estimates show the fracking ban applies to only 0.4% of oil and gas production per year.

If the statewide ban is set aside, numerous local governments such as Monterey, San Benito and Alameda counties can still rely on local fracking bans to prevent fracking within their jurisdictions.

The tentative ruling begins a process that includes the preparation and consideration of additional documents leading up to a final decision. The final decision is usually issued within 50 days of the tentative order.