Luther

The Director of Conservation (Director) (Pub. Resources Code, § 3003) affirmed an administrative order of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor (Supervisor) (Pub. Resources Code, § 3004) directing the plugging and abandonment of 28 oil wells. The Termo Company (Termo) and Angus Petroleum Corporation (Angus) filed petitions for administrative mandamus seeking to overturn the Director’s decision of affirmance and the underlying administrative order. The trial court denied the petitions and Termo and Angus now appeal from the trial court judgment.

Termo and Angus list many reasons why they believe the trial court, as well as the Director, erred. We need address only one of their points. They assert that the trial court erred in applying the substantial evidence standard of review. We agree.

In the context before us, the right to continue to operate existing oil wells and to extract oil is a fundamental right, of particular importance in the current economic climate. Here, the fundamental right is also a vested right, given the number of years the wells have been either in operation or in idle status (Pub. Resources Code, § 3008, subd. (d)). When the wells were ordered plugged…