Los Angeles County bans new oil wells

The largest county in the country has just taken steps to end fossil fuel production.

Los Angeles County took the first steps on Wednesday to phase out oil production in unincorporated areas that make up 65% of the county geographically. V Supervisory Board voted unanimously for a motion to ban new oil wells and evaluate existing ones. Currently, existing oil wells cannot legally be shut down until the owners have recouped the drilling costs, so the assessment will determine if the costs have been recouped for each site. The measure will also identify all existing oil and gas production activities as “inappropriate” use, which could allow the county to revoke drilling permits.

As long as the Hollywood sign and traffic jams might be the first thing that comes to mind in L.A. the city and surroundings are dotted with oil wells… There are over 1000 wells in the city alone, many are hidden behind facades, and here thousands more active and unemployed wells across the county.

If the measure is successful, it could close more than 1,600 wells, although the exact timeline has yet to be determined. Crucially, this decision will affect the Inglewood oil field, where more than half of the county wells are located. Los Angeles’s 1,000-acre field, which is the nation’s largest urban oil field, produces up to 3 million barrels of oil per year. More than 1 million people live within 5-mile (8 km) field radius, including several neighborhoods that are mostly inhabited by people of color.

“We have the opportunity and responsibility, as the largest urban oilfield in the country, to set an example in creating a fair path to phasing out oil drilling,” said CEO Holly J. Mitchell, who led the movement. and represents the area where most of the Inglewood oil field operates., said in statement…

This measure can be a boon for the climate and public health. People living near oil wells are prone to cancer. air pollution which relates to everything from headache and skin diseases To spontaneous premature birth and respiratory disease…

Activists have long sounded the alarm about environmental injustice around the Inglewood facility.… Last August, the council of Culver City, California, switched to folding booty on 78 acres of land within the city limits… V The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has worked with University of California Los Angeles researchers conduct health assessment site in June… It is expected that it will take 12 to 18 months before the results are publicly available.…

Environmental racism of fossil fuel drilling in Los Angeles The county is not limited to the Inglewood oil field. A press release from Mitchell’s office notes that almost 73% of the tens of thousands of residents living nearby oil wells all over the county colored people.

“As a person living in the immediate vicinity of an oil drilling site, seeing movements to begin the phase-out of oil drilling in Los Angeles County worries frontline residents,” Ashley Hernandez, a community spokeswoman, said in a statement. For a Better Environment ”. “Our district has the opportunity to correct the mistakes of racist land-use decisions, such as the redline and expedited approval of oil drilling permits, as well as the opportunity to help vulnerable families living, playing and praying near oil drilling.”

While environmental and climate justice advocates celebrate Wednesday’s vote, it’s no surprise the oil and gas industry isn’t overly happy. California Independent Petroleum Association, representing 500 independent oil and gas producers statewide, opposed the measure. Before the vote, the CEO of the trading group sent a letter to the Supervisory Board stating that the proposal would harm ordinary people by depriving jobs and raising gas prices. v AP reported… He also said it would threaten California’s energy independence by forcing it to rely on foreign oil. TThe board ignored the letter and passed for measure…

“I applaud the Board for continuing the district’s work on this critical issue and the countless supporters who have helped us get to this point, ”Observer Mitchell said in a statement. “Our work is far from complete, but this is a promising step towards environmental justice.”