LA County supervisors consider phasing out oil wells, mirroring City of LA decision – LA Daily News

In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance on Tuesday, September 27, prohibiting new oil wells and production facilities in unincorporated areas, while ordering a halt of existing operations over the next 20 years.

The ordinance, which mirrors one being considered by the City of Los Angeles, designates existing oil wells and facilities in unincorporated areas as “non-conforming” uses, requiring them to be shut down within 20 years.

“This is a very big step for the people living near the drill sites who have been disproportionately affected,” supervisor Sheila Kuehl said at the board meeting.

Kuehl added that communities impacted by pollution and the presence of oil wells and facilities are disproportionately communities of color, and that the order is “long overdue.”

Various activists and community organizers spoke during the meeting’s public comment period in support of the ordinance, saying it was necessary to mitigate the public health effects of living near oil wells and petroleum facilities.

Oil company representatives also spoke at the meeting, asking the council to delay the vote and accusing the council of not educating the companies more about the order. They also asked the council to consider jobs that could be lost because of the order.

Some critics of efforts to end localized oil drilling have also suggested it will further hamper production at a time when gas prices are soaring. But developers said local production represents only a small fraction of gas supply. Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian told the city’s planning commission last week that less than 1% of the crude oil processed at Southern California refineries actually comes from wells in Los Angeles.

The Supervisory Board voted last year to phase out oil drilling in unincorporated areas and ban new installations, leading to the order which was approved at the unanimity on Tuesday. A report to council last year found there were 1,046 active wells, 637 unused wells and 2,731 abandoned wells in unincorporated areas of the county.

Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a statewide phase-out of oil extraction by 2045.

Newsom proposed new rules last October that new oil wells or drilling rigs in California should be at least 3,200 feet from homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other ” sensitive places.

Newsom cited the impacts of toxic chemicals on communities, including asthma and birth defects. The proposal is subject to economic analysis and public comment before coming into force.