Los Angeles votes again to phase out urban oil drilling near homes, schools, and parks

Oil wells remain part of daily life in parts of Los Angeles, but the city is once again trying to decide how to end that arrangement.

On Tuesday, officials backed restarting a phaseout plan that would block additional drilling and give existing sites 20 years to shut down, LAist reported.

What happened?

According to LAist, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to bring back an ordinance targeting oil drilling within city limits. If it receives final approval later this summer, the rule would ban new extraction and set a two-decade plugging schedule for more than 2,000 wells across the city.

The council is revisiting the issue after a similar 2022 effort was later repealed following lawsuits from oil companies. Officials now say a newer California law gives them a stronger basis for trying again.

The stakes are high because drilling sites are embedded so close to residents. LAist reported that about one-third of people in Los Angeles County live within one mile of an active drilling location. Within the city, roughly three-quarters of active oil and gas wells are less than 1,700 feet from "sensitive locations" like homes, schools, and parks. 

Why does it matter?

At the center of the dispute is what happens when industrial oil operations run close to neighborhoods, especially for air quality and public health.

Organizations pressing for a phaseout have been making that argument for more than a decade, saying nearby residents face pollution, chronic stress, and symptoms they connect to that exposure.

The proposal would also keep non-renewable energy infrastructure out of densely populated areas. LAist described the city as home to one of the nation's largest urban oil fields. Removing wells could alter neighborhoods that have spent generations living with pumpjacks, fumes, and industrial noise pollution.

What are people saying?

The ordinance is still not final. LAist reported that attorneys for the oil industry have already indicated they plan to challenge it again. They argued in a lengthy filing that the measure violates companies' "private property and due process rights."

Backers of the policy said Tuesday's action is overdue. Wendy Miranda with Esperanza Community Housing in Historic South-Central told officials, "Neighborhood oil drilling is fundamentally incompatible with protecting public health," according to LAist.

Miranda added, "We carry this evidence in our bodies. We have experienced countless nosebleeds and headaches, asthma and even cancer."

"In my district, we have hundreds of active wells, and our neighbors are ready to move into the next chapter," District 5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said at Tuesday's meeting. "We know the industry will continue to fight us at every turn."

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