Los Angeles tries again to phase out urban oil production

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The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously advanced an ordinance to halt new oil and gas drilling and phase out all existing production over the next 20 years.L.A.

is home to more than 2,000 active oil wells.The measure revives a similar ban passed in 2022, which was struck down by a judge following legal challenges from the oil and gas industry.It must pass a second vote before final adoption later this summer, and would make L.A.

the largest city in the United States to phase out existing oil wells.“Today, Los Angeles is making a decision that aligns with our need to turn the page on urban oil drilling,” Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said during Tuesday’s council meeting.

“The absence of an enforceable oil ordinance has had real consequences for our communities.” The ban in 2022 was seen as a historic move for a region built on the petroleum industry.But in 2024, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge invalidated the law, ruling that the state, not the city, has jurisdiction over petroleum production.

The legal challenge was brought by oil companies including Warren Resources, which operates a large oil field in Wilmington.Much of the field is beneath the city of Long Beach, but it also extends under Los Angeles.

California The ruling invalidated a law spearheaded by environmental justice activists that barred new oil and gas extraction and required that all existing operations stop production within 20 years.Shortly after that, state legislators advanced Assembly Bill 3233, which reaffirmed city and county authority to regulate oil and gas activity.It was largely seen as the missing piece that made the original ordinance vulnerable.“It’s now unequivocal that cities have the authority to regulate, limit and prohibit oil and gas operations within our jurisdiction,” Yaroslavsky said.

The new ordinance, written by the Department of City Planning, p...