The Los Angeles City Council directed the city attorney on Tuesday to draft an ordinance aimed at reinstating a 2022 ban on oil drilling.
In a 14-0 vote, the council approved a motion introduced by Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who chairs the Energy and Environment Committee. Council members directed the city attorney to prepare and present the draft ordinance for consideration and approve the environmental findings needed to effectuate the policy.
Councilwoman Traci Park was absent during the vote.
The draft ordinance is expected to come before the council for a vote later this summer, according to Yaroslavsky’s office.
Four years ago, the council and mayor approved an ordinance to phase out oil drilling citywide. But oil companies challenged the law, and it was eventually overturned in court.
Yaroslavsky said she worked with state Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, to establish AB 3233, giving cities and counties greater authority to impose restrictions on oil and gas operations.
“It’s now unequivocal that cities have the authority to regulate, limit and prohibit oil and gas operations within out jurisdictions,” Yaroslavsky said during Tuesday’s council meeting.
“Colleagues, today Los Angeles is making a decision that aligns with our need to turn the page on urban oil drilling. The absence of an enforceable oil ordinance has had real consequences for our communities,” she added.
Los Angeles still has over 2,000 active oil wells, many hidden in plain sight near homes, schools, parks and places of worship. Residents living near oil drill sites are at higher risk for childhood asthma, preterm labor and respiratory illness, according to city officials.
Yaroslavsky noted she anticipates a legal challenge from oil companies as the city works to reinstate the ban.
The councilwoman also thanked Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling-Los Angeles, a group that has advocated against oil drilling.
“The passage of this ordinance shows that environmental justice communities bearing the brunt of impacts from racist policy and planning carry the answers to usher in an equitable future,” Tianna Shaw-Wakeman, a member of STAND-LA and environmental justice program director for Black Women for Wellness, said in a statement.
“Frontline residents who have faced the most harm from toxic oil extraction are setting the precedent for how local governments can phase out and dismantle fossil fuel infrastructure,” Shaw-Wakeman added.
Warren Resources, which has a 10-acre drilling operation in the Wilmington area, was one of several oil companies that challenged the city’s initial ban, as were E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. and Hillcrest Beverly Oil Corp.
The lawsuit contended that the city failed in its duties to conduct an environmental review of the potential impacts of the ban. The company also said the ban could force the closure of its operations, all within city limits.
A representative for Warren Resources did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the AB 3233 into law, as well as two other bills aimed at strengthening regulations on oil drilling.
The governor signed off on AB 2716 authored by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, which prohibits the operation of low-oil production and gas wells located in a field within the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, also known a the Inglewood Oil Field. It also mandates a $10,000 fine per month on these wells until operations cease.
Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, authored AB 1866, which increases fines and enhances enforcement to ensure oil companies maintain and safely plug idle wells. The bill aims to prevent leaks and address contamination caused by more than 40,000 idle oil wells across the state.