September 15, 2021
Posted: Sep 15, 2021
Updated: 3:07 pm
KUSI newsroom
LOSA ANGELES (KUSI) – The Los Angeles County’s board of directors unanimously voted on Wednesday to halt oil and gas drilling and to ban new drilling sites in the county’s unincorporated areas.
Over 1,600 active and decommissioned oil and gas wells in the district could be closed after the 5-0 vote by the supervisory board. A schedule for the exit will be set after the county determines the fastest route to legally decommission the wells.
The sites include the Inglewood Oil Field, one of the largest urban oil fields in the United States. The sprawling 1,000 acres (405 hectares) owned and operated by Sentinel Peak Resources contains over half of the oil and gas wells in the unincorporated areas of the county.
The field has produced 2.5 to 3.1 million barrels of oil per year for the past decade, according to the company.
“The aim is to direct the county departments to address the multiple issues, environmental and climate impacts of these active and inactive oil and gas wells,” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who represents the district in which Inglewood has the majority Oil field lies.
Mitchell and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl applied to stop drilling in the non-incorporated areas of the county.
Read Drew Costley’s full report for the Associated Press here.
A truck drives past pump jacks at Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 10, 2021. (AP photo / Jae C. Hong)
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