The Los Angeles City Council unanimously decided on Wednesday January 26 to ban any new oil drilling on its territory, which already hosts thousands of oil wells, sometimes in the middle of residential neighborhoods or even next to schools.
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Although they have been part of the landscape and history of Los Angeles for decades, the presence of these boreholes is less and less accepted by residents and environmental activists, for whom they present a significant health and environmental risk.
The municipal council listened to them and, in addition to the prohibition of new drillings which it is going to implement, asked for a study aiming at finding the methods to make disappear the current wells in the next twenty years.
"Oil drilling in Los Angeles may have had a purpose in the early 20th century, but it certainly doesn't now that we've become a megalopolis
," said City Councilor Paul Krekorian.
Health impact
The study requested by the city must in particular determine whether the oil companies operating these facilities have amortized their investment for each site.
If this is the case, the municipality will be able to take action to obtain their dismantling and their securing.
According to the Los Angeles Planning Department, the city has more than 5,200 oil and gas wells.
They are mainly located in areas inhabited by ethnic and cultural minorities, who are the first to suffer from the health impact, note the supporters of the closure of the wells.
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A study published last year by the University of Southern California established a link between the proximity of these wells and respiratory and pulmonary disorders, in some cases comparable to those of passive smoking.
Operators are on their side opposed to this prohibition measure, affirming that it will deprive the city of energy and fiscal resources.
They further argue that it will make the United States more dependent on oil from countries they believe do not follow the same rules when it comes to environmental protection and human rights.
Los Angeles County has already spoken out last year for measures similar to those the city has just taken.