Los Angeles has approved a landmark ordinance banning new oil and gas drilling and mandating a 20-year phaseout of existing production, becoming the largest U.S. city to mandate an end to local extraction. Signed by Mayor Karen Bass following a unanimous City Council vote, the measure targets roughly 600 active and 1,200 idle wells concentrated in low-income neighborhoods. Enabled by California Assembly Bill 3233 after prior bans were struck down, the move faces immediate legal threats and economic warnings from petroleum industry groups.
Enactment and scope of the drilling ban
- ▪The Los Angeles ban applies to approximately 600 active oil wells and 1,200 idle wells, preventing idle wells from returning to production.
- ▪The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved an ordinance banning new oil and gas drilling and ordering a 20-year phaseout of existing production
- ▪The Los Angeles ordinance designates existing oil and gas activities as nonconforming use, allowing maintenance but prohibiting expanding, deepening, or redrilling wells during the 20-year phaseout.
State legal framework and court history
- ▪California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3233, which explicitly authorized local governments to regulate local oil and gas operations.
- ▪The passage of Assembly Bill 3233 altered California's legal landscape, enabling Los Angeles to re-enact its drilling ban after a previous version was struck down in court.
- ▪An Los Angeles County Superior Court judge struck down a 2022 Los Angeles oil drilling ban in 2024 after oil producers sued, arguing state law preempted city authority.
Anticipated legal challenges to the ban
- ▪Los Angeles Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky stated that the city attorney reviewed the oil phaseout ordinance's legality before the City Council vote in anticipation of legal challenges.
- ▪Oil company Warren Resources argued in a December letter to Los Angeles that the drilling phaseout constitutes an unlawful property taking and that Assembly Bill 3233 is illegal.
Health risks in affected communities
- ▪Scientific studies show that oil and gas wells emit carcinogens that cause adverse health effects, including respiratory issues, severe headaches, and throat irritation.
- ▪Active and idle oil wells in Los Angeles are primarily concentrated in low-income areas and communities of color, including West Central Los Angeles and the Harbor District near the port.
- ▪Communities for a Better Environment organizer Ashley Hernandez stated that Wilmington residents near oil sites suffer from elevated rates of asthma, heart disease, cancer, and miscarriages.
- ▪The Los Angeles City Council ordinance classifies urban oil and gas extraction near sensitive sites like homes and schools as an immediate and ongoing threat to public safety.
Industry opposition and arguments
- ▪Warren Resources asserted to the city of Los Angeles that empirical evidence does not correlate local urban oil and gas operations with widespread public health risks.
- ▪California Independent Petroleum Association CEO Rock Zierman argued that banning Los Angeles oil production increases reliance on foreign oil tankers exempt from state labor and environmental laws.
- ▪Petroleum industry opponents warned that ending Los Angeles oil extraction will cause higher greenhouse gas emissions, elevated gas prices, lost local jobs, and reduced municipal tax revenue.
Environmental advocates predict broader impact
- ▪Supporters of the Los Angeles oil drilling ban stated that the city's action will create a domino effect for other municipalities.
- ▪Environmental justice advocates from the Stand-L.A. coalition stated that the Los Angeles ordinance sets a national precedent for physically dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure to protect public health.
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