The Brief

One of Los Angeles’ most polluted stretches of land soon will be cleared for new development, and a full accounting of the ground’s degradation will be left largely to an oil company.

For almost 40 years in the middle of the 20th century, workers at an oil refinery with connected facilities in Wilmington and Carson buried truckloads of slop oil and acid sludge directly on site. Decades later, much of that waste still is in the soil and water table, state records show.

Phillips 66, which now owns the century-old refinery, will idle the plants by the end of the year. In some areas, the contaminated underground layer is more than 16 feet thick. Yet the only estimates for how much it will cost to tear down the refinery and clean up the fouled land is from Phillips 66, which blamed “market dynamics” for its closing.

“It is a huge problem that there is currently no disclosure requirement concerning the actual cost,” said Ann Alexander, an environmental policy consultant and principal at Devonshire Strategies. So much waste has accumulated under and around the refinery, it has formed a subterranean “lake of hydrocarbons,” she added. It could take decades to address.

Some community advocates fear Phillips 66, whose refinery produces up to 139,000 barrels of oil products a day, will offload the financial and health burdens onto the public. The company declined to answer questions, but a spokesperson said it is developing plans to continue removing polluted soil.

“We are in the preliminary planning stages for this work and cannot speculate on a definitive timeline or estimated cost of the decommissioning and remediation,” spokesperson Al Ortiz wrote in an email.

It’s rare for major oil refineries to close, but it may become more common as state and local governments increasingly turn to renewable energy — as California plans to do by subsidizing electric vehicles.

An aerial view of the southeastern side of the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington.

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The U.S. Energy Information Agency predicts a small increase in gasoline prices due to the Phillips 66 refinery closure and of a Valero-owned refinery in the Bay Area city of Benicia next year. California officials are holding out hope that other companies will buy one or both of the refineries and keep them in operation, as lawmakers are considering whether to streamline permit approvals for refineries.

In the meantime, years of groundwater testing by regulators reveal a toxic legacy. Among the pollutants in the groundwater under the Carson and Wilmington facilities, overseen by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, are lead from buried waste and dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from foam used to fight fires at the refinery.

The Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington receives refined oil from the Carson plant to make gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

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None degrade naturally and likely will have to be contained underground, said Danny Reible, a professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University who has advised governments on such cleanups. It is “effectively impossible to remove 100%” of such pollution, Reible said.

Some contaminants have leached into aquifers that are a source of drinking water. Since 2023, more than five different samplings by Phillips 66 found elevated levels of tert-butyl alcohol, a gasoline additive, in a groundwater monitoring well in a neighborhood about a half-mile from the Wilmington site.

The well, which is not used for drinking water but touches an aquifer that is connected to drinking water wells in South L.A., has been tested since 2008 after regulators suspected pollution had migrated there. Phillips 66 said the tert-butyl alcohol findings are not attributable to the refinery, and the Los Angeles water board said it did not test drinking water wells for the pollutant because they are all more than a mile from the refinery.

As for the Carson site, two reports from 2005, one by the U.S. EPA and another by the local water board, noted its contamination of the Silverado aquifer could affect nearby drinking water wells. Sampling last year found tert-butyl alcohol in a groundwater monitoring well located at the refinery.

The polluted water is being pumped and transported to disposal sites and recycling facilities, said the Phillips 66 spokesperson. The Los Angeles water board said it has overseen the removal of 2.8 million gallons of light non-aqueous phase liquid (a layer of petroleum contamination that floats on top of water) and 317 million gallons of “impacted groundwater” — the size of 480 Olympic pools. What’s known as a biosprage system also injects pressurized air into the contaminated layer to break down some pollutants.

In the soil above the groundwater, there is a plume containing volatile organic compounds, such as benzene — a known carcinogen — and other gasoline chemicals like diisopropyl ether and methyl-tert-butyl ether, according to testing done last year. Their noxious vapors travel upwards and can seep into buildings.

Phillips 66 said it “engaged” Catellus Development Corporation and Deca Companies to evaluate the 650-acre refinery complex — the size of about 500 football fields. Neither responded to requests for interviews.

The job of regulators after the refinery closes is limited and at times unclear.

The water board will continue testing groundwater but has “no role” in the closure, spokesperson Jackie Carpenter said. It could impose fines on Phillips 66, something it has not done recently.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control told Capital & Main that it only oversees waste removed from an asphalt-capped pond at the Carson plant and a concrete-lined stormwater holding basin at the Wilmington site. Any future waste it deems hazardous also would have to be reported for tracking.

The Phillips 66 refinery facility in Carson begins the process of refining crude oil into petroleum products.

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A request for comment sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office went unanswered.

Julia Giarmoleo, a spokesperson for the U.S. EPA, said states are authorized to manage solid waste and groundwater contamination. (In 2019 the EPA rejected superfund financial responsibility requirements for oil refineries.)

A lack of coordination worries environmental justice organizations, which are pressing the state of California to establish a refinery wind-down process.

It’s been a “chaotic” process, said Sylvia Arredondo, civic engagement director at Communities for a Better Environment. Instead, the state should be taking an active lead to “do it as a gradual shift.”

The costs also are uncertain.

In filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Phillips 66 said “asbestos abatement” and “decommissioning of assets” at its Los Angeles refinery would cost $231 million.

But decommissioning and cleaning “are two different processes with wildly different price tags,” said Faraz Rizvi, policy and campaign manager for Asian Pacific Environmental Network, which is holding a town hall meeting to gather input from nearby residents.

Refinery owners’ disclosure of those costs is mostly unregulated, and they’re allowed to presume refineries have no retirement date. That’s different from other industries with more certain retirement dates, such as nuclear, where plant owners must maintain a fund to close generating stations.

Six of the largest oil refining companies in the U.S., including Phillips 66, have actual closure costs estimated at $34 billion combined, but their own estimates total less than $1 billion, according to a report by London-based think tank Carbon Tracker, which based calculations on daily output capacity.

Taxpayers could end up covering shortfalls, said Eric Stevenson, a former director of meteorology, measurement and rules at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. “It’s the Wild West right now,” Stevenson said.

Phillips 66 reported a $908 million loss on its Los Angeles refinery in 2024. Its leadership saw a shakeup after the hedge fund led by billionaire Paul Singer bought a $2.5 billion stake in the company and pushed for a focus on other assets, including a petroleum export hub near Houston.

Mass layoffs have followed Singer’s involvement at other companies, such as a petroleum refinery in Contra Costa County owned by Marathon Petroleum. About 600 employees and 300 contractors work at the Los Angeles refinery.

Phillips 66 will retain a presence in Los Angeles. In addition to importing gasoline from its Washington state refinery, it faces federal charges for dumping 790,000 gallons of oil-laden wastewater into county sewers in 2020 and 2021. A criminal trial is scheduled for next year.

Standing outside the Wilmington refinery on a recent morning, longtime resident Anita Gomez urged a group of staff members for state lawmakers not to let the company skirt its obligations. 

She said action is needed to prevent repeating what has happened at other shuttered industrial facilities in the area, including a battery recycling plant in Vernon, where industries have walked away and left the cleanup of their pollution to taxpayers.

“They simply close and don’t clean up,” Gomez said.

Last week, Synergy Quantum Academy students joined regional walkouts protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But with the South L.A. school’s tall metal gate shut, some opted to climb and jump over it.

The school’s leadership wrote in messages to parents and staff that an “unauthorized staff member” then opened that campus gate — in conflict with Los Angeles Unified School District protocol.

That staff member, teacher Ricardo Lopez, said he acted out of concern for the safety of students who might have hurt themselves trying to leave the school.

He said the school fired him the same day. Now his dismissal has spurred further protests and raised questions about whose responsibility it is to ensure safety as students exercise their First Amendment rights.

Here’s what we know 

Thousands of students across Los Angeles walked out during the first week of February to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including students at Synergy Quantum Academy.

Lopez said that after the walkouts on Feb. 4, he heard several students talk about injuring themselves climbing over the metal fences that surround the South L.A. school.

On Thursday morning, during his academic prep period, Lopez said he saw students trying to climb over the metal gate on the north side of the campus.

“When I saw one of my [AP U.S. History] students climbing the fence and jumping…and like almost falling, I started rushing towards the gate,” Lopez said. “ I opened the gate for them so other students wouldn’t get hurt like the day before.”

Guidance from the ACLU of Southern California related to student walkouts states “locking exits to the school can pose serious health and safety concerns for students and staff.”

Lopez said he opened this gate on the north side of Synergy Quantum Academy and Maya Angelou Community High School's shared campus after watching students attempt to climb over Thursday Feb. 5.

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Lopez said within an hour, Synergy’s human resources department informed him that he’d been terminated for insubordination. Lopez said there was no hearing or additional meeting where he was able to defend his actions.

“What hurts even more was that they escorted me out like I was a — I felt like a criminal,” Lopez said.

The contents of his classroom were later boxed and sent to him via a third-party delivery service.

Lopez said it’s still unclear to him why he was fired. He said staff received an email earlier in the week telling them not to participate in student protests, but there was no mention of any policy related to the gate.

“ I wasn't participating [in the protest],” Lopez said. “To me it was about protecting students from getting hurt.”

What has the school communicated? 

The school’s public justification for terminating Lopez intersects with a longstanding source of friction in Los Angeles schools — the co-location of independent charter schools on the campuses of traditional district schools.

Synergy Quantum Academy shares a campus with Los Angeles Unified's Maya Angelou Community High School. Synergy is an independent charter school with a separate staff overseen by a board of directors outside of the district.

In messages to parents and staff, Synergy's principal said opening the gate conflicted with LAUSD protocol.

Synergy Quantum Academy enrolled 564 students in the 2024-2025 school year and is one of several charter schools operated by Synergy Academies.

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Synergy Academies CEO Rhonda Deomampo confirmed Lopez is no longer employed at the school.

In response to LAist's inquiry about which protocol was violated, Deomampo wrote in an email that Maya Angelou Community High School’s safety plan “clearly outlines the authority of the principal or designee in situations like these.” She also said “to date, the school has received no reports of student injuries related to student protests.”

The excerpt provided from the 206-page safety plan states it is the responsibility of the principal or designee to “maintain adequate safeguards to ensure the safety and welfare of students” during a walkout. The plan states “if students leave campus, school site administrators do not have a legal obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the students.” The document provided does not explicitly prohibit a staff member from opening a gate.

How is LAUSD involved? 

A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson said while independent charter schools are expected to follow district policies related to walkouts, the district does not weigh in on personnel decisions.

“Independent charter schools are responsible for the supervision and management of the charter school employees,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Lopez said at Synergy, like many charter schools, he was an “at-will” employee, which means he can be terminated with or without cause and does not have the additional protections associated with union membership.

Community calls for teacher’s reinstatement

Lopez said he has a shared background with many of his students as the son of undocumented, working, immigrant parents who didn’t have an opportunity to pursue higher education themselves.

“That's one of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher because a lot of things that I learned [in college] really helped me grow,” Lopez said. Teaching was a way to pay forward that knowledge.

“ I really miss my students, you know, I miss being in the classroom,” Lopez said. “ I just want to be reinstated, you know, and just keep, keep doing what I'm doing, teaching and supporting my students and protecting my students.”

Lopez said he is also worried that the termination could jeopardize his teaching credential or ability to get future jobs as an educator.

On Tuesday, dozens of students from both Maya and Synergy joined with organizers from Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators to rally for Lopez’s reinstatement.

Ayleen was a junior in Lopez's AP U.S. History class. “ When he sees that a student's not OK, he asks them personally and he doesn't embarrass them in front of everybody," she said.

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Synergy junior Ayleen said she didn’t participate in Wednesday’s walkout, but heard about peers who’d jumped the fence and gotten hurt. Ayleen requested to be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy.

“We truly believe that he shouldn't have been fired for protecting a student,” she said. “That's his number one priority as a teacher, protecting his students, and he's the only one that upheld that that day.”

Lopez was Ayleen’s AP U.S. History teacher. AP classes culminate in a rigorous test where students can earn college credit.

“He has this way of teaching that he helps so much because he re-words questions,” Ayleen said. “It sounds simple, but so many teachers don't do that. He genuinely helps us to learn.”

Ayleen’s mother, Mary, said she supported her daughter’s decision to join the Friday walkout in protest of Lopez’s termination and would like the school to bring him back.

According to an Instagram post, students from Maya and Synergy plan to participate in another walkout Friday — still against ICE, but now also in support of their former teacher.

The National Park Service is asking for public input for its study on whether the L.A. coastline between San Pedro and Santa Monica should qualify for national park designation.

Federal officials held a public meeting Wednesday and outlined the study process.

Congress passed a law in 2022 that called for this study and greenlit funding for the three-year effort.

Lawmakers will use the findings to decide whether to designate the stretch of coastline — which includes the Santa Monica Pier, Ballona Creek and RAT Beach — a national park.

Sarah Bodo, project manager at NPS, said the coastline is interpreted as part of the sea to approximately 200 yards inland.

“The 200-yard number is an effort to include the beach areas and the public lands, while excluding private property from the study area,” Bodo said. “In cases where private property is within 200 yards, those properties are excluded from the study.”

What are the criteria?

To become a national park, the area needs to contain nationally significant resources, not already be in the national park system and require direct NPS management.

Sequoia National Park, for example, was recognized in 1890 to protect the giant trees from logging.

Officials will also consider where the access, cost and size of the area can be managed by the department.

The National Park Service is studying whether the red portions of the L.A. coastline should qualify for national park designation.

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“A study area must meet all four of the criteria,” Bodo said.

What happens now?

The agency is early in the study process. If you have thoughts on the matter, now is the time to share them.

The public comment period is open until April 6.

In the coming months, the agency will review that feedback before preparing a study report for Congress.

Only Congress and the president have the ability to designate a new national park.

“At that point, it will be up to Congress or the president to take action or not. There is no timeline for further action from Congress or the president,” Bodo said. “The completion of the study does not establish a new park unit.”

The process could take years. The last designation given to Missouri’s Ste. Genevieve National Historic Park in 2018, according to the Associated Press. Congress ordered the study for that park in 2005.

Outstanding questions

One question raised at Wednesday’s meeting was what the benefits and downsides of having NPS manage this area are.

Bodo said that would depend on what the legislation would say if designated and how management would work.

“The National Park Service is required to conserve unimpaired scenery, natural and historic objects, wildlife of parks, and to provide for their enjoyment by the public. That's our overall mission,” Bodo said. “National parks can also generate economic activity in nearby communities.”

And, if designated, how exactly would management of this area work?

It’s also still too early to say, but existing property owners, like the county or city, could continue to own and manage the property, Bodo added.

“If this were to be designated, there maybe wouldn't be significant changes in that arena,” Bodo said. “The Park Service would seek to work collaboratively with local communities and existing agencies on common goals for resource protection and recreational opportunities.”

Another question asked was how might Park Service involvement along the L.A. coast affect fishing and hunting regulations?

“That's really dependent on land ownership, so if land ownership did not change, nothing would change,” Bodo said.

How you can participate

The National Park Service is looking for public input. A second virtual meeting will be held March 11 at 6 p.m. You can join here.

Public comments are also being accepted online here.

Want more Olympics updates? Subscribe here to get our newsletter, Rachel Goes to the Games, delivered to your inbox for a behind-the-scenes look at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

MILAN — U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim's quest for a historic Olympic halfpipe three-peat was foiled by none other than her teenage protégé.

Kim took home silver, after 17-year-old Gaon Choi of South Korea rebounded from a dramatic crash to overtake her in the final run.

"It's the kind of story you only see in dreams, so I'm incredibly happy it happened today," Choi said afterward.

Kim, 25, was within arm's reach of becoming the first halfpipe snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic golds. Despite a last-minute shoulder injury, she cruised easily through Wednesday's qualifiers, which were actually her first competition of the season.

And she was looking like a lock through much of Thursday's final — under a light nighttime snowfall in Livigno — which hinged on the best of three runs.

Kim's strong first showing gave her 88 points and an early lead, which she held for the majority of the competition as many other contenders — including her U.S. teammates Bea Kim and Maddy Mastro — fell on one or more of their runs.

A big crash nearly ended Choi's night early, but after a medical exam she returned to the halfpipe slope for two more runs.

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Choi also took a heavy fall on her opening run, needing a concussion check. She almost missed her second turn, only to fall again. But an impressive third run propelled her to the top of the leaderboard, with 90.25 points.

"It wasn't so much about having huge resolve," she said later. "I just kept thinking about the technique I was originally doing."

Then all eyes were on Kim, the last rider of the night, with a chance to retake the lead. But she fell on her cab double cork 1080, a trick she had landed cleanly in previous runs, which stuck her with her original score. Choi and her team broke down in happy sobs and cheers immediately.

As Choi wiped her eyes, a beaming Kim greeted her at the photo finish with a warm hug. As they lined up alongside bronze medalist Mitsuki Ono of Japan, Kim stood to Choi's side and pointed at her excitedly.

"I've known [Choi] since she was little, and it means a lot to see that I've inspired the next generation and they're now out here killing it," Kim said afterward.

Choi is the same age Kim was in 2018 when she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboard medal.

The two have known each other for nearly a decade, a bond that began when Choi's father struck up a friendship with Kim's dad — who emigrated from South Korea to the U.S. — in the lead-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Kim (R) gave Choi (L) a warm reception after the last run of the night.

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"Chloe's dad did a lot of mentoring to my dad," Choi said after winning the first World Cup she entered in 2023, at age 14. "I didn't know much because I was young, but Chloe's dad gave my dad a lot of advice. It made me who I am today."

Kim and her dad helped bring Choi to the U.S. to train with at California's Mammoth Mountain, and maintained a supportive relationship. Kim spoke highly of Choi at an earlier press conference, calling it a "full-circle moment" and saying she sees "a mirror reflection of myself and my family."

"We're seeing a big shift to Asians being dominant in snow sports," she added. "I've had aunts telling me that I shouldn't snowboard, get a real career, focus on school. It's cool to see that shift happening."

Choi's victory makes her the first female Korean athlete to win a medal in snow sports. This is also South Korea's first snowboard gold.

"I want to introduce this sport more to my country through my performance at this Olympics," Choi told Olympics.com before the Games. "I also believe that enjoying the Games is just as important as achieving good results."
Copyright 2026 NPR

A federal judge this week ruled against the city of Los Angeles in a long-running lawsuit over the city’s practice of destroying unhoused people’s property during encampment sweeps.

In a rare default judgment, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer made a finding in favor of the plaintiffs — ending the case — because the city destroyed, fabricated or altered documents relevant to the case.

The judge found the city had acted "willfully and in bad faith" to deprive the plaintiffs of the information they requested repeatedly, and that the city's explanation for its misconduct was "not credible," according to court documents.

It’s a win for six unhoused residents and advocacy organization Ktown For All, who filed the lawsuit in 2019, challenging whether L.A. Sanitation employees violated unhoused residents’ constitutional rights when seizing and discarding belongings during sweeps.

L.A. city code allows employees to remove and impound unattended, abandoned or hazardous items that are in the public right-of-way. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged city sanitation workers arbitrarily seize and destroy property without objective standards or proper notice. With the default judgement, the court accepted those allegations as true.

City’s misconduct 

According to the judge's ruling, attorneys for Ktown For All argued that the city had "altered and fabricated key evidence" — including health hazard assessment reports and checklists —- after the lawsuit was filed. Their arguments were supported in 2023, after a forensic examiner reviewed some of the evidence and the court found the city had "altered, modified, and created documents" relevant to the case.

The city of L.A. admitted to destroying some documents, but argued it did so because the records were error-filled because of flawed record-keeping during the pandemic, not an “intent to deprive Plaintiffs of the information’s use in the litigation,” according to the ruling.

Fischer noted there were problematic documents associated with more than 90% of the 144 cleanup cases examined by the court. Those records were being used to justify the city’s legal defenses for seizing unhoused residents’ belongings.

The judge also affirmed that city employees rewrote some reports to change the reason for seizures, including adding details about “biohazards” and describing property as “surrendered” or “dangerous.”

According to the ruling, the L.A. City Attorney’s Office hid the misconduct from the court and violated multiple court orders over five years.

“The court cannot proceed to trial with confidence that plaintiffs have had access to the true facts,” Fischer wrote.

“Where a party so damages the integrity of the discovery process that there can never be assurance of proceeding on the true facts, a case-dispositive sanction may be appropriate,” the judge continued, quoting another legal ruling.

Reaction from the attorneys

Shayla Myers with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the city’s fabrication and alteration of documents made a fair trial impossible.

“The fabrication of cleanup reports in this case is itself an indictment of the city's practices,” Myers said. “At these sweeps, the city provides unhoused people absolutely no recourse.”

L.A. city officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the court’s decision.

What’s next?

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a permanent injunction blocking the city from seizing and discarding personal property during encampment cleanups. They have until March 27 to file a brief in support of a proposed permanent injunction.