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Why LA County had to repeal its oil drilling phaseout in order to phase out oil drilling
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An oil pumpjack see-saws near homes in the Inglewood Oil Field. Research has found that living near oil drilling and refineries is linked to higher rates of asthma, preterm births and cancer.
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Topline:
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to repeal a 2023 law to phase out oil drilling in unincorporated communities over the next 20 years. Counterintuitively, the move is part of the ongoing effort to end reliance on fossil fuels.
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Why LA County had to repeal its oil drilling phaseout in order to phase out oil drilling
The background: The county’s ordinance and a similar one passed by the city of L.A. in 2022 have been stalled by litigation brought by oil companies. One of those lawsuits led to the city’s ordinance being overturned in late 2024. The companies argued that only the state has the power to regulate oil drilling. However, a state law that went into effect this year explicitly gives local governments the authority to regulate drilling within their jurisdictions.
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Why it matters: Active and idle oil wells are widespread across L.A., but they’re disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities of color. Research has found that living near oil drilling and refineries is linked to higher rates of asthma, preterm births and cancer. Bigger picture, extracting and burning fossil fuels such as oil for energy is a main driver of the rapid climate change we’re currently experiencing, which is why the world’s top scientists agree we need to transition to cleaner sources of energy, such as solar and wind.
What’s next: Because that new state law isn’t retroactive, both the city and county of L.A. have to go through the process of passing new oil phaseout ordinances. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors aims to reintroduce its oil well phaseout in early 2026.
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