Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced historic funding of more than $35 million in funding today, May 17, through President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda to continue reclaiming and restoring orphaned oil and gas wells in California, including many wells in Los Angeles. With this new funding, the state of California plans to plug and remediate more than 200 orphaned oil wells and decommission more than 40 attendant production facilities.
“This is an issue of environmental justice,” said Bass.
“Today we are locking arms across the city, state and federal governments to continue our work to end neighborhood oil drilling in the City of Los Angeles to protect the health of Angelenos and advance our vision of Environmental Justice. Thank you, Secretary Haaland, President Biden and Vice President Harris and our partners at the State for the work that you’ve done to allow us to be here today.”
Related Stories:
https://lasentinel.net/l-a-county-moves-to-ban-oil-wells-in-unincorporated-areas.html
https://lasentinel.net/oil-and-gas-production-in-our-los-angeles-communities.html
“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is creating jobs and revitalizing local economies while cleaning up harmful legacy pollution sites throughout the country,” said Haaland.
“I’ve seen firsthand, including right here in Los Angeles, the urgent need to address these hazardous sites, many of which are actively leaking oil and releasing methane gas. With this historic funding, states like California are making significant progress in plugging wells and protecting communities. These investments are good for our climate, for the health of our communities and for American workers.”
During her time in Congress, Mayor Bass was one of the first elected officials to publicly call for the closure of the AllenCo facility, which was the source of terrible health impacts to the surrounding community. The Mayor worked to address this issue with community members living near the facility including the family of Nalleli Cobo, who suffered from nose bleeds and was diagnosed with stage two reproductive cancer at the age of 19. The Mayor also worked with U.S Senator Barbara Boxer, community organizations including STAND-LA, and federal and state regulators. Ms. Cobo continues to advocate on this important issue and met with Mayor Bass and Secretary Haaland this morning.
Building on the work of former Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, Mayor Bass has been able to deliver major investments as Los Angeles continues to lead on climate. During her 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Bass announced the creation of her new Climate Cabinet which will bring forward a new wave of accountability for city departments in order to reach Los Angeles’ goal of 100% clean energy by 2035 in partnership with all city agencies.
