A high-profile bill aimed at phasing out oil production within the city of Los Angeles has been struck down by a judge who ruled that the state, not the city, has jurisdiction over many aspects of drilling operations.
The ruling by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kinn invalidated a law spearheaded by environmental justice activists and unanimously supported by the Los Angeles City Council in 2022 that would have banned new oil and gas drilling and required all existing operations to cease production within 20 years.
But the ruling could become moot if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill allowing cities and counties to curtail or eliminate oil and gas operations. Assembly Bill 3233 was recently passed by the state Legislature and is on the governor's desk.
Los Angeles is home to dozens of oil and gas fields and more than 5,000 oil and gas wells. Activists say the wells are concentrated in Wilmington and the port area, Downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, South Los Angeles and the northwest San Fernando Valley, and that they disproportionately harm low-income communities of color.
Oil well may release carcinogens, Studies have shown that living near wells, which emit air pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde, is linked to health problems such as respiratory illnesses and premature births.
In his 16-page ruling dated Sept. 6, Kin wrote that while the city has a general interest in protecting the health of its residents and the environment, when it comes to oil and gas production; [state] “We have a responsibility to balance the concerns of all Californians with meeting our state's energy needs.”
Representatives for Warren Resources, one of several companies that sued the city last year over the ban, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto, who represents the city, City Council Speaker Paul Krekorian and Councilwoman Katie Yaroslavsky, who chairs the city's Energy and Environmental Committee, declined to comment.
Stand Together Against Drilling in Our Neighborhoods, a coalition of community groups that campaigned for the law's passage, slammed the ruling in a statement.
“It's outrageous that the oil industry is allowed to continue its harmful and racist business practices. We will not stop fighting!” Stand Ra wrote on social media platform X.
“This is not a final decision,” Tyler Earl, senior attorney for Communities for a Better Environment, which is part of STAND, said in an interview. “There are a variety of reasons why this is not a final decision.”
Earl cited state legislation and said the city could appeal the ruling.
In his decision, Judge Kin cited a recent California Supreme Court case involving a Monterey County referendum banning oil drilling, in which the court sided with Chevron and other oil companies and ruled that state regulations take precedence over county bans.
“The city [of L.A.] “States have the authority to determine the location of oil wells within their boundaries,” Kin wrote, citing the Chevron lawsuit. “The ordinance at issue here goes beyond location restrictions and prohibits or restricts oil production methods that can be used to extract oil from existing wells.”
