LA City Council Passes First Vote to Phase Out Oil Drilling Citywide!
This is a first step toward victory - but it's not over yet.
Los Angeles is on the brink of a transformational shift. In a landmark vote, the City Council has cast it’s first vote to support an ordinance that would end new oil and gas extraction and phase out existing drilling operations citywide. For a city long shaped—physically and politically—by fossil fuel interests, this moment represents something far bigger than a policy change. It’s the culmination of more than a decade of organizing by frontline communities who refused to accept toxic drilling as the cost of living in their own neighborhoods.
If the ordinance clears a second Council vote later this summer, Los Angeles will become the largest city in the country to commit to phasing out oil drilling, following the lead of places like Culver City and Santa Barbara. For the residents who have lived with wells in their backyards, schoolyards, and church parking lots, this is a long-awaited step toward environmental justice.
A victory rooted in community power
For over ten years, STAND-L.A. — a coalition of environmental justice organizations in South Los Angeles and Wilmington — has been fighting to end neighborhood drilling. These communities, predominantly Black and Latine, have carried the burden of decades-old land use decisions that placed oil wells next to homes, playgrounds, and hospitals.
Tianna Shaw-Wakeman of Black Women for Wellness captured the significance of this moment:
“Frontline residents who have faced the most harm from toxic oil extraction are setting the precedent for how local governments can phase out and physically dismantle fossil fuel infrastructure.”
For many residents, this isn’t just policy — it’s self-determination after years of being denied a say in what happens on their own blocks.
Public health at the forefront
This is not just an environmental issue; it’s a health issue. Communities have long reported throat irritation, chronic headaches, reproductive harm, and respiratory issues linked to emissions from oil and gas operations. The new ordinance acknowledges these harms and begins to correct the racist planning decisions that concentrated wells in specific neighborhoods.
Wendy Miranda of Esperanza Community Housing emphasized that this is fundamentally a public health issue:
“Clean air is essential and a health and human right, and our communities deserve to breathe easier.”
From wildfire smoke to industrial accidents, including the current warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, Angelenos have seen how fragile clean air can be. Ending neighborhood drilling is one step toward protecting it.
A second victory
This isn’t the first time the City Council has passed such an ordinance. The original version was approved in December 2022 — only to be overturned in 2024 after oil companies sued the city. But the landscape shifted again when California passed AB 3233, reaffirming that cities and counties have the authority to restrict oil and gas operations.
With that legal foundation in place, the Council is now moving to readopt the ordinance.
Maro Kakoussian of Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles reflected on the persistence behind this moment:
“Residents can finally feel hope that a victory for their health and safety is around the corner–because of the power they have built.”
Our work isn’t over
Even as the ordinance advances, advocates stress that immediate action is still needed. Many residents continue to live next to active wells, and some sites — like the Warren E&P Banning Drill Site and the E&B Murphy Drill Site — have long histories of violations.
STAND-L.A. is calling on the city to:
Revoke permits for sites with ongoing violations: Warren E&P Banning Drill Site and the E&B Murphy Drill Site
Update the Fire Code to hold operators accountable for idle wells
Address the 1,500+ idle wells that pose environmental and financial risks
Richard Parks of Redeemer Community Partnership said it best:
“The 1,500+ idle wells that the LA Fire Department has allowed to go unplugged threatens to blow a hole in the city’s budget as oil companies drill and dash into bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers with the bill for cleanup.”
The ordinance is a milestone — but not the finish line.
What’s comes next:
The phaseout ordinance now heads to the Los Angeles City Attorney for review. After that, it will return to City Council committees and then to the full Council for a second vote.
If it passes, Los Angeles will take a historic step toward environmental justice, public health, and a future where no child grows up next to an active oil well.
Let’s goooo!!!