Hundreds of unplugged oil wells puncture the urban landscape of Los Angeles. But the city has been reluctant to use its full powers to ensure cleanup and protect the public.
Thick oil was once so abundant beneath Southern California that it bubbled to the surface, most famously at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Yet despite regulatory powers that in some ways are stronger than the state’s, Los Angeles has been slow and inconsistent in forcing the industry to take responsibility for its leaky legacy, according to the Times/Public Integrity investigation.Until recently, the city Fire Department was operating with one full-time well inspector, resulting in sporadic enforcement.
A subsidiary of the drilling company California Resources Corp., Tidelands operates wells in Wilmington, some of which have been idle since the 1990s. Although the city issued violation notices in 2018, Tidelands neither restarted production nor plugged and cleaned the wells. Many neighbors of the old drilling sites are frustrated and angered by what they see as official indifference toward orphaned wells.Rosalinda Morales and Danny Luna stand in front of an oil derrick at one of two Echo Park-area apartment construction sites that contain abandoned, uncapped and capped oil wells.
Ntuk departed in late 2019 to run the state agency that regulates oil production, the California Geologic Energy Management Division, or CalGEM. The city has yet to hire a new petroleum regulator, relying on an interim administrator.
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