Mayor Bass Signs Landmark Ordinance to Ban New Oil and Gas Drilling and Phase Out Existing Operations in Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES - Mayor Karen Bass today signed the City's Oil and Gas Drilling Ordinance, marking a major milestone in Los Angeles' efforts to phase out oil and gas drilling and protect neighborhoods that have borne the burden of these operations for decades.

"For too long, communities throughout Los Angeles have lived with the impacts of oil and gas drilling in their neighborhoods, leading to significant health conditions. We're changing this," said Mayor Bass. "I have fought for environmental justice throughout my career, from the State Assembly to Congress and now as Mayor. Signing this ordinance is another important step toward phasing out oil and gas drilling in Los Angeles once and for all. I want to especially thank Council President Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Yaroslavsky, Councilmember Nazarian, and the community advocates who have worked tirelessly to make their voices heard and move this forward."

The ordinance prohibits new oil and gas drilling throughout Los Angeles and designates existing wells as nonconforming uses, requiring their operations to cease within 20 years of the ordinance's effective date unless an earlier deadline applies. It also restricts the expansion and redevelopment of existing drilling operations, establishes limited exceptions for work necessary to address threats to public health, safety, or the environment, and strengthens requirements for mitigation, monitoring, and compliance.

"No one should have to live near an oil drilling site. In South LA, working-class families have had corporations drilling across the street from their homes," said Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson."Today's vote marks a historic step forward for environmental justice and public health in Los Angeles. This victory belongs to the organizers at STAND-LA and the family members who refused to accept environmental degradation as the status quo."

"Generations of Angelenos, especially in low-income communities of color, have breathed toxic air from oil wells right next to their homes and schools," said Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee. "No one should have to pay for their ZIP code with their health. It's past time for the city to end new drilling and put every well on a path to closure, so every neighborhood can share in a healthier, safer future."

"For more than a decade, residents across Los Angeles have been fighting for something pretty straightforward: oil wells do not belong next to their homes, schools, and daycare centers," said Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky. "I'm grateful to Mayor Bass, the STAND-LA coalition, and our dedicated City staff for helping us get here. Now we need to finish the job by making sure these wells are properly plugged, these sites are cleaned up, and the companies responsible are held accountable."

Oil drilling operations can affect nearby neighborhoods through emissions, odors, noise, spills, truck traffic, and other land-use impacts. These burdens have disproportionately impacted frontline communities and communities of color, particularly where drilling sites are located near homes, schools, parks, places of worship, and healthcare facilities.

The ordinance builds on years of community advocacy and the City's previous efforts to phase out oil drilling. In December 2022, the City adopted an ordinance to prohibit new oil and gas extraction and designate existing operations as nonconforming uses. Following legal challenges, the ordinance was rescinded after a court ruling. State lawmakers subsequently passed AB 3233, reaffirming local authority to regulate or prohibit oil and gas development. The updated ordinance uses that authority to reestablish the City's citywide approach to phasing out oil and gas drilling.

"STAND-LA appreciates the Mayor standing with frontline communities and signing this ordinance into law," said the STAND-LA (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling, Los Angeles) Coalition. "We want to thank her staff that have been instrumental in moving this ordinance forward. While this is an important step, signing this ordinance today is not the end, but instead the start of the City's commitment to environmental justice. Tomorrow, frontline residents will still wake up next to drilling in their neighborhoods-and will continue to advocate for City leaders to protect their health from toxic oil pollution."

"This victory holds the power to set a model for cities across the U.S. and create a domino effect: LA is now setting the precedent for how local governments can phase out and physically dismantle fossil fuel infrastructure, with public health and safety at the forefront," said Wendy Miranda, Esperanza Community Housing.

"After over a decade, Black and Latine frontline communities have a commitment from their City leaders that their health and their communities have value, and a promise that they will be protected," said Rev. Victor Cyrus-Franklin, Lead Pastor of Holman United Methodist Church. "It has been a long time coming and a change has come to South LA. This ushers LA closer to a new era of environmental justice."