Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Monica Embrey, monica.embrey@sierraclub.org, 773-419-0963
Culver City, CA -- Culver City's city council released a new report today detailing plans on how quickly the city could phase out neighborhood oil drilling within the city’s borders, and indicates the city would have the authority to do so within the next year.
The report came in response to years of pressure from local communities concerned about the negative health impacts of neighborhood drilling, which exposes nearby residents to toxic chemicals and puts them at risk of respiratory illnesses, cancer, nervous system damage, and other health effects.
Last year, the City Council voted unanimously in support of commissioning a study on how to phase out the oil field in their backyard. The report, released today, is an amortization study of the oil operator’s capital investment in oil and gas operations located in the approximately 78-acre portion of the Inglewood Oil Field that is located in Culver City. The study could be used by the city as the legal basis for phasing out the oil wells by January 2021.
In response, Monica Embrey, Associate Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, released the following statement:
“Our communities should not be forced to live with toxic oil wells operating in our backyards, and this plan is a major step forward in phasing out dangerous oil drilling in Los Angeles. It’s time for elected leaders in the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, and the entire State of California to take a lesson from Culver City and take meaningful action for a healthy environment and communities.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.