Los Angeles, CA--The Los Angeles City Council moved yesterday to fill the City’s vacant Petroleum Administrator position with a full-time employee. The motion offered a glimpse into the City’s deficiencies in regulating oil and gas production. Weak oversight has put the health of hundreds of thousands of Angelenos in danger by failing to provide the necessary protections from the toxic pollutants produced by neighborhood drilling operations.
The City’s move to fill this position indicates that they have failed to grasp the systemic problems caused by oil and gas extraction in Los Angeles. The motion offers too little, too late, leaving communities fearful that neighborhood drilling will continue to put the health of their families at risk.
In response to the motion, STAND-LA, a coalition of community groups dedicated to protecting public health from neighborhood oil drilling, released the following statement:
"The health impacts and safety threats to residents require a sweeping overhaul of our regulatory system, that has protecting residents’ welfare at its foundation. The City continues to fail to understand the gravity of the regulatory deficiencies, and filling a job position with vague responsibilities without a comprehensive process amounts to another symbolic band aid that seeks to maintain antiquated system that does not protect Angelenos. We cannot allow a new Petroleum Administrator to double-down on the City’s broken regulatory framework for neighborhood oil and gas extraction. If the City is going to fill the position, it should be with someone whose training and experience is rooted in protecting public health and safety.”
The City’s move to fill this position indicates that they have failed to grasp the systemic problems caused by oil and gas extraction in Los Angeles. The motion offers too little, too late, leaving communities fearful that neighborhood drilling will continue to put the health of their families at risk.
In response to the motion, STAND-LA, a coalition of community groups dedicated to protecting public health from neighborhood oil drilling, released the following statement:
"The health impacts and safety threats to residents require a sweeping overhaul of our regulatory system, that has protecting residents’ welfare at its foundation. The City continues to fail to understand the gravity of the regulatory deficiencies, and filling a job position with vague responsibilities without a comprehensive process amounts to another symbolic band aid that seeks to maintain antiquated system that does not protect Angelenos. We cannot allow a new Petroleum Administrator to double-down on the City’s broken regulatory framework for neighborhood oil and gas extraction. If the City is going to fill the position, it should be with someone whose training and experience is rooted in protecting public health and safety.”