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 The lawsuit accuses the city government of permitting oil
companies to drill hundreds of wells near residential areas without
conducting environmental studies required under state law to assess
public health risks posed by energy development.
The bulk of those drilling operations have ended up concentrated in
and around low-income minority areas of South Los Angeles and the
city's industry-heavy community of Wilmington, according to the
lawsuit.
Meanwhile, stricter enforcement of environmental rules in more
affluent districts, even where oil fields are present, has largely
shielded wealthier communities from the impacts of fossil fuel
extraction, the lawsuit said.
The 42-page complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by
several groups, including Youth for Environmental Justice and the
South Central Youth Leadership Coalition. No companies were named in
the lawsuit.
The fossil fuel industry has a long history in Los Angeles, but the
full extent of oil extraction in the nation's second-most populous
city is unknown because of poor record-keeping, said Maya
Golden-Krasner, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity,
another plaintiff in the suit.
A scientific report released this year found more than 30,000 Los
Angeles-area residents live within 300 feet (92 meters) of an oil
well, a center spokesman said.
Representatives for Mayor Eric Garcetti declined immediate comment.
Although more people are exposed to the environmental effects of oil
fields in Los Angeles than in any other U.S. metropolitan area, the
impacts are not distributed equitably, the lawsuit says.
For instance, the city allows loud, high-polluting diesel-powered
rigs at oil wells in South Los Angeles and Wilmington, while
requiring cleaner-running electric rigs in wealthier, largely white
areas on its Westside, according to the lawsuit.
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The complaint also says the city requires more soundproofing at
Westside drill sites than elsewhere.
Residents near Wilmington oil field where one company operates 540
wells describe life there as horrendous, Golden-Krasner said.
"They can't sleep, they have respiratory problems, they have rashes
and burning eyes, and so it's really difficult for people who live
nearby, particularly in the black and Latino areas where they have
less protective conditions," she said.
The suit identified 12 drill sites where the plaintiffs said city
officials exempted the projects from review under the California
Environmental Quality Act.
The case is Youth For Environmental Justice v. City of Los Angeles,
Los Angeles Superior Court, No. BC600373.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Steve Gorman)
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