In a legal battle that pits old industrial uses against urbanization,
Culver City is challenging an environmental impact report approved by
Los Angeles County that could allow 600 new wells to be drilled in a
local oil field over the next 20 years.
A week ago, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant
upheld Culver City’s 6-month-old moratorium on new drilling in the
northern section of the 85-year-old Inglewood Oil Field, which is
within city limits. City officials said the moratorium was needed to
provide time for development of new drilling regulations aimed at
addressing health issues.
Chalfant had been expected on Monday to rule on a separate lawsuit
filed by the city asking that he scrap the county report related to
plans to drill new wells, in part because none of the 1,000-acre
field’s existing 1,463 active, idle and abandoned wells has undergone
such a review.
Instead, a hearing on the matter was pushed back to June 3 to give
parties more time to negotiate a settlement.
If the county report is
invalidated, a new one will be required before new drilling can occur.
–Louis Sahagun
Photo: Oil facilities in the Baldwin Hills. AP