A plan to mandate annual city inspections of oil well and gas facilities was moved forward Friday by the Los Angeles City Council.
The 12-0 vote authorizes the city attorney to draft an ordinance creating a centralized inspection program, which would be overseen by the Board of Public Works.
The board noted in a report that the city currently has a decentralized inspection model conducted by multiple departments over various time frames, and that there is no centralized information system for coordinating the inspections nor systematic method for sharing of data within each relevant department.
The report proposed a new annual oil well and gas facilities compliance inspection program to be coordinated by the Department of Public Works, specifically the board’s Office of Petroleum and Natural Gas Administration and Safety.
The move comes after the council earlier this week directed various departments to prepare a number of reports and recommendations on how to centralize all oversight of the oil and gas industries into the Office of Petroleum and Natural Gas Administration and Safety.
The council also approved an amendment to the motion that would authorize the coordination of local oversight with relevant city departments and external-related government agencies that includes real-time air monitoring at new or modified oil and gas facilities prior to commencement of operations, or upon the annual reauthorization of existing operations in close proximity to sensitive usage and the establishment of new permit type.