Citing detrimental effects of oil and gas drilling activities, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky introduced a motion Friday aimed at closing down a drill site located in the West Pico area.
According to Yaroslavsky, the West Pico Drill Site in the 9100 block of West Pico Boulevard just west of Doheny Drive has long been a community concern due to odors, noise, air pollution and other environmental hazards, along with several code violations. The “problematic” operating history of this site most recently prompted the City Council to adopt a motion in 2021 for a complete review of the site, she said.
Additionally, neighbors and activists have raised concerns about the pipeline at the site as it has a “history of code violations,” including an oil spill in late 2021, according to Yaroslavsky’s office.
In the motion Yaroslavsky introduced Friday afternoon, she proposes concrete steps to address the concerns.
The motion calls for termination of the franchise agreement as soon as possible; investigation of any outstanding code violations; and a citywide review of other pipeline franchise agreements and identifying all pipelines operating on an interim basis as of January 2024.
If approved by the full council, several city departments will be instructed to begin the work to accomplish the goals outlined in the motion.
“Our communities deserve clean air, healthy neighborhoods, and a sustainable future. Given our city’s work to protect public health and end fossil fuel extraction citywide, it makes no sense to allow a pipeline serving this problematic drill site to continue to operate on an interim basis,” Yaroslavsky said in a statement.
“This motion is a decisive step towards remediating a decades-long public health hazard to the surrounding community, and is a component of our broader fight against climate change,” she added.
The motion will be considered by the Energy and Environment Committee at a later date.