After ramping up restrictions on new fossil fuel drilling in Los Angeles County two years ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law in September 2024 a Make Polluters Pay package of three bills regulating orphan oil and gas wells in BIPOC communities of LA County. Here’s a look at the three bills and how they deliver environmental justice to LA’s BIPOC communities. Oil and gas wells in Los Angeles Currently, there are over 20,000 active, low-producing, or orphan wells in greater Los Angeles, endangering the health of residents. They may be potentially explosive wells leaking toxic or carcinogenic chemicals including benzene, arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, black carbon, and formaldehyde, as well as methane, a potent greenhouse gas that accelerates the climate crisis. Los Angeles County is one of the most densely populated jurisdictions in the nation with approximately 10 million people. Nearly one-third of residents live less than a mile from an active well site....
