The Los Angeles City Council today will consider hiring a full-time petroleum administrator to oversee all oil and gas production activity in the city.
Council President Herb Wesson’s motion calls for a “more proactive approach to ensure that oil and gas production in the city is conducted in the safest manner possible.” It would direct city officials to immediately hire a petroleum administrator on a full-time basis.
Residents in South Los Angeles and other areas have complained in recent years about urban oil fields, saying noxious fumes and frequent trips of oil or gas-hauling trucks place surrounding communities at risk.
The motion also comes after residents of Porter Ranch have been exposed beginning in October to a natural gas leak from a nearby storage facility just outside city limits.
The petroleum administrator position is not new and “has historically been in charge of making sure the city was receiving the correct fees and taxes from oil drilling activity,” according to David Graham-Caso, an aide to Councilman Mike Bonin.
The motion would “expand on that role to also do things like investigate subsidence problems and report on other matters related directly to the exploration or production of petroleum,” Graham-Caso said.
