Hearing on Nuisance Oil Well in South ParkTime to Speak Up!

Our neighborhood is home to the Nasco Petroleum active oil well – between Hill and Broadway and Pico and 14th Place.  The oil well is well fenced off from view, but it exists. And it is a health hazard for South Park residents.

We have an opportunity to voice our concerns and ask for action. On September 28, at 10 am a public hearing on Zoom will be hosted by LA City Planning, and public comment is needed. We need to speak up!

You can join the Zoom meeting at: https://planning-lacity-org.zoom.us/j/82783043648, Meeting ID 827 8304 3648, Passcode 670586. Talking points are listed below.

You also may submit a letter opposing the oil well by sending an email at any time with the subject line – Broadway Oil Drill Site at 155 W. 14th Place  -- to Edber Macedo at edber.macedo@lacity.org and CC reeyan.raynes@dlanc.com and  debby.zhou@dlanc.com.

Last month SPNA submitted a letter asking for the oil well to be shut down immediately. SPNA is also submitting a letter in September in support of a proposed city ordinance to address the issues with the oil well. The oil well site has a record of numerous violations as noted by City Planning (Case number ZA 16926).  

In our letters we stated – “Oil wells in dense urban areas are inconsistent with the environmental goals of the State of California as well as the City of Los Angeles. South Park is a rapidly growing residential area with residential buildings being planned and built within sight of this well. As an example, there is a project at Hill and 14th St. with 235 total units, construction of a seven-story building featuring 154 apartments on Olive south of Pico, and the former California Employment Development site on South Broadway where a developer has proposed an affordable housing project including a park for residents.” The letters also stated, “The densification of South Park is a goal of City Planning, and this oil well discourages that kind of development which the SPNA supports.

Additionally, the expanding California Hospital is close by and the leaks from this facility are hazardous to the patients and staff. The oil well is incompatible with health care.

Methane is a major cause of global warming and climate change. An oil well in the middle of a residential downtown area is incompatible with our state’s goal of switching from oil to electricity to power for vehicles.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 28, at 10 am to add your voice to the request to shut down the oil well and make South Park a safer living environment.

Below are talking points regarding the oil well:

1.    Violations

Nasco Petroleum has already paid $1.5 million in fines for nearly 600 violations of state regulations including operating aging and dangerous wells even after losing approvals. Problems at the site have been noted since 2016. Concerns of “immediate” risks to drinking water aquifers was noted in 2020.

2.    Safety

Nasco Petroleum had a major oil spill in 2006 where hot crude and oily waste bubbled up from underground, filled an apartment building basement, and oozed out of manhole covers and buckled sidewalks as reported in the The Desert Sun/USA Today.

3.    Environmental hazard

Consistent with the City’s policies on climate change, Los Angeles has adopted regulations that will phase out oil activities altogether over the next 20 years, thereby improving the City’s overall livability. This site needs to be shut down now.

4.    Health concerns

Studies (from UCLA, Stanford, Harvard, EPA, and more) show that activities related to oil and gas operations have been associated with many potential negative health impacts, especially when they occur near housing, schools, healthcare facilities, and other places of population. There are 15,000 residents, two elementary schools and daycare centers, and California Hospital within walking distance of the oil well.

5.    Noise

Neighbors have complained of noise from the site for years. Now there are two new residential developments on two sides of the oil well site increasing the number of residents impacted by the noise.

6.    Those supporting a shutdown of the oil well: South Park Neighborhood Association, South Park Business Improvement District, and CD14 Councilmember’s office.

Add your voice! If you have any questions or comments, write to us at spnadtla@gmail.com.  

By Debra Shrout