LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday took steps intended to phase out oil drilling in the city, moving to address the legacy of of environmental and health problems caused by an industry that helped create modern Southern California.
The council voted unanimously to support a ban on any new oil wells and ordered a study that is intended to help city officials determine how to phase out existing wells in the next two decades.
"Oil drilling in Los Angeles might have made sense in the early part of the 20th century, but it sure doesn't make a lot of sense now that we've become a megalopolis at the beginning of the 21st century," said Councilman Paul Krekorian, who chairs the city's budget committee.
