California Governor Gavin Newsom was in Los Angeles Wednesday at the Kenneth Hahn soccer fields to sign a series of bills overhauling oil well regulations in the state.
Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court was among those pushing for the new laws that now give cities and counties the power to stop oil drilling in their neighborhoods.
Court told KNX News' Karen Adams that the approximately 800 oil wells that comprise America's largest urban oil field, located next to the soccer field, will be gone by 2030.
[iframe https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2407.790052645739!2d-118.36656282588355!3d33.99203932090951!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80c2b7615440c413%3A0x4bf6b55c21d543b3!2sAYSO%20-%20Kenneth%20Hahn%20Soccer%20Fields!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1727300889971!5m2!1sen!2sus allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="border:0" width="600"]"With Governor Newsom's action to signing AB 2716 by Isaac Bryan, all of this is going to be gone, and we can have more room for soccer fields or houses, but there ain't gonna be any oil wells. It's important because living in proximity to oil wells causes a lot of health problems for a lot of people. This will take away that risk," said Court.
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As a result of the new regulations, oil companies will also be forced to plug up idle and lower-producing wells a lot faster or face stiffer fines, $10,000 a month, if within the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, also known as the Inglewood Oil Field.
Governor Newsom says not to fall for 'Big Oil's' claims that laws like these will drive up gas prices. "They are the polluted heart of this climate crisis. Newsom said, "They've been lying and deceiving us for decades and decades and decades, and it's finally, finally time to hold big oil accountable, and that's why this time, we are not falling prey to those lies."
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