Home News Community Community Shows Up in Show Down With Freeport McMoran Oil and Gas

Community Shows Up in Show Down With Freeport McMoran Oil and Gas

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Category: Community News
Published on Thursday, 18 December 2014 15:31
Written by Stand-L.A.
Today, (November 25, 2014)  in an unprecedented act of solidarity, communities from across Los Angeles launched Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling (STAND-LA) at a hearing on an application to expand oil drilling in a densely populated neighborhood in South Los Angeles. The communities demanded that the City not allow the project to go forward without a full understanding of the impacts of the oil extraction operations on the community and the environment. 

The operator of the proposed project, Freeport McMoran (FMOG), seeks rubber stamp approval for additional oil wells at their Jefferson Blvd. (west of Western) drilling site, to bypass California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Enacted 45 years ago, CEQA was designed to protect the health, safety, and environment of Californians by mandating that state and local agencies identify and mitigate the significant environmental impacts of all projects that may have an impact on the environment.  FMOG claims that the project would have no impact on the neighboring community, despite sitting just steps away from homes and schools.

Dec14Mcmoranweb2 Over 150 Angelenos flooded the public hearing held today by the LA City Planning Department’s Zoning Administrator (ZA) to challenge FMOG’s claims. The ZA heard testimony for over three hours, as local residents, some living as close as 85 feet from current drilling activities, provided compelling testimony about the perils of neighborhood drilling. 

Calling on policymakers to make informed decisions, residents presented the ZA with a wealth of evidence documenting FMOG’s history of egregious violations in its current drilling operations. Their collective testimony cast serious doubt on the company’s willingness to operate safely and in accordance with the law. Read the letter from community groups to the ZA.  

“The oil companies at this drill site have consistently and flagrantly violated the rules and established procedures that govern their activity,” said Richard Parks, President of Redeemer Community Partnership. "Through their deliberate disregard of the regulatory process, FMOG has repeatedly placed our children and community in harm’s way.” 

Local residents were joined by STAND-LA members from across the city who are also fighting to protect their communities from the devastating impacts of neighborhood drilling. Brought together by shared experiences, STAND-LA strives to prevent oil companies from operating with impunity and introduce much needed transparency to the regulatory process.  

“We are standing together because our communities deserve better,” said Nancy Halpern Ibrahim, Executive Director of Esperanza Housing Corporation, whose community has been battling with AllenCo. “We deserve a transparent process and informed decision making. We deserve a say over what happens in our neighborhood. We all deserve to live in healthy and safe communities.”  

With drilling operations on the rise all over Los Angeles, policy is failing to keep pace with the oil industry. “This community, just like other communities in Los Angeles, knows that the patchwork of regulations in place is inadequate to ensure that their neighborhood is safe,” said Angela Johnson Meszaros, General Counsel at Physicians for Social Responsibility-LA. “While the City is protecting the oil industry from scrutiny of its drilling plans, who’s protecting the neighborhood’s residents?” 

During the hearing, Associate Zoning Administrator Maya Zaitzevsky said that the sheer number of letters, testimony and new evidence submitted to the ZA would require significant time to review, with a final decision expected by January 5, 2015.

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Established in August of 2008 by writer, artist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.

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