Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Los Angeles, CA -- On Thursday at 11am PT, local Baldwin Hills residents will be joined by environmental advocates to deliver thousands of petition signatures to the LA County Department of Regional Planning calling for stronger protections for communities living near the Inglewood Oil Field.
The Inglewood Oil Field is the largest urban oil field in the country and more than a million people live within five miles of its boundaries. The current safety standards governing the oil field allow oil operations to take place just 400 feet from homes and schools, putting families in the predominantly African American community of Baldwin Hills at risk of air pollution and negative health effects. In an initial draft update to the safety standards released in September, the County failed to meaningfully strengthen these standards.
The comments being delivered Thursday from local residents urge County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas to listen to community concerns and direct the County Department of Regional Planning to update these proposed safeguards to better address the threats Inglewood Oil Field poses to public health and the environment.
WHAT: Baldwin Hills residents deliver thousands of petitions calling for stronger safeguards for Los Angeles County urban oil field
WHO: Local residents will be joined by representatives from the Sierra Club, STAND-LA, and SoCal350
WHEN: Thursday, November 21 at 11am PT
WHERE: LA County Department of Regional Planning Office, 320 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.