Council adopts item after wide public comment urging action on oilfield maintenance and acid work

Los Angeles City Council members voted to adopt Item 7 following an extended public-comment period in which dozens of residents, environmental advocates and faith leaders urged immediate action to limit acid well maintenance and other oilfield work near neighborhoods.

Speakers said recent acid maintenance projects have exposed nearby residents, schools and workplaces to hazardous emissions and called on Councilmember Nazarian to put a motion on the Environment and Energy Committee agenda to reinstate or replace the ordinance they said had protected residents in 2022 and that was removed in 2024. "Our communities cannot wait any longer for public health and safety to be prioritized over operations of acid maintenance," said Camille, who identified herself as an environmental-justice researcher.

Why it matters: Commenters described health impacts they attribute to acid work — including headaches and worsened respiratory conditions — and warned the work disproportionately affects low-income communities of color. Multiple speakers noted prior council action in 2022 and asked elected officials to move quickly to schedule a committee hearing and new ordinance.

Details of the council action: The council clerk opened and closed the speaker list for the agenda item after public comment and the council took a recorded voice vote. The measure was adopted by voice as "once a favor" — recorded in the minutes as 11 in favor — and the clerk announced that, without protest, the measure was published and referred. The meeting transcript did not record a named mover or seconder for the motion and did not list individual vote names in the public record segment.

What residents asked for: Speakers—representing neighborhood groups, environmental-justice organizations and faith communities—included Emma Silver (physician/organizer), Richard Parks (community partner), Atochi (Connect; representing women’s health advocates), Ashley Hernández (organizer with Community BART/StandL), Imelda Guzmán (youth leader), Bienvenido Luis Chase (church administrator) and others. They urged: - That the council re-agendize council file references and motions mentioned by speakers (referred to in testimony as "council file 15-80" or similar phrasing) for committee consideration. - Restoration of the 2022 ordinance that regulated acid maintenance (speakers described it as removed in 2024). - Stronger notification and siting protections to keep acid-based maintenance projects away from homes, schools and hospitals.

Limits of the public record: Commenters frequently referenced an ordinance adopted in 2022 and repealed in 2024 and asked the council to reinstate protections. The transcript contains those claims and requests but does not attach the text of any new ordinance or specify the exact council-file number in machine-readable form; where speakers used shorthand (for example, "archivo de consejo quince ochenta"), the article reports the reference as spoken and does not infer precise file numbering beyond that phrasing.

Council response and next steps: The clerk recorded adoption of Item 7 and announced publication and referral without protest. Several speakers asked Councilmember Nazarian specifically to place a motion on the Environment and Energy Committee agenda; the transcript records the public request but does not include a councilmember’s public commitment on the floor to a specific timeline.

Community context: Multiple speakers tied the push for action to recent wildfire and air-quality crises; other public speakers said delays in seeking new or restored regulations have immediate health consequences for frontline neighborhoods. Organizers said they will continue to press the council through letters and committee requests until a formal committee hearing is scheduled.

Ending: The meeting minutes record the council’s adoption of Item 7 and referral as described; public speakers said they will return to demand concrete committee scheduling and ordinance language that would limit acid-based maintenance near populated sites.