Board directs county oversight of East L.A. oil spill response as officials report ongoing remediation and business losses

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on June 9 approved a motion directing county departments to stay engaged in the response to a crude-oil pipeline rupture in unincorporated East Los Angeles, ordering continued outreach, remediation oversight and an accounting of taxpayer funds used in the cleanup.

Supervisor Hilda Solis, who brought the motion, said the pipeline failure at Eastern Avenue and Cesar Chavez on May 22 forced road closures, sent oil into the L.A. River and created a strong odor that kept residents and students indoors. "I witnessed the harmful health and environmental impacts first hand," Solis said, asking county departments to ensure residents and small businesses receive information and support and that responsible private entities are held accountable.

County Fire Deputy Chief Albert Yanagisawa said initial emergency actions closed and then reopened lanes at the intersection and completed storm-drain cleaning, but long-term work remains: "The remaining work is long-term remediation, removal of contaminated soil at the intersection," he said, adding excavations will be done lane-by-lane so traffic can continue to move.

Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said the county is treating the incident as one of the largest recent oil cleanups in the river system and that estimates of the spill's size increased during investigation. "The original estimate was 2,400 gallons and now it is like 25,000 gallons spilled," he said, and added that the county is implementing a mitigation plan with regulators and will seek to charge responsible companies for costs.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health, said air monitoring around schools and neighborhoods has not detected exceedances of health-based thresholds, but acknowledged residents report nuisance odors and advised people sensitive to odors to stay indoors when odors are present. "Air monitoring is healthy; nuisance odors can be debilitating for some people," Ferrer said, adding county teams are coordinating with AQMD and fire hazmat teams on daily monitoring.

Economic and community impacts were prominent in the board's discussion. Kelly LoBianco, director of the Department of Economic Opportunity, said early canvassing of nearly 50 local businesses found "70 to 75% revenue loss" for some firms and that the county is setting up a hotline and a claims process to assist businesses and connect them with SBA and other capital resources.

Rafael Carbajal of Consumer and Business Affairs said his office will help ensure residents understand their rights and will coordinate on language access and legal assistance. County Counsel's Deputy Dawyn Harrison said the county's Consumer Protection division will lead a county investigation and coordinate with state and federal agencies seeking information from the pipeline owner; he identified the pipeline operator in public remarks during the meeting.

Remote and in-person callers from East L.A. described lingering odors, health worries and the economic pain of reduced foot traffic. One small-business owner told supervisors of daily losses she estimated as high as "$10,000 per day."

The board approved Solis's motion by a 4-0 vote (Supervisor Horvath absent), directing departments to coordinate recovery, maintain multilingual outreach and report back on response gaps and county costs. The motion also asks staff to ensure private parties responsible for the spill are held financially accountable and that the county tracks taxpayer funds used for cleanup.

Next steps: the motion calls for continued county coordination with state and federal partners, a report back to the Board, and activation of hotlines and claims processes for residents and businesses. County officials urged residents to report odors to AQMD (800-288-7664), to call a business-claims line (877-817-5465) and to use the county's recovery website for updates.