INGLEWOOD : City OKs Oil Drilling Near Earthquake Fault

The City Council voted to allow oil drilling near the Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault.

In a 3-2 vote, the council agreed to let Vortex Energy and Minerals Ltd. drill up to five exploratory wells on 1.1 acres next to Inglewood Park Cemetery. An offshoot of the Newport-Inglewood fault runs under the cemetery.

Council members Garland Hardeman and Judith L. Dunlap voted against the proposal.

Critics of the project say that drilling would harm the environment and possibly trigger an earthquake. The main problem with the project is that a full environmental report hasn’t been done, said Michele Grumet, an area resident and member of Coalition Against the Pipeline.

“It’s all about money,” Grumet said. “It’s greed over public safety and interest.”

If oil is found, oil company officials say, the project could bring millions of dollars in revenue to the city.

“We were very pleased with the vote,” said Alan Fraser, president of Vortex.

This is the second time the council has approved the project. It unanimously approved the proposal in December, 1992, but a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge overturned the decision, saying the city failed to consider the effect drilling would have on the earthquake fault. The court ordered the city to study the effect of drilling, although it did not order a full environmental report.

Dunlap, who was not a member of the council when the proposal was initially approved, said the issue goes beyond environmental concerns.

“The residents of the community who will be impacted were ignored by the people elected to represent them,” Dunlap said. The voters never approved that land for oil drilling, she said.

Coalition Against the Pipeline plans to appeal to the court to overturn the decision again, attorney Lawrence Teeter said.

“The city is clearly not in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act,” Teeter said.