Mayor Bass and Secretary Haaland Announce Millions in Funding to Reclaim and Restore Orphaned Oil Wells

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland May 17 announced funding of more than $35 million in funding through President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda to continue reclaiming and restoring orphaned oil and gas wells in California, including many wells in Los Angeles. With this new funding, the state of California plans to plug and remediate more than 200 orphaned oil wells and decommission more than 40 attendant production facilities. 

During her time in Congress, Mayor Bass was one of the first elected officials to publicly call for the closure of the AllenCo facility, which was the source of terrible health impacts to the surrounding community. The Mayor worked to address this issue with community members living near the facility including the family of Nalleli Cobo, who suffered from nose bleeds and was diagnosed with stage two reproductive cancer at the age of 19. The Mayor also worked with U.S Senator Barbara Boxer, community organizations including STAND-LA, and federal and state regulators. Ms. Cobo continues to advocate on this important issue and met with Mayor Bass and Secretary Haaland May 17.