INGLEWOOD : Vortex Drops Plans for Exploratory Oil Wells
For now, the two-year battle to drill for oil under the Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault has come to an end, city officials said.
Inglewood and Vortex Oil Energy and Minerals Ltd. reached an agreement Friday with the city of Los Angeles and the citizens group Coalition Against the Pipeline, killing the drilling proposal, said Inglewood City Atty. Howard Rosten.
Vortex had planned to operate as many as five exploratory oil wells on a 1.1-acre site next to the Inglewood Park Cemetery. Los Angeles and the citizens group sued to stop the project, saying that a full environmental report is required for the project.
Some members of the citizens group charged that drilling under a fault could trigger an earthquake.
The council approved the drilling project June 7 unaware of a zoning law that prohibits drilling in a cemetery zone, said Assistant Los Angeles City Atty. Jack L. Brown.
“There was no way around (the law). Someone didn’t do their homework,” Brown said.
City officials do not rule out future attempts at drilling.
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