Growing up beside oil wells

Regina Martin spent her childhood in the 1950s and '60s surrounded by pumpjacks and sulfurous smells near Inglewood, only later realizing the connection to her own sickness and her sister's asthma.

A century of disproportionate exposure

Black people across the nation have been far more likely to live near oil wells for over 100 years. Pollution from drilling sites is linked to birth complications, child development issues, respiratory illnesses, and cancer.

A new law takes shape

California passed AB 1661, which directs $5 million from penalized oil wells in Inglewood into direct cash aid for 1,000 nearby households with respiratory or reproductive health impacts.

Up to $5,000 per household

The legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan, sets aside enough money for payments of up to $5,000 for 1,000 impacted households. Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign it into law by October.

Repairing generational harm

The fund asks whether money can repair harms accumulated across generations: lives cut short by illness, household wealth drained by medical bills and depressed property values, and the anxiety of raising children amid pollution.

Environmental reparations as a model

Bryan and supporters are calling this environmental reparations and say it could be replicated nationwide, with industrial companies helping repair damage borne by people living closest to polluting sites.

A longer fight over the field

Bryan, the first Black legislator to chair the California Assembly's Natural Resources Committee, says his constituents have faced lower life expectancies and higher rates of asthma and heart conditions for decades.

“The company has essentially just been extracting from the community with no investments in the community.”

Building on earlier legislation

This measure builds on Bryan's AB 2716, signed in 2024, which requires the Inglewood Oil Field to close by 2030 and imposes $10,000 monthly penalties on operators keeping low-producing wells open.

A pilot for direct payments

Bryan described the cash program as a pilot to determine whether direct payments are the form of repair residents most want, saying putting money in people's pockets is one of the biggest tools against an increasingly unaffordable society.

Shielding payments from taxes

California also passed a law that would shield reparation payments from taxation, ensuring recipients receive the full benefit of these efforts as the state actively prepares for reparations programs.

Access and application challenges

The program's reach depends on how Los Angeles County designs the application process and what documentation it requires. Tens of thousands more households live near the oil field, but only 1,000 can receive aid.

Preventing gentrification after closure

Environmental justice advocates warn that closing wells is only the first step. As oil wells have closed in Los Angeles, rental prices and home values have risen, threatening to displace the same Black residents who lived with the pollution.

“We can't replace toxic oil extraction with gentrification.”