Residents Harmed by Oil Drilling May Soon Receive Reparations Under New California Law | WIREDSkip to main contentTHE WIRED APP IS HEREDOWNLOAD NOW »MenuWIREDSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSMenuWIREDAccountAccountNewslettersSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsWIRED StoreSearchSearchScienceSep 19, 2026 5:30 AMResidents Harmed by Oil Drilling May Soon Receive Reparations Under New California LawWhile lawmakers iron out the details, advocates hope this approach could serve as a model for addressing histories of environmental hazards often concentrated in Black and low-income neighborhoods.Courtesy of Capital BCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThis story originally appeared on Capital B and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.As a child in the 1950s and ’60s, Regina Martin became so used to the oil pumpjacks near her home that she assumed every child lived beside them. Everyone was made “sick to [their] tummy” by the sulfurous, rotten-egg smell that never seemed to leave, she thought.Only until she was grown did she begin to see a possible connection between growing up on top of the nation’s largest urban oil drilling field and her own sickness and the asthma that affected her sister.For over a century in Los Angeles and across the nation, Black people have been disproportionately likely to live near oil wells, the machinery that draws oil from deep underground. The pollution from these drilling sites are connected to birth complications, child development issues, respiratory illnesses, and cancer.Now, a new California state law moves to turn that lived experience into a broader public-policy question: What does a state owe communities exposed to pollution for generations? And what happens when you can’t offer support to every family that has struggled through the harm?California lawmakers have passed AB 1661, which would steer $5 million collected from penalized oil wells in Inglewood into direct cash aid for 1,000 nearby households with qualifying respiratory or reproductive health impacts. Some of LA’s Blackest suburbs and city neighborhoods, including Inglewood, Ladera Heights, and Baldwin Hills, surround the oil field.The legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac G. Bryan, is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom by October. It sets aside enough money for payments of up to $5,000 for 1,000 impacted households under its initial structure. The money would come from the state’s community repair and reinvestment fund for people living nearest the oil field.For Black communities living nearest to refineries, highways, landfills, and oil wells, this fund may signal something larger than one oil field or payment. It asks whether money can begin to 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.Bryan and other supporters are calling it environmental reparations and say it is a model that could be replicated to make industrial companies help repair the damage borne by people living closest to polluting sites.To Tianna Shaw-Wakeman, the environmental justice program director with Black Women for Wellness in LA, the law could provide a national organizing model. “My hope has always come at the community level, at the grassroots level,” she said. “I see how grassroots organizing has created long-term change in our local communities, and I see that that can be and is being replicated all over the country.”For Bryan, who represents the communities surrounding the Inglewood Oil Field, the cash-assistance program is part of a longer fight over the field’s legacy. Bryan, the first Black legislator to chair the California Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee, said 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, no care in the community and what feels like no regard at times for the broader community,” Bryan told Capital B. “The community … [is] due this repair, and it’s been long overdue.”Courtesy of Capital BThe measure builds on Bryan’s earlier legislation, AB 2716, which Newsom signed in 2024. That law requires the Inglewood Oil Field to close by 2030 and establish a penalty structure for low-producing wells. Low-producing wells can leak methane and other harmful gases into the air and water. To push operators to curb that pollution and clean up their sites, regulators imposed a penalty on companies that keep such wells operating. Bryan said operators are charged $10,000 per well each month, with the revenue directed into a community repair fund restricted to investments within 2.5 miles of the field.The fund could eventually support affordable housing, urban greening, park infrastructure, and other community priorities, Bryan said. Bryan described the cash program as a pilot that could help determine whether direct payments are the form of repair residents most want.“We know people are struggling,” he said. “We know one of the biggest tools against an increasingly unaffordable society is to just put more money in people’s pockets.”As communities nationwide press for stronger environmental protections, California’s experiment could test whether government and industry are willing to move beyond preventing future harm and toward compensating people who have already lived with its costs.“Community members who have been deeply impacted, whose health have been deeply impacted, have never gotten restitution for that in any sort of way. We deserve more than we have been getting,” Shaw-Wakeman said. “And as we transition our city, as we transition our county, part of that story has to be addressing past harms.”At the same time, California has passed a law that would shield reparation payments from taxation. “California is actively preparing for the implementation of reparations programs,” said state Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, who introduced the legislation. “We must ensure that recipients receive the full benefit of these efforts.”Three dozen community groups came together in support of the environmental reparations legislation. There were no groups in public opposition.The legislation will not close the oil field or resolve the long-running fight over drilling in Los Angeles County. Under the proposal, eligible households within 2.5 miles of the field could seek aid if a resident has experienced respiratory or reproductive health impacts. But the program’s practical reach will depend on how Los Angeles County designs the application process, what documentation it requires, and how it handles demand if more than 1,000 households apply. There are tens of thousands more households in proximity to the oil field.Bryan said Los Angeles County was still working through how the assistance would be delivered. It could come as a lump-sum payment, monthly payments, or another structure, he said, and county officials were evaluating which approach would best serve families.Shaw-Wakeman said Black Women for Wellness and its allies pushed for a process that does not force residents to clear burdensome or invasive hurdles to prove harm. The organization has urged officials to consider self-attestation rather than requiring applicants to produce medical records that may be difficult or costly to obtain.That question of access may determine whether the fund actually proves relief or is another government program that excludes the people it was intended to help. Many families, particularly low-income ones, may be living with these illnesses without formal diagnoses.The program also lands amid a larger debate over what should happen to urban oil sites once production ends. Environmental justice advocates have argued that closing wells is only the first step. They want operators held responsible for plugging wells, cleaning contaminated land, and ensuring that redevelopment does not displace the same neighbors who lived with the pollution.As oil wells have closed in Los Angeles in recent years, rental prices and home values have risen, threatening to displace longtime Black residents.“We can’t replace toxic oil extraction with gentrification,” Shaw-Wakeman said. “There is still a lot more to address beyond those 1,000 households. We’re trying to address the ways in which community members are still being harmed every day.”CommentsBack to topJoin the discussionCommentsBack to topTriangleYou Might Also LikeIn your inbox: Upgrade your life with WIRED-tested gearMcDonald’s built a 515-page dossier on meBig Story: AI is dead—organoids are aliveThe manosphere is a multibillion-dollar grievance industryHow to find us: Add WIRED.com to your preferred sources in GoogleTopicsCaliforniaoilClimate DeskracepollutionInequalityRead MoreYou Don’t Have a Right to Safe Drinking Water, Trump-Appointed Judge RulesAnd if your tap water is undrinkable, you have no “constitutional right to truthful information” about it.Sophie HurwitzCandidates Are Signing a Pact Promising Action on Data Centers and AI SafetyMore than 15 politicians from across the country have signed on to the AI Pact, vowing to regulate data centers and AI. “We’ve got to get this right,” says Senate candidate Dan Osborn of Nebraska.Molly TaftThe Super El Niño Won’t Fix the West’s Water Crisis“People have talked about the Colorado River crisis for decades—we’re now in it,” says one expert. “Everyone you talk to is like, ‘Shit, man.’”Molly TaftTop 10% Off Exclusive LegalZoom Promo Code for September 2026Save on top services at LegalZoom, like LLC registration, incorporation, estate plans, and more with coupons and deals from WIRED.Molly HigginsWhy Your Products Come With a Cancer WarningIf you see a Prop 65 warning, don’t fret. 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California has enacted legislation, specifically Assembly Bill 1661, to explore providing reparations to communities harmed by historical environmental pollution resulting from oil drilling. This measure aims to address the disproportionate impact of these hazards on Black and low-income neighborhoods, which have historically resided near oil wells and related industrial sites in areas like Inglewood, Ladera Heights, and Baldwin Hills. The legislation proposes channeling $5 million collected from penalties imposed on oil wells into direct cash aid for up to 1,000 nearby households suffering from qualifying respiratory or reproductive health impacts.

Advocates view this initiative as a mechanism to address accumulated historical harms across generations, encompassing the effects of pollution on health, diminished household wealth due to medical expenses and depressed property values, and the anxiety associated with living amidst environmental contamination. This approach frames community repair and reinvestment as an imperative, suggesting that financial restitution is necessary for communities that have borne the costs of industrial operations for generations. Supporters argue that this model of environmental reparations could serve as a national standard, encouraging industrial entities to compensate for the damage inflicted upon those living closest to polluting sites.

The legal framework builds upon prior efforts, such as legislation requiring the closure of the Inglewood Oil Field and establishing penalties for low-producing wells, which allocates revenue into a community repair fund for investments within a specific radius of the field. This pilot cash assistance program is intended to test whether direct payments are the most effective form of redress for residents. The broader context of environmental justice advocates emphasizes that closing oil wells is only one step; true remediation requires holding operators accountable for plugging wells, cleaning contaminated land, and ensuring that subsequent redevelopment does not lead to displacement, such as gentrification.

A significant aspect of the implementation involves ensuring equitable access to the funds. Community groups have pushed for processes that avoid creating burdensome hurdles for residents to prove their harm, advocating for methods like self-attestation rather than requiring difficult-to-obtain medical documentation. Concerns remain regarding how the application process will be managed by Los Angeles County to ensure that low-income families, who may experience illnesses without formal diagnoses, are not excluded from receiving aid, and how the delivery structure—whether lump-sum or monthly payments—will best serve the affected families. Ultimately, the legislation seeks to acknowledge and compensate community members for sustained suffering caused by environmental exposure, moving beyond mere prevention of future harm to address past inequities.