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[I. Welcome and Opening Remarks]
EVERYONE.I WOULD LIKE TO, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF THE GREETING SCHOOLS AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE FOR APRIL 29TH.
UM, I WANNA WELCOME MY COLLEAGUES, OUR STAFF, OUR PARTNERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND WATCHING US REMOTELY, AND FOR THE CONTINUED WORK TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.
TODAY'S AGENDA REFLECTS THE INTERSECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, STUDENT HEALTH, AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE SAFE CLIMATE RESILIENT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
WE WILL HEAR TWO PRESENTATIONS TODAY.
THE FIRST GROUNDS US IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REALITIES MANY OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE LIVING WITH, PARTICULARLY THE LEGACY OF THE OIL EXTRACTION IN LOS ANGELES AND THE ONGOING HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS.
THE SECOND FOCUSES ON THE PROGRESS WE ARE MAKING TO EXPAND OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS, OUR EARLY EDUCATION OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS. AS WE MOVE TODAY'S DISCUSSION, I WANT US TO KEEP, UM, A FEW KEY QUE I WANT US TO KEEP A FEW KEY QUESTIONS IN MIND.
UH, FIRST, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT OUR APPROACH TO GREENING AND FACILITIES PRIORITIZES THE COMMUNITIES THE GREATEST FACING THE GREATEST ENVIRONMENTAL BURDENS? HOW ARE WE ALIGNING SAFETY, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, AND LEARNING IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS THE WHOLE CHILD? AND HOW ARE WE MOVING THIS WORK FORWARD WITH URGENCY WHILE ENSURING STRONG STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY? SO, KEEP THOSE IN MIND.
[II.1. An Oil Well in Every Yard: Living with LA’s Oil History.]
I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE INTO OUR FIRST PRESENTATION.WE'LL BEGIN WITH AN OIL WELL IN EVERY YARD LIVING WITH LA'S OIL HISTORY.
SO I WANNA BRING FORWARD, UM, MR. NICHOLAS GARDNER, EDNA CLIMATE JUSTICE ORGANIZER WITH SUNRISE MOVEMENT, LA ROSA LINDA MORALES FROM THE VISTA MOSA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY GROUP.
SO PLEASE COME UP TO THE PODIUM.
WHAT, WHERE'S NICHOLAS? I KNOW I SAW HIM EARLIER.
SO WHILE HE'S, UH, MOVING UP OVER HERE A SECOND OR TWO, I'M SURE HE'LL POP UP.
I CAN SHOW IF WE, HUH? I CAN SHARE A QUICK MESSAGE.
WELL, WHILE WE WAIT FOR MR. NICHOLAS, UM, SENA, WE'LL HAVE MR. CHRISTUS IL SHARE AN UPDATE OR AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, I WANTED TO SAY TO EVERYONE, HAPPY EARTH, EARTH MONTH.
AS WE'RE COMING TO CLOSING OUR APRIL MONTH, I WANNA REALLY COMPLIMENT OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR HIGH, FOR PASSING THE, UH, EARTH DAY, UH, RESOLUTION.
UH, THAT'S A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.
AND AS WE'RE LOOK LOOKING FORWARD TO MAY, WHAT WE'VE DONE, OUR OFFICE WAS ABLE TO PUBLICIZE THE ECOS SUSTAINABILITY PLAN IN TERMS OF THE, UH, UPDATES.
UH, YOU CAN VISIT US@ESO.LSC.ORG.
AS YOU CAN SEE ALL THE UPDATES THAT WE HAVE, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR DIFFERENT DIVISIONS, DEPARTMENTS.
THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT WORK THERE THAT YOU CAN FIND IT VERY INTERESTING.
SO, I WELCOME EVERYONE TO BE ABLE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO SEE ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT WE'VE, UH, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER DURING 24 AND 25.
AND NOW HERE WE ARE WITH OUR PRESENTERS, PLEASE.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS, UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE Y'ALL APPRECIATE, UH, PATIENCE.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I, I KNOW THAT I'VE INTERACTED WITH THIS BOARD AND WITH MANY OF Y'ALL IN A DIFFERENT CAPACITY, MAYBE WEARING A LITTLE BIT MORE RED.
UH, BUT I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR THAT I'M HERE IN MY INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY SOLELY REPRESENTING THE WORK OF THE SUNRISE MOVEMENT, UH, AND, UH, OF THE MOSA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY GROUP.
SO, WE'RE HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF, OF OIL IN LOS ANGELES AND HOW IT STILL IMPACTS US TO THIS DAY.
UH, SO I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE SUNRISE MOVEMENT.
WE'RE A YOUTH LED CLIMATE ORGANIZATION FIGHTING FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE AND AGAINST INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION.
AND ACTUALLY, GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER, UH, TO MY COLLEAGUES HERE TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE.
HELLO, MADAM CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS ROSA LINDA MORALES.
I'M A LIFELONG, UH, RESIDENT OF MOSA.
I'VE LIVED THERE MY WHOLE LIFE, BORN AND RAISED, AND, UH, MY FAMILY HAS LIVED THERE FOR OVER 70 YEARS AND THREE GENERATIONS.
SO I WELL ACQUAINTED WITH MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND, UM, LIVING AMONGST THE OIL WELLS AND SEEING ALL OF THE CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED AND BEING EXPOSED TO ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE CHAIR IS FAMILIAR WITH OUR AREA AND HAS TAKEN OUR HISTORICAL OIL WELL TOUR.
SO, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LONG HISTORY OF THIS IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DATING BACK TO THE 1850S.
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IN FACT, THE FIRST OIL WELL EVER DUG IN THE COUNTRY WAS IN THIS AREA AND STILL REMAINS UNCAPPED TO THIS DAY.IT'S THE DRIED AND WELL, AND IT'S OVER IN PRETTY MUCH PRETTY CLOSE TO HERE.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, THE NEXT, I GUESS, PERSON OF NOTORIETY WAS, UH, EDWARD DOHENY, WHICH IT TALKS ABOUT LATER, BUT IT BECAME QUITE PROLIFIC IN THIS AREA.
HISTORICALLY, THIS AREA BECAME ONE OF THE TOP PRODUCERS IN THE COUNTRY AT ONE POINT.
AND THE LOS ANGELES OIL FIELD WAS PRETTY MUCH DECOMMISSIONED BY ABOUT THE MID FORTIES.
BUT WE, WHAT WE SUFFER IS THE AFTERMATH OF DEFUNCT OIL WELLS ORPHANED AND ABANDONED OIL WEALTH.
AND BECAUSE THERE WAS SUCH A PUSH TO BUILD AND TO REDEVELOP THE CITY RIGHT AFTER WORLD WAR II, THEY WERE PLACING HOMES AND STRUCTURES AND BUILDING NEW STRUCTURES ADJACENT TO OIL WELLS, NOT ON TOP OF THE OIL WELLS, WHICH IS WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY, WHICH IS A WHOLE NOTHER ISSUE.
BUT ADJACENT NOW, THESE WELLS ARE WELL OVER 150 YEARS OLD.
I CAN, I CAN ATTEST, THERE'S A PICTURE IN HERE SOMEWHERE OF ONE OF THE CAPPINGS THAT HAPPENED ON MY SMALL STREET.
I THINK IT'S TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION WHERE YOU SEE A RIG RIGHT NEXT TO A, A HOME.
BUT IT'S, IT'S QUITE AN ENDEAVOR TO BRING HEAVY EQUIPMENT INTO AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT, NEXT TO HOMES, NEXT TO WHERE CHILDREN ARE PLAYING.
AND WE HAVE ALL BEEN EXPOSED, WE'VE, MANY OF US HAVE HAD FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCED ALL KINDS OF CONDITIONS AND OR CANCERS BECAUSE OF LIVING IN THIS AREA AND BEING EXPOSED CONSTANTLY TO ALL THE TOXINS.
I REMEMBER GROWING UP WHEN I WAS A KID, IT WAS A CONSTANT SMELL OF ROTTEN EGGS THAT IS AN EVIDENCE OF METHANE, WHICH IS HIGHLY, HIGHLY POISONOUS TO HUMANS.
AND LATER ON, HYDROGEN SULFIDE.
SO WE HAVE EDUCATED OURSELVES AS RESIDENTS BECAUSE WE ARE ACTIVISTS.
WE TOGETHER, MY COLLEAGUES AND I HAVE FORMED THE VISTA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY GROUP.
WE'RE VERY ACTIVE WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER NEIGHBORS.
WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF ATTENTION ON THIS SUBJECT.
WE HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF NOT ONLY COLLEGE CLASSES, BUT ALSO THERE'S DOCUMENTARIES.
AND, UM, ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, WE WERE PART OF A NATIONAL A BC STORY.
SO, UM, THIS IS WHY WE WANNA SEE THIS.
AND WHAT IS DAUNTING TO US LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION, WHICH WE'LL SEE IN ONE OF THE SLIDES, IS HOW MANY OF THE L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS ARE ON TOP OF OIL WELLS.
AND SURELY SOME OF THESE WELLS WERE NOT CAPPED.
I MEAN, WE ARE VERY FAMILIAR, OF COURSE, WITH THE ROY BALL SCHOOL, WE SAW ALL THAT HAPPEN AND HOW MANY TIMES THEY HAD TO REDESIGN THE PLAN SO THAT THE SCHOOL WOULD BE OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER, AND IT JUST BARELY MADE IT.
BUT NOT THE, NOT THE ATHLETIC FIELD, WHICH, HOWEVER, THAT GIVES THEM ACCESS TO THOSE CAPPED WELLS, IF THERE'S EVER ANY CHANCE.
BECAUSE WHEN I WAS A KID, ALL OF THAT WAS OIL FIELDS.
THEY WERE PUMPING OIL FIELDS LIKE THE DERRICK THAT YOU SEE HERE, OR THE, OR THE, THOSE UP AND DOWN TYPE OF OIL.
WELL, UM, PUMPS, THAT'S ALL THAT WAS IN MOSA.
THE HOMES WERE A LITTLE BIT FARTHER, BUT WE WERE AROUND THE WELLS.
AND THIS PAST JANUARY, THEY KEPT ANOTHER, WELL, ON MY TINY STREET, I LIVE ON FURMAN STREET, WHICH IS VERY, VERY TINY STREET.
AND THERE WAS A FAMILY WITH THREE CHILDREN THAT WERE LESS THAN 300 FEET FROM THAT OIL.
WELL, THOSE CHILDREN HAVE A LOT OF PHYSICAL ISSUES.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, WHEN ALL THIS HAPPENED, AND WE MET WITH, UM, CAL GYM, WHICH IS THE STATE REGULATORY AGENCY THAT WAS DOING IT, WE SAID, WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE FAMILY? WELL, WE HAVEN'T MADE PLANS TO MOVE THEM.
AND WE SAID, YOU CAN'T DO THIS.
THERE'S A FAMILY WITH CHILDREN THERE.
AND WE WERE ADVOCATING FOR THEM.
SO FINALLY THEY DID RELOCATE THE PROJECT WHEN AS PLANNED, IT WAS VERY WELL DONE.
AND IT WAS, THEY CAME IN UNDER THE TIMEFRAME THAT THEY HAD GIVEN US.
SO THAT IS THE LAST PUMPING, WELL, THAT EXISTED, AT LEAST ON FURMAN, AND PROBABLY IN MOSA AT THIS POINT.
SO ALL THE OTHER ONES ARE UNDERNEATH, THERE'S OVER 2000 UNCAPPED WELLS IN MOSA ALONE.
SO WE'RE TALKING BETWEEN BERI AND GLENDALE, AND BETWEEN TEMPLE AND BEVERLY.
THAT'S NOT A BIG AREA, BUT THAT'S OVER 2000 UNCAPPED WELLS.
I MEAN, WE HAVE HISTORICAL PHOTOS THAT WE POUR OVER CONSTANTLY BECAUSE WE KNOW OUR AREA SO WELL, AND WE HAVE FOUND WELLS THAT ARE NOT EVEN DOCUMENTED IN THOSE HISTORICAL PHOTOS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT.
[00:10:01]
AND I GAVE YOU A BRIEF HISTORY.UM, WE DID TALK ABOUT EDWARD DOHENY.
IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY DOHENY NUMBER ONE IS UNDER THE PARKING LOT OF THE ECHO PARK DEEP POOL.
AND IT STILL REMAINS UNCAPPED TO THIS DAY.
AND THAT IS A LOCATION WHERE CHILDREN GO TO SWIM AND TO, YOU KNOW, RECREATION CENTER.
SO THAT WELL COULD EASILY DETERIORATE BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT CAPPED AT ALL.
THEY WERE JUST ENCASED IN REDWOOD CASINGS.
I'M SURE SOME OF THOSE HAVE DETERIORATED AT THIS POINT.
SO, MR. DOHENY BECAME VERY, VERY WEALTHY.
HE IS ACTUALLY PURPORTED TO HAVE BEEN THE RICHEST OIL MAGNET THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER HAD, MUCH MORE THAN THE ROCKEFELLERS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, HE KEPT IT QUIET.
SO THIS IS WHERE HIS FIRST STRIKE WAS, AND HE WENT ON LATER ON, HE HAD, UH, OIL SHIPS IN MEXICO AND IN OTHER AREAS.
BUT HE WAS, HE WAS THE ONE THAT PUT, UH, THE OIL WELLS, UH, ON THE MAP.
HE DID NOT DIG THE FIRST OIL WELL, BUT IT WAS AROUND THAT, THAT TIME, THE LATE 18 HUNDREDS AND SHORTLY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
BUT, UM, MY QUESTION HERE IN LOOKING AT THE MAP OF THE SCHOOLS IS WHO PLANNED THIS? OBVIOUSLY THERE WASN'T ENOUGH RESEARCH, THERE WASN'T AN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY DONE.
NO GROUND TESTING TO SEE THAT THESE WELLS EXISTED.
NOT LIKE WITH THE ROY BALL SCHOOL, BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH CONTROVERSY AND IT TOOK SO LONG TO BUILD.
BUT, AND I HAVE BEEN ON THE, ON THE CORTINA, UH, ON THE CONTRERAS CAMPUS AS WELL, WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL.
AND I REMEMBER THAT ALSO TOOK A LONG, LONG TIME TO BUILD.
SO, UM, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY OUTSIDE OF OUR PERIMETER, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH SO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS.
I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER NOW TO MY COLLEAGUES.
UM, AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE HEALTH ISSUES THAT PRESENT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, OSA IS LIKE PART OF, UH, WEST LAKE, UH, AREA.
AND, SORRY, I, I HAVE A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT, SO IT MIGHT BE LONGER.
AND IT'S KIND LIKE I'M SLOW
AND, UM, EVEN, UM, UH, IT'S REPORTED TO HAVE CHRONIC ISSUES, UM, LIKE ASTHMA, UM, UH, INSOMNIA AND 'CAUSE OF THE GASES AND, AND, UM, AND CHRONIC ILLNESS LIKE, UH, LUPUS, WHICH I SUFFER FROM.
MAKE SURE YOU'RE STORING, TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
YOU WANT ME TO JUMP IN? YEAH, PLEASE.
BRENDA'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BREAK.
SO, AS MY, MY COLLEAGUE WAS SHARING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF, AND I TOUCHED UPON THAT TOO, A LOT OF PHYSICAL, UM, AILMENTS THAT PEOPLE SUFFER, ESPECIALLY SOME YOUNG CHILDREN.
I TALKED EARLIER ABOUT THE, THE YOUNG FAMILY THAT HAS THESE YOUNG BOYS THAT LIVE JUST A COUPLE OF HOUSES DOWN THAT HAD TO BE RELOCATED IN JANUARY.
AND I KNOW THAT THOSE CHILDREN
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HAVE SUFFERED BECAUSE THE OIL, WELL, THAT WAS KEPTED IN JANUARY.AT ONE POINT THE OPERATOR WAS IN VIOLATION AND IT WAS LEAKING, AND ONE OF THE BOYS FELL INTO IT.
I KNOW ONE OF THE KIDS HAS A DHD, ANOTHER ONE OF THE BOYS HAS SOME SORT OF BREATHING DIFFICULTIES.
AS BRENDA MENTIONED, WE HAVE OTHER CONDITIONS LIKE LUPUS, WE HAVE UNUSUAL CANCERS.
AND I, I WILL SHARE BRIEFLY THAT MY MOTHER DIED OF CANCER.
WE HAVE NO HISTORY IN OUR FAMILY, BUT SHE WAS AN AVID GARDENER FOR PROBABLY OVER 60 YEARS OF HER LIFE.
SHE DID NOT LIKE WEARING GARDENING GLOVES.
SO HER HANDS WERE IN THIS CONTAMINATED EARTH EVERY DAY WHEN I WAS A KID.
AND YOU DUG A LITTLE BIT, THE EARTH WAS JUST GOOEY.
SO HOW WE CAN LIVE IN THESE CONDITIONS AND WHAT WE HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO.
I MEAN, I THINK OF MYSELF, I JUST RETIRED.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MY LIFE.
BUT HOPEFULLY, AND I PRAY THAT I WILL STAY HEALTHY AND THAT I WON'T EXPERIENCE SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT I HAVE SEEN YOUNGER PEOPLE OR FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS, UM, SUFFER FROM.
AND, YOU KNOW, AS BRENDA MENTIONED, SHE HAS LUPUS HERSELF, BUT SHE HAS ALSO BEEN LIVING IN THE AREA HER WHOLE LIFE AND HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO ALL OF THIS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S THE THING WE WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE MOST, AND ONE OF OUR MAIN, MAIN GOALS AS ACTIVISTS.
AND THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE HEALTHY AND THAT WE DON'T WANNA SEE NEW STRUCTURES, LET ALONE SCHOOLS BEING BUILT ON TOP OF CONTAMINATED EARTH, WHERE CHILDREN AND OTHER PEOPLE WILL BE EXPOSED TO THIS.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE DANNY LUNA.
SO I, I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, I, I WANT TO KIND OF DRAW OUR ATTENTION TO THE ISSUE AND KIND OF LIKE HOW WIDESPREAD IT IS ACROSS LOS ANGELES, AND PARTICULARLY HOW IT IMPACTS L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS.
SO, OF COURSE, UH, DANNY ROSALIN, BRENDA TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GROWING UP IN AN OIL COMMUNITY, THE MOSA HEIGHTS IN WESTLAKE.
THIS IS AN OIL FIELD THAT SPANS FROM RAMPART VILLAGE ALL THE WAY UP TO DODGER STADIUM.
IT'S ACTUALLY ABOUT A HUNDRED FEET FROM HERE.
AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THIS BUILDING IS ON TOP OF THIS OIL FIELD AS WELL.
UM, AND IT'S JUST AN ISSUE THAT IMPACTS EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT, NOT JUST OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, NOT JUST L-A-U-S-D FAMILIES, BUT ANYONE WHO LIVES IN THE REGION.
SO THERE ARE ABOUT 5,000 ACTIVE, UH, 5,000 ACTIVE IDLE AND ORPHAN WELLS ACROSS LOS ANGELES.
SO, ACTIVE MEANS THAT THEY'RE STILL ACTIVELY PRODUCING OIL.
THEY'RE THE, THE DERRICKS THAT YOU PROBABLY SEE DRIVING DOWN LA SENEGA, UH, IDLE MEANS THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER PRODUCING OIL, BUT THERE IS A SOLVENT OPERATOR, SOMEONE WHO'S OWNING AND MANAGING, UH, THAT WELL.
AND THEN THERE'S ORPHAN WELLS, WHICH ARE, ARE PROPERTIES OF THE STATE AND ARE NO LONGER PRODUCING OIL.
UM, ABOUT 75% OF THE WELLS IN LOS ANGELES ARE LOCATED NEAR SENSITIVE LAND USE FACILITIES, INCLUDING HOMES IN SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY HOMES IN SCHOOLS.
SO ABOUT 3.3 MILLION RESIDENTS OF LA COUNTY LIVE NEAR AN UNCAPPED WELL, AND OVER 500,000 FEET LIVE WITHIN 1300 FEET OF A WELL, OF ALL SCHOOLS IN LA COUNTY, NOT JUST, UH, L-A-U-S-D SCHOOLS.
THERE'S ABOUT 730 AND IF NOT HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF STUDENTS WHO ARE LEARNING AND LIVING WITHIN THE DANGER ZONE OR LIKE, KIND OF THE, THE AREA IN WHICH YOU ARE IMPACTED BY THE TOXICS TOXINS THAT COME OUT OF OIL WELLS, WHICH REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY'RE PRODUCING OR NOT, THEY'VE BEEN KNOWN TO, YOU KNOW, CREATE BENZENE, UH, HYDROGEN, UH, HYDROGEN CHLORIDE, UM, METHANE AS HAVE BEEN MENTIONED.
SO THIS IS, UH, THINGS THAT ACTIVELY HARM PUBLIC HEALTH CAN CAUSE A VARIETY OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS, CANCERS, AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS, RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES.
SO THERE IS LEGISLATION IN PLACE TO, UH, PREVENT THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW WELLS, UH, NEAR SCHOOLS.
IT'S SB 1137 PROHIBITS NEW WELLS FROM BEING BUILT WITHIN 3,200 FEET OF A SCHOOL.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT DOES NOT CONTEND.
AND AS, AS GREAT AS THAT BILL IS, IT DOES NOT CONTEND WITH ALL THE WELLS THAT ARE CURRENTLY NEAR SCHOOLS, WHICH ARE, ARE THE L THE LA REGION IS THE DENSEST URBAN OIL REGION IN THE COUNTRY.
AND ABOUT 74% OF THE RESIDENTS THAT LIVE NEAR THESE WELLS ARE LIVING AND LEARNING, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, THEY'RE WORKING CLASS COMMUNITIES.
UM, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTS THESE COMMUNITIES.
AND AS SUCH AS IS A CLIMATE JUSTICE ISSUE.
AND THESE COMMUNITIES ARE AT THE FRONTLINE, NOT, NOT UNLIKE THIS, HERMOSA ARE THE FRONTLINE OF THIS ISSUE.
AND OF COURSE, LUSD IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS BECAUSE, AS MENTIONED, MIGUEL RES, YOU KNOW, UH, THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE SCHOOL IN LA'S HISTORY, MAYBE EVEN IN THE NATIONAL HISTORY, BUT I DEFER TO Y'ALL.
UH, AND IT COSTS OVER $160 MILLION TO CONSTRUCT OVER THE COURSE OF 20 TO 25 YEARS.
BUT IT SHOWS THAT THERE IS THE KNOWLEDGE, THE RESOURCES, AND THE, AND WITH THE INVESTMENT, IT SHOWS THAT THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY TO BUILD STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS THAT MEAN THAT FOLKS CAN LIVE SAFELY AND LEARN SAFELY IN THESE CONDITIONS.
SO, UH, SUNRISE AND THE MOSA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY GROUP HAS BEEN WORKING ON A VARIETY OF LOCAL MEASURES TO HELP PROTECT FOLKS, UM, THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTIONS.
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UH, AND WE WANNA DISCUSS THEM WITH YOU GUYS TODAY.UH, WE UNDERSTAND, OF COURSE, AT LUSD, THE APPLICATION IS NOT ALWAYS ONE-TO-ONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, L-A-U-S-D DOESN'T HANDLE ZONING AND DOES NOT MANAGE THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
BUT OF COURSE, THE DISTRICT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN THE COUNTY.
AND, UH, AS A PRIMARY SERVICE PROVIDER FOR HUNDREDS, UH, HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS, WE HOPE THAT IT IS HELPFUL GUIDANCE FOR BEST PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO THE REDEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOLS OR SELECTIONS OF NEW CAMPUSES, OR ANY EFFORT TO REMEDIATE, UH, THE USE OF LAND OR PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH.
I, I DO WANNA DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN, UH, KIND OF AN OIL ISSUE AND IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE PRODUCTION SIDE, WHICH IS WHERE FOLKS ARE TRYING, ARE TALKING ABOUT SHUTTING DOWN REFINERIES OR LIMITING PRODUCTION.
THAT IS NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
WE'RE MAINLY DISCUSSING WHAT TO DO WITH THE WELLS THAT ARE EITHER IDLE OR ORPHAN, ARE ALREADY THERE, NOT NECESSARILY PRODUCING, BUT PEOPLE ARE, ARE LIVING AND LEARNING NEAR THEM.
SO, UNSAFE DEVELOPMENT IS, IS A HUGE PROBLEM IN FORMER OIL REGIONS, UH, AS PEOPLE DEVELOP ON TOP OF WELLS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
IF, IF, YOU KNOW, PROPER CARE IS NOT TAKEN DEVELOPMENT ON TOP OF A WELL, THE BLOCKING OF A WELL CAN TRAP ALL THESE DANGEROUS GASES, METHANE, WHICH OF COURSE IS EXPLOSIVE, UM, IT CAN, IT COULD, YOU KNOW, TRAP THE RES TRAP RESIDENTS INSIDE WITH THESE TOXINS AND CAN CAUSE, UH, EXPLOSIONS, METHANE EMERGENCIES.
AND IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A, IF ONE OF THE WELLS STARTS, YOU KNOW, UH, IF THERE'S AN OIL SPILL AND IT'S TRAPPED UNDERNEATH A BUILDING, K**S JUST GONNA SHOW UP AND KNOCK THE BUILDING DOWN.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS FIRST, AS KIND OF A BASIC MARK, STRONG ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES, A STRONG STANDARD OF CARE, UM, AND A DESIRE AND A NEED TO REMEDIATE ALL OF THESE PROPERTIES TO THE HIGHEST RESIDENTIAL AND COMMUNITY USE.
THESE ARE KIND OF FUNDAMENTALS OF WORKING AND PRO AND BUILDING NEAR OIL OR FORMAL OIL SITES, AND ARE ESSENTIAL TO KEEPING FOLKS SAFE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO DETAIL.
UM, I WANNA BE RESPECTFUL OF THE COMMITTEE'S TIME, SO WE'LL TRY TO
SO, FIRST IS THE BEGINNING OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
LET'S SAY AS A DEVELOPER OR A PROPERTY MANAGER, LET'S SAY LDS, IT WANTS TO BUILD ON A VACANT PLOT OF LAND IF THERE ARE OIL WELLS.
UH, IF THERE ARE OIL WELLS ON THAT PROPERTY AND THE DISTRICT OWNS THE LAND, OR ANY DEVELOPER OWNS THE LAND, THEY ALSO BUY THE WELLS.
THEY ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE WELLS.
UH, AND IF THEY'RE FOUND DURING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, THE DEVELOPER PER PERSONALLY LAW BEARS RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAPPING THOSE WELLS UNLESS, UH, THERE'S A BOND TAKEN OUT, UH, BY THE OIL PRODUCER.
UM, SO THAT WAS UNDER AB 1167 KOREA'S BILL, UH, TO BOND ORPHAN WELLS.
UM, AND CAL GM DOES KEEP A RECORD OF ALL OF THESE WELLS.
HOWEVER, THE MAPS ARE NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE FOR, NOT FOR A LACK OF TRYING, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, SOME OF THEM ARE OLD MAPS, HAND DRAWN MAPS.
UM, AND ALSO TECTONIC ACTIVITY MEANS THAT THE WELLS WILL PHYSICALLY MOVE.
SO THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS ACTUALLY A KEY WAY THAT WELLS ARE DISCOVERED.
HOWEVER, CAPPING THE WELL IS NOT CHEAP.
IT CAN BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, IF NOT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
SO THERE'S A FINANCIAL INCENTIVE AND NOT LOOKING SUPER HARD FOR ALL OF THE WELLS.
AND THE WAY THAT CAL GM MANAGES THIS PROCESS IS THEY, THEY CONDUCT WHAT IS KNOWN AS LIKE A CONSTRUCTION WELL SITE REVIEW PROCESS, WHERE THE DEVELOPER WILL SAY, HEY, WE FOUND TWO WELLS.
I'M SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS, BUT DEVELOPERS SAY, HEY, WE FOUND TWO OR THREE WELLS.
AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, WE'LL MOVE ON.
UM, BUT THERE'S NO REQUIREMENT THAT ALL OF THE WELLS THAT THE PROPERTY BE THOROUGHLY SEARCHED, YOU KNOW, WELL, EVERY OIL FIELD IS DIFFERENT, REQUIRES DIFFERENT STANDARDS OF, OF SEARCH.
THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL STANDARD.
AND THERE, AND THE BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY IS NOT ON THE DEVELOPERS AND THE OPERATORS THAT MUST SHOW THAT THE WELLS ARE NOT THERE.
IT IS PURELY KIND OF A FIAT AGREEMENT.
IF I TOLD YOU THERE'S THREE WELLS ON MY PROPERTY, CAL IS, YOU KNOW, IS GONNA ASSESS THE SITUATION, BUT THEY AREN'T NECESSARILY CONDUCTING AN EXHAUSTIVE SEARCH FOR ALL THE WELLS THAT ARE LISTED ON A PROPERTY.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S FURMAN COURT NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE TENOR ODD WELLS ON THE PROPERTY, AND THEY ONLY LOCATED A HANDFUL OF THEM.
SO THERE ARE A FEW WELLS THAT ARE NOT CAPPED.
THEY HAD THREE, THEY ONLY CAPPED ONE, AND THEY ONLY CAPPED IT BECAUSE, YEAH.
TALKING TO, UM, SO AS DANNY WAS SAYING THAT THERE WAS, UH, SEVEN WELLS ON THE PROPERTY, THEY ONLY CAPPED ABOUT THREE OF 'EM.
'CAUSE OTHERWISE THE PEOPLE, THE RECORDING AND THE PEOPLE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
SO, UM, AT, AT LEAST THE, THE PROJECT THAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT, UM, THAT PROJECT, UH, HAD THREE KNOWN WELLS ON, ON PAPER, BUT, UM, THE DEVELOPER WAS FIGHTING, UM, TEETH AND NAIL TO, UM, NOT SPEND ANY MONEY, UM, IN, IN ORDER TO, UM, CAP, UM, ANY OF HIS OIL WELLS.
THE, THE ONLY REASON WHY HE DID IT, AND, AND THE REASON WHY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN SO ACTIVE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, IS THE MERE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HE JUST TALKED ABOUT POLICY.
BUT, UM, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND, UM, IS, IS TALKING TO OUR LEADERS OR, YOU KNOW, BOARD MEMBERS, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY THE DECISION MAKERS TO, UM, CAPPING AND, AND REGULATING THESE THINGS TO, UM, UPHOLD THE PROPER STANDARDS.
AND, AND BY DOING THAT, WE'RE ACTUALLY, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN THE EDUCATORS TO, UM, ALL OF, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE PROTECTING OUR, OUR COMMUNITY, OUR CHILDREN, AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT, THAT SHOULD BE BUILDING THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING OUR FUTURE TOO.
[00:25:01]
BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN, UM, LEFT TO US TO ACTUALLY SEE, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE FLOWN DRONE OVER THESE PROPERTIES.I, I'VE, I'VE, I'VE LOCATED THE, THE WELLS FOR THEM.
UH, I'VE, I'VE POINTED OUT, UM, HOW MANY THEY HAVE ON SITE, HOW MANY THEY HAVEN'T.
UM, I'VE, I, I'VE TAKEN PICTURES OF LIKE THESE OIL WELLS I'M STICKING OUT 20 FEET OFF OF THE GROUND, AND THE DEVELOPERS STILL DENYING THAT THEY'RE THERE.
SO FOR, FOR US, THE, THE BIGGEST PUSH IS ISN'T JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT THERE ARE OIL WELLS THERE.
IT'S, IT'S THE FACT THAT AS WE'RE BUILDING TOWARDS THE FUTURE, AS WE'RE BUILDING FOR, YOU KNOW, OUR FUTURE STUDENTS AS WE'RE BUILDING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S DONE CORRECTLY, THAT IT'S DONE PROPERLY, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, BE PROUD OF, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR DECISION MAKING, UM, WITHIN YOUR DECISION MAKING.
'CAUSE FINALLY, THE FINAL CHOICE IS YOURS.
SO, UM, THOSE, UM, AT LEAST, UM, LIKE WITHIN, UM, ROY BALL AND, UM, SOME OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WERE DONE AROUND HERE, UH, SOME OF THOSE PROPER STEPS WERE TAKEN AS OF RECENTLY.
AND THE REASON WHY OUR COMMUNITY GROUP HAS BEEN, UM, EVEN MORE ACTIVE HAS BEEN THE FACT THAT A LOT OF, UM, THESE LEGISLATIONS AND A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RUSH TO BUILD BECAUSE OF DENSITY, BECAUSE OF THE, THE, THE NEED THAT'S THERE, UM, A LOT OF THESE, UM, UH, REGULATIONS, A LOT OF THESE, UM, EVEN BASICS, SAFETY, UM, PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN PULLED BACK.
SO FOR US, UM, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE FOR, FOR, UH, FOR THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, BASIC SAFETY GUIDELINES, UM, TO BE OVERLOOKED, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO SPEAK TO YOU AND, AND TRYING TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF WHAT THESE ISSUES ARE.
BECAUSE AS WE'RE BUILDING FOR, YOU KNOW, OUR FUTURE STUDENTS, OR AS WE'RE BUILDING FOR OUR FUTURE RESIDENTS, AS, AS WE'RE BUILDING OUR FUTURE COMMUNITIES, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THESE CHOICES ARE DONE CORRECTLY AND THOUGHTFULLY.
UM, SO AS, AS PART OF THE, UH, TO THE POINT THAT DANNY'S BEEN MAKING, UH, AND, UH, UH, BRENDAN ROSALIN AS WELL, YOU KNOW, THE SEARCH PROCESS IS ESSENTIAL, BUT ALSO THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS AS A WHOLE IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN THESE VERY SENSITIVE COMMUNITIES.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT HERE TO FIGHT AGAINST STREAMLINING AS A CONCEPT OR THE NEED FOR, OR THE NEED FOR HOUSING, OR THE NEED TO REVIEW KIND OF HOW, YOU KNOW, WE APPLY ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.
BUT WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS THAT FOR THESE VERY, FOR THESE PROJECTS WHERE THERE'S A HIGH, YOU KNOW, IT IS LITERALLY EXPLOSIVE.
UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMPLETE EIR FOR ALL OF THESE PROJECTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REVIEW AS REQUIRED BY CQA, BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T KNOW HOW, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE STILL LEARNING HOW ALL THESE TOXINS ARE INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY OR INTERACTING WITH PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, AND, AND WE NEED TO HAVE A, A COMPLETE ASSESSMENT OF HOW WE CAN KEEP PEOPLE SAFE.
AND AS, AS YOU KNOW, AS THE, THE, THE MOSA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY GROUP HAS BEEN LEADING THIS WORK, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN GAINING TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE IS ESSENTIAL.
SO WE, WE RECOMMEND COMPLETE EIR FOR THESE PROJECTS, AS WELL AS ANY ACCOMPANYING PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, ASSESSMENTS THAT CAN BE CONDUCTED EITHER BY THE DISTRICT OR BY, UH, SIBLING GOVERNMENTS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S EVERYONE'S FAVORITE PART, WHICH IS ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS AND DESIGN.
UM, BUT BUILDING ON OIL WELLS ACTUALLY REQUIRES VERY SPECIFIC DESIGN STANDARDS.
AND, AND THIS APPLIES TO HOUSING AS IT APPLIES TO SCHOOLS.
SO FIRST, CAL GM, WHICH IS THE STATE'S REGULATORY AGENCY FOR OIL AND GAS, IT'S UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF OF NATURAL RESOURCES OR CONSERVATION, RECOMMENDS THAT NO STRUCTURE SHOULD BE PLACED DIRECTLY ON A, WELL, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE CAN'T BE STRUCTURES NEAR A WELL, BUT YOU CANNOT PUT THEM DIRECTLY ON TOP OF THE WELLS.
AND, AND IF YOU GO AND, UH, WALK AROUND MOSA, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT A LOT OF THE, THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS HISTORIC, UM, DO NOT DIRECTLY COVER THE WELLS.
BUT A LOT OF THE NEWER BUILDINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE STORIES DO COVER THE WELLS DIRECTLY.
AND THAT IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE OF ALL THE REASONS WE MENTIONED.
IT COULD TRAP GAS, IT COULD TRAP, UH, TOXINS, BUT IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE CALEM HAVE TO KNOCK DOWN THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
UH, SO THERE, THERE ARE EXAMPLES, PARTICULARLY IN SANTA FE SPRINGS NOT TOO FAR AWAY, UH, WHERE SCHOOLS AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BUILT AROUND THE WELLS TO NOT IMPEDE ACCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT CAL G COULD CAP THE WELL IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY.
UM, AND THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THERE HAS TO BE CLEARLY DESIGNATED ACCESS POINTS, WAYS FOR CAL GM TO ACCESS THESE WELLS FOR THE SAFETY, UH, OF STUDENTS.
ROY BALL IS, IS, IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS.
YOU KNOW, NONE OF THE WELLS ARE DIRECTLY IMPEDED BY THE ARCHITECTURE.
BUT ANOTHER PART OF THIS IS JUST MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S INSIDE THE BUILDINGS, THERE'S THE HIGHEST VENTILATION STANDARDS POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE AIR IS CLEAN FOR STUDENTS AS WELL.
AND, AND, UH, MOVING ON TO KIND OF CLEAN AIR STANDARDS AND METHANE DETECTION.
THIS IS A KEY DANGER OF LIVING AND WORKING AND LEARNING NEAR AN OIL ZONE.
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, UH, ALSO, UH, HAS DESIGNATED ALL OF THE OIL FIELDS.
THERE'S ABOUT 61 IN THE REGION AS METHANE ZONES.
UM, SO WE REC, SO WE RECOMMEND THAT ALL EXISTING BUILDINGS AND ALL NEW BUILDINGS HAVE METHANE MITIGATION MONITORING SYSTEMS AS REQUIRED BY LA COUNTY, UM, THAT ARE OPERATIONAL AND INSPECTED AND, UH, AND UPDATED AT THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDED FREQUENCY OR MONTHLY.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THAT WHILE THERE IS STANDARDS FOR ALL BUILDINGS BUILT PAST 2020 BUILDINGS BUILT BEFORE THAT DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE THIS METHANE MONITORING OR MITIGATION EQUIPMENT, AND THERE'S NOTHING IN STATE LAW OR LOCAL LEGISLATION THAT REQUIRES THESE BUILDINGS, WHETHER THERE'S SCHOOLS OR OTHERWISE TO MAINTAIN, MAINTAIN METHANE
[00:30:01]
MITIGATION SYSTEMS. I MEAN, WE, WE, THEY, UH, THE MOSA FOLKS DO AN OIL WELL TOUR, AND WE'LL WALK AROUND AND WE WILL HEAR, PHYSICALLY HEAR THE ALARMS THAT ARE GOING OFF NONSTOP, OR WE'LL WALK INTO THE BUILDINGS WHERE THE ALARMS ARE JUST TURNED OFF IN GENERAL.UM, SO THERE, THERE IS LEGISLATION MOVING THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE ABT AB 1725 TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IN THIS AREA.
UM, BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE, AND THE DISTRICT CAN BE A PARTNER IN THIS WORK BY REQUIRING IT OF, YOU KNOW, OF FOLKS UTILIZING L-A-U-S-D LAND OR THE, THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE DIRECTLY MANAGED BY THE DISTRICT TO ENSURE THERE'S REGULAR REPORTING AND REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON METHANE PROCEDURES.
AND THEN I'LL JUST, UH, SKIP THIS ONE AND GO TO THIS ONE AND KINDA SUM UP THE TWO.
AS WE YOU'VE PROB AS WE'VE KIND OF SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.
THE, THE HISTORIC LA CITY OIL FIELD WAS, THEY FIRST STRUCK OIL THERE IN 1857.
IT IS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE INGLEWOOD OIL FIELD.
THEY REQUIRE A DEEP BENCH OF EXPERIENCE, UM, AND CLEAR PROCESSES OF DISCOVERY.
SO WE RECOMMEND THAT ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHO ARE EITHER DEVELOPING OR WORKING IN OIL ZONES TO INCORPORATE INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND INCORPORATE OIL EXPERTS DEPENDING ON THE WELL ON THE FIELD THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE WORKING ON, ON THE LA CITY OIL FIELD, YOU'RE GONNA WANT FOLKS WHO ARE WELL-VERSED IN HISTORIC OIL FIELDS.
'CAUSE THEY USE DIFFERENT PROCEDURES.
THE STRUCTURES ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN AN INGLEWOOD OIL FIELD THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING DECOMMISSIONED.
UM, AND WE ALSO ENCOURAGE LUSD AND ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO BE, WHAT'S THE WORD? I THINK BE VERY KEEN ABOUT HOW THESE WELLS ARE REPORTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
SO AS WE DRAW AN EXPERTS ON YOU, UH, WE RECOMMEND FOLKS, YOU KNOW, BUILD LIKE AN EXPERT BENCH.
AS, AS THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS UNDERWAY, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S ALSO CLEAR LINES OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE EXPERTS, UH, DECISION MAKERS AND THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS ARE DISCOVERED AS MORE INFORMATION COMES TO LIGHT SO THAT FOLKS HAVE THE INFORMATION, UH, TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE.
'CAUSE THIS IS DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU'RE ABLE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST THESE TOXINS.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A VERY BROAD OVERVIEW OF THE ISSUE.
UH, WE APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE GIVING US THE TIME AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND EDUCATING US.
AND, UM, IT'S REALLY, I, I, NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, HEARING THE PRESENTATION, I DO REMEMBER I'M GETTING IMAGES OF, OF, UH, MY, UH, THE TOUR THAT YOU ALL PROVIDED.
AND ONE THING THAT REALLY STUCK WITH ME IS ONE STORY THAT, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A BUILDING THAT WAS BEING CONSTRUCTED, UM, ON TOP OF ONE, AND THE PRESSURE WAS, SO THE PRESSURE OF THE BUILDING ON THE WELL MADE IT BURST.
AND THEN I REMEMBER ONE TIME, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE SAME, UM, BUILDING THAT IT WAS RAINING AND YOU COULD SEE ALL THE OIL GOING DOWN THE STREET BECAUSE RIGHT.
I, I THINK, I BELIEVE THE BUILDING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, WERE TWO BUILDINGS THAT WERE BEING BUILT ON TOLUCA AND, AND COURT.
SO AS, AS THEY WERE CAPPING THE OIL WELL ON ONE PROPERTY, IT, IT ACTUALLY, UM, CAUSED A SPILL ON AN ADJACENT PROPERTY ON A NEIGHBORING PROPERTY.
SO THE, THE SPILL, UM, THE PRESSURE FROM, FROM, UM, THAT, UM, OIL WELL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S THE, BASICALLY IF, IF, IF YOU SEE DOTS ON A MAP OF WHAT IT REALLY IS, IS SWISS CHEESE, AND THEY'RE ALL CONNECTED UNDERNEATH.
SO, UM, YOU, YOU MAY THINK THAT IT'S JUST ONE.
WELL, BUT THEY'RE ALL CONNECTED.
UM, THEY'RE ALL, SO AS, AS THEY WERE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, DO DUE DILIGENCE ON ONE, THEY ACTUALLY ENDED UP CAUSING A SPILL, IN OTHER WORDS, AND CAUSING AN OIL SPILL IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO, YES, AND I DID SEE THE A BC REPORT.
I HAPPENED TO TURN ON THE TV AND I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, AND THEY WERE, AND THEN THE REPORTER WAS GOING AROUND AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, FOCUSING ON THE OIL, WELL, HERE'S ONE.
AND ANYWAY, SO I WAS LIKE, SO I WAS GLAD THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT REPORT WAS BEING MADE, YOU KNOW, NATIONALLY THOUGH, ABOUT THAT HERE IN LA.
SO ANY COMMISSION, SCOTT, IF YOU WANNA START OFF.
SO, UM, MICROPHONE, CHECK MICROPHONE.
I WORKED AT THE VIRGIL MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR ABOUT 13 YEARS.
SO I, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA.
AND I REMEMBER THAT THE AREA WAS SO DENSELY POPULATED THAT WE COULD NOT EVEN SEND THE KIDS TO BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM.
SO WE WOULD SHIP THEM OUT TO ALL DIFFERENT SCHOOLS IN THE VALLEY, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO WHEN THEY FINALLY BUILT BELMONT, UM, I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A SYSTEM IN THAT BUILDING THAT'S CONSTANTLY CLEANING THE AIR.
ISN'T THAT, ISN'T THAT SO, AND THEY HAVE TO DO THAT LIKE 24 HOURS A DAY, ISN'T THAT CORRECT? UH, YEAH.
SO, UH, BELMONT AMONGST LUSD WAS AN EARLY ADOPTER OF A LOT OF THESE SYSTEMS. UH, SO USUALLY WHAT'S THE GOLD STANDARD, UH, IS THAT THERE'S A METHANE MONITORING SYSTEM, WHICH IS KEEP, YOU KNOW, IT IS YOUR STANDARD METHOD ALARM.
THERE'S A METHANE MITIGATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS SYSTEMS BUILT UNDER THE SCHOOL AND THROUGH THE, THE BUILDING TO ESSENTIALLY PUMP OUT ANY AIR THAT'S CREATING A METHANE EMERGENCY.
AND THEN USUALLY THERE, THERE'S A PRETTY HIGH APPLIC, UH, YOU KNOW, MUCH HIGHER STANDARD OF AIR FILTRATION, VENTILATION JUST TO, BECAUSE YOU JUST GOTTA KEEP THE AIR FLOWING SO THE TOXINS DON'T ACCUMULATE.
IT'S LIKE, UH, FLUSHING THE WATER FOR LEAD, RIGHT?
[00:35:01]
WHEN YOU PUMP OUT THE AIR, IT HAS TO BE THE, THESE CHIMNEY TYPE DEVICE HAVE TO BE REALLY HIGH BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT IT TO BE COMING DOWN ON TOP OF THE COMMUNITY.ISN'T THAT CORRECT? THEY'RE, THEY'RE ABOUT, UM, 20 FEET HIGH.
YOU ACTUALLY SEE 'EM OFF OF, UM, THE FEET, THE BASEBALL FIELD, UM, OKAY.
THE BASKETBALL COURTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, AND STUDENTS DO RUN, UH, NEAR THEM, BUT THEY'RE, UM, THE, THE EXIT FOR THEM IS, IS ABOUT 20 FEET HIGHER.
BUT, UM, THE KIDS STILL DO RUN, UH, ACROSS THEM.
THE, THE ONE GOOD THING ABOUT, UM, UH, WHAT, WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BELMONT, I SHOULD HAVE GRADUATED FROM THERE.
UM, MAY
UH, UM, BUT, BUT YES, I SHOULD HAVE GRADUATED IN, IN, UM, IN, IN BELMONT.
BUT, UH, AT THAT TIME, UH, THERE, THERE WAS, UM, SO MUCH, UM, DUE DILIGENCE THAT WAS BEING MADE, UM, AND ACTUALLY TO THE CREDIT O OF, UM, UH, OF THE BOARD AT THAT TIME.
YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THEY BUILT BELMONT, THEY ACTUALLY DIDN'T BUILD IT DIRECTLY ON TOP OF ANY OIL WELLS.
THEY, THEY, THEY SHOVED IT TO, TO THE CORNER, WHICH IS, WHICH EXPLAINS THE SHAPE OF IT.
UM, MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE KNOWN WELLS ARE, ARE ACTUALLY, UM, WITHIN THE OPEN SPACES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT RIGHT THERE, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, GOOD DESIGN, UM, CHOICES WERE TAKEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME PRECAUTION WAS KIND OF TAKEN WITHIN THERE.
SO, AND LAST QUESTION, DID I HEAR YOU SAY THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO SAFELY CAP A WELL, AS LONG AS THERE'S VENTILATION? IS THAT, DID I HEAR THAT, OR NO? YEAH.
UH, A WELL, THAT IS PROPERLY CAPPED TO MODERN STANDARDS SHOULD BE SAFE.
I MEAN, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OIL, THERE'S NEVER ABSOLUTES AND THERE'S NEVER COMPLETELY SAFE.
I MEAN, UM, BUT THE, THE REAL RISK IS THAT THE CAPS DETERIORATE.
SO AFTER 50, 60 YEARS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S HARD TO TELL.
IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE SPECIFIC, WELL, THE CAP WILL DETERIORATE AND THE WELL HAS TO BE RECAPPED, I HEAR.
UM, SO, WHICH IS WHY IT'S EVEN BUILDING ON TOP OF CAPPED WELLS HAS AN INHERENT RISK.
'CAUSE THERE'S A, IT'S ESSENTIALLY A TICKING, IT'S A TIMER IN 50, 60 YEARS, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO RECAP THE WELL, THAT'S CORRECT.
THERE IS, THERE IS ONE THING TO THAT THOUGH.
UM, THE, THE PROBLEM THAT, THAT WE'RE HAVING, UM, WITHIN, UH, OR OR LEAST, UM, THE LA OIL FIELD, BECAUSE, UM, THIS OIL FIELD, UH, IS ACTUALLY LESS REGULATED THAN AN ACTIVE OIL WELL, UM, FIELD RIGHT NOW.
SO THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ACTIVE OIL WELL FIELDS THAT YOU SEE, THOSE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS THEY'RE DONE, THAT'S GONNA GET CAPPED TO STANDARD.
THESE ARE WELLS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, LONG, YOU KNOW, ABANDONED FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.
SO WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW IS JUST HOLES IN THE GROUND.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU HAVE A CHOICE WHETHER TO CAP IT OR, YOU KNOW, JUST LEAVE THE HOLE ON THE GROUND AND BUILD SOMETHING ON TOP OF IT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE MAKING PEOPLE AWARE OF, IS IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE FACT THAT, UH, IT'S JUST BEEN AN, AN ABANDONED HOLE THAT'S STILL ACTIVELY LEAKING.
UM, ONE, UH, I MEAN, IT, IT'S TO THE POINT WHERE, UH, THERE, THERE WAS A, AN ART PARK THAT I USED TO, UM, VOLUNTEER AT AS A KID WHEN, WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER AND WE WERE BUILDING A, UM, A, A GARDEN FOR IT.
AND, AND AS WE WERE AS, UM, ONE OF, ONE OF, UM, THE, THE ONE OF THE KIDS WAS, UM, TRYING TO DIG A HOLE TO JUST TO PLANT A SHALLOW, UM, LIKE TREE.
UH, HE ENDED UP, UM, HITTING AN OOL AND, AND PASSED AWAY JUST FROM THE VENTS THAT THAT CAME FROM THAT.
SO, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
IT'S LITERALLY JUST HOLES THAT GO STRAIGHT INTO THE GROUND.
SO, UH, YOU HAVE A CHOICE AS, AS YOU'RE BUILDING ON TOP OF THESE THINGS.
SO YOU EITHER HAVE SOMETHING THAT CONTINUALLY KEEPS LEAKING, OR YOU DO TAKE ACTIVE MEASURES TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S PROPERLY CAPPED.
SO TO US, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, EVEN THAT BASIC STANDARD HASN'T EVEN BEEN MET WITHIN THE, UM, LOS ANGELES OIL FIELD.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND FOR ADVOCATING FOR, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IN THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE RECENTLY, UM, I'VE ALSO WORKED WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN SOUTH LA WHO ARE ALSO DOING THE PHAS OUT OF URBAN OIL DRILLING SITES.
UM, AND SO I, WE WORK SPECIFICALLY ON THE ENGLEWOOD OIL DRILLING SITE.
UM, WANTED I, JUST FOR CLARITY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LA OIL DRILLING SITE, IS THAT NOT ACTIVE AT ALL? 'CAUSE IN INGLEWOOD, IT'S, IT'S ACTIVE, THERE'S ABANDONED, BUT IT'S ALSO ACTIVE.
ARE YOU TALKING HERE, IT'S COMPLETELY INACTIVE AND JUST ABANDONED, OR IT'S, IT'S ALMOST COMPLETELY INACTIVE.
IT STILL HAS, UH, AN ADJACENT, UH, ONE SMALL, UM, OR OIL DRILLING SITE THAT'S A, UM, LESS THAN A BLOCK AWAY FROM BELMONT HIGH SCHOOL.
SO, UH, THERE, THERE IS, UM, ONE ACTIVE SITE.
I THINK THEY HAVE, I, I CAN'T LIKE, I THINK LIKE 15 OIL WELLS THAT ARE ACTIVE.
PS 23 ON THE CORNER OF, UH, BELMONT.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE LAST REMAINING PUMPING OIL FIELD THAT HAS BEEN THERE, YEAH, MANY YEARS.
AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION JUST FOR MY OWN EDUCATION.
WHEN YOU SAY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LOCATING, UH, SITES, UM, IT SOUNDED LIKE IN SOME INSTANCES THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING PROTRUDING OUT OF THE GROUND.
YOU SAID THERE'S SOMETHING PROTRUDING THAT YOU CAN TELL THAT THERE WAS A SITE THERE, A WELL, ARE
[00:40:01]
THERE, I'M ALSO WORRIED IF THERE ARE OTHERS THAT DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PROTRUDING OR ANY LIKE, STRUCTURE CONNECTED TO IT, THAT THERE MIGHT BE OTHER ABANDONED SITES THAT MAYBE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE DISCOVERED.YEAH, NO, THAT, THAT'S AN INCREDIBLY FAIR POINT.
I THINK FOR, FOR THE MOST PART, UM, THEY HAVE, THERE'S NO NOTHING THAT INDICATES THAT THERE ARE WELLS THERE.
UM, IF WE'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE LA CITY OIL FIELD, THERE ARE HISTORIC STRUCTURES LIKE, UM, YOU COULD, LIKE, THERE, THERE ARE HISTORIC WELL CASINGS AND HISTORIC KIND OF, WELL, I DON'T, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF YOU CAN CALL 'EM LIKE PUMPS, BUT YOU COULD SEE THE STRUCTURES.
BUT THAT'S A HANDFUL AMONGST, I THINK THERE'S ABOUT 1300 KNOWN WELLS ALONG THE HISTORIC LA CITY OIL FIELD.
BUT THERE'S ESTIMATES AS HIGH AS, AS 2000 1800 TO 2000 WELLS.
AND MOST OF THEM, TO DANNY'S POINT, JUST HOLDS IN THE GROUND.
UM, AND, AND THIS OIL, LIKE THIS OIL FIELD HERE IS VERY UNIQUE 'CAUSE IT'S VERY SHALLOW.
UM, BUT, AND THIS IS WHERE THE DIVIDE GETS INTERESTING, AND A LOT OF THE OLDER OIL FIELDS THINK BEVERLY HILLS, THINK LA CITY, UM, SOME OF THE WEST SIDE OIL FIELDS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST GONNA LOOK LIKE HOLES IN THE GROUND, THANKFULLY, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PROTECTIONS THAT FOLKS AT THIS TABLE HAVE AND IN, IN THE ROOM HAVE FOUGHT FOR INGLE, THE STORY IN THE INGLEWOOD OIL FIELD AND IN SOME OF THESE MODERN OIL FIELDS WILL BE DIFFERENT.
UM, SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE'RE FIGHTING FOR STRONGER DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS OR BEST PRACTICES AROUND BUILDING ON OIL, IT'S YES, FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE CURRENTLY LIVING ON TOP OF URBAN OIL FIELDS, BUT IT'S THE FOLKS WHO MIGHT BE LIVING, UM, IN OR NEAR THE INGLEWOOD OIL FIELD 10, 15 YEARS FROM NOW AFTER HOPEFULLY A VERY THOROUGH REMEDIATION PROCESS.
UM, SO LIKE I WAS SAYING, THE, IT, IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE YEARS, UH, OF, UM, THAT THOSE ACTIVE, THAT THOSE SITES WERE ACTIVE.
SO AT, AT LEAST WITHIN THE OIL FIELD THAT WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO RIGHT NOW, THIS IS ONE OF THE OLDEST OIL FIELDS.
SO, UH, SOME OF IT IS JUST HOLES IN THE GROUND.
AND, AND I'VE ALSO, UH, I'VE, AS THEY'VE BEEN EXCAVATING, UM, SITES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, I'VE, I'VE DOCUMENTED WHERE SOME OF THEM WERE JUST HOLES.
SOME, SOME OF THEM DID HAVE CASINGS.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY WERE, UM, ACTIVELY USED, UM, IN A LITTLE BIT MORE MODERN THAN, THAN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS ONES.
UH, THERE'S SOME THAT HAVE DOCUMENTATIONS THAT, THAT SAY THAT THE WAY THAT THEY CAPPED THEM, UH, A HUNDRED YEARS AGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEY, YOU KNOW, THREW DIRT, RUBBLE, AND DYNAMITE IN THERE.
SO, UH, THOSE, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT, THAT, THAT IT, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHEN IT WAS CAPPED AND WHEN IT WAS DONE.
SO, BUT AT LEAST THIS FIELD THAT WE'RE SO CLOSE TO RIGHT NOW DOESN'T MEET ANY STANDARDS.
BUT, UM, SOME, SOME OTHER ONES WILL.
I WAS CURIOUS, AND THIS MIGHT BE QUESTIONS THAT ARE MORE FOR THE DISTRICT, UM, IF IT'S, UH, 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE A FEW THINGS THAT FEEL REALLY HELPFUL WOULD BE ENSURING THAT THE DISTRICT HAS ALL THE INFORMATION IT WOULD NEED ABOUT, UM, THE WHERE SITES ARE AND WHICH ARE ACTIVE OR IDLE OR INACTIVE, AND WHERE THAT MIGHT BE IN LOCATION TO SCHOOLS AND THE, AND THE STATUS.
AND THEN TO, TO, IN PART, TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S PROPER METHANE DETECTION AND MONITORING IN THE, ANY OF THOSE SCHOOLS WHERE THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT.
UM, AND TO LIKE GET UP TO DATE INFORMATION FROM THE STATE OR OTHERS.
IN TERMS OF LIKE THE PROGRESS ON REMEDIATING THE ORPHAN WELLS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE DISTRICT LIKE, THAT THERE'S A SENSE IF THE DISTRICT HAS THE INFORMATION THAT IT WOULD NEED OR THE CONNECTIONS THROUGH OHS OR TO THE STATE AGENCIES TO BE GETTING THAT INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD NEED? SO I, YOU KNOW, I, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT EVERY ONE OF OUR SCHOOL SITES, WHEN WE DO DEVELOPMENT, THEY GO THROUGH AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS.
AND THE ACTUAL IMPACT REPORT, UM, DOES LOOK AT ALL THE INFORMATION AND COMES UP WITH, UH, MITIGATION MEASURES, HOW TO MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES.
AND I JUST HAPPENED TO CONSTRUCT MY, UH, SCHOOLS MYSELF WHEN I WAS WITHIN THE FACILITIES DIVISION THAT WE HAD TO PROVIDE, UH, UH, WE HAD TO MITIGATE METHANE AND WE HAD TO PROVIDE AT LEAST THE MITIGATIONS THAT WERE REQUIRED BY THE A IR.
UM, AND, UM, I GUESS THE QUESTION I'LL DOUBLE CHECK WITH OUR, WITH OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN TERMS OF THE AB 1165 TOBAN ORPHAN WELLS, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE IS, UH, SOME FINANCE THERE TO BE ABLE TO HELP SOME OF THOSE COSTS.
I'LL DOUBLE CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE IF THERE'S ANY OF THOSE SITUATIONS.
BUT I GUESS THE, THE BIGGEST QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENS 40, 50 YEARS DOWN THE LINE, WHICH THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION WHEN YOU CLOSE SOMETHING AND THEN ACTIVATE SOMETHING ELSE, AND THEN WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR IT? AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL PROBABLY LOOK AT WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AS WELL AND SEE, UM, AT LEAST IF WE RUN INTO ANY ISSUES LIKE THAT AND HOW WE CAN MITIGATE THEM.
AND, AND I CAN SHARE A LITTLE CONTEXT IF IT'LL BE HELPFUL, UM, AS WELL.
UM, SO THE, THE STATE, I THINK TO YOUR, UH, TO YOUR POINT CRYSTAL, AS THE STATE, I THINK IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAS TAKEN MORE OF A SERIOUS LOOK AT HOW IT CAN ASSIST IN THE FINANCING PIECE AROUND WELLS.
'CAUSE THAT'S THE GOLDEN QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, A A SIMPLE WELL CAPPING IS A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, A COMPLICATED ONE COULD BE MILLIONS.
UM, AND, AND IN AN IDEAL SCENARIO, THERE IS AN ACTIVE
[00:45:01]
OPERATOR THAT IS ABLE TO BOND AGAINST THE WELLS PER THE STANDARDS OF 1167.AND THEN LIKE THAT BONDING WILL BE ABLE TO CAP THE WELL MOVING FORWARD.
BUT, AND, AND, AND I THINK THE PROVISIONS OF THE BILL DO ALLOW FOR BONDING FOR FUTURE RECAP, LIKE FOR FUTURE CAPPINGS, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO PREDICT 40, 50 YEARS OUT HOW MUCH IT'S GONNA COST TO RECAP THE, WELL, UM, THERE IS ACTIVE DEBATE WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE AROUND, YOU KNOW, MAKE POLLUTERS PAY LANGUAGE AROUND HAVING OPERATORS FRONT THE COST FOR A LOT OF THESE WELL CAPPINGS, AND THAT'S AN ACTIVE FIGHT.
BUT THERE IS A QUESTION WITH, BUT THAT IS ALL CONTINGENT ON THERE BEING AN ACTIVE OPERATOR.
UM, IDLE WELLS HAVE AN ACTIVE OPERATOR, HOWEVER, A A PREVIOUS PRACTICE IS THAT SHELL, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M NOT, THERE'S NOT A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, BUT SHELL WILL SELL IT TO A MOM AND POP OIL OPERATOR, WHICH IS A THING I'VE COME TO LEARN.
UM, AND THEY'LL SELL IT TO THEM BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEY'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO PUT UP THE BONDING TO CAP THE WELL.
SO SHELL OR INSERT BIG OIL COMPANY HERE HAS ESSENTIALLY OFFLOADED THE COST.
SO THAT'S A WORK AROUND SOME OF THESE BONDING PROVISIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
UM, ORPHAN WELLS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE.
THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE GRANT GIVEN BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UH, ACTUALLY TWO WELLS UNDER SEROSA PARK WERE CAPPED AS PART OF, OF THAT, UH, THAT GRANT UNDER SECRETARY HOLLAND.
OF COURSE, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS REDUCED THE FLOW OF THAT MONEY TO ABOUT ZERO.
UM, SO CAL GM DOES HAVE A WELL REMEDIATION PROGRAM.
I THINK SOME OF THE WELLS, THE ALLEN COLE WELLS IN SOUTH LOS ANGELES WERE CAPPED, UM, UNDER, UNDER THAT PROGRAM.
UM, SO THERE'S CONSTANTLY A FIGHT TO GET MORE FUNDING FROM THE STATE.
AND OF COURSE, LUSD, UH, IS A VALUED PARTNER IN THAT WORK AS WELL.
AS FAR AS RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE DISTRICT, CALEM ACTUALLY DOES A REALLY GOOD, UH, HAS A WONDERFUL TOOL CALLED THE CALEM WELL FINDER.
AND IT'S ESSENTIALLY, IT'S AN ARC GIS MAP RECORDING EVERY SINGLE WELL IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING, UM, THEIR AP, THEIR API NUMBER, WHICH IS THEIR KIND OF UNIVERSAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND THE WELL HISTORY.
SO YOU COULD, YOU CAN, IF, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU COULD FIND THE WELL THAT HAD A SPILL IN 2019, AND IT WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, WHO OWNS IT, ALL THAT STUFF, UM, THE ADDRESS.
YEAH, IT'S LIKE YOU COULD PUT 3 3 3 NORTH BOWRY AND YEAH.
SO WHAT ROSALINDA WAS MENTIONING IS THAT, UM, YOU COULD, YOU COULD ALSO LOOK UP SPECIFIC ADDRESSES IN THE WELL FINDER.
AND AS POWERFUL AS THAT TOOL IS, UM, IT STILL REQUIRES, UM, DUE DUE DILIGENCE BECAUSE, UH, WE EVEN HAVE HISTORICAL PICTURES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY THAT, UH, YOU'LL SEE ALL, UM, THESE STREETS THAT ARE LITTERED WITH OIL WELLS, AND YET THEY STILL DON'T SHOW UP WITHIN THE CAL GYM MAP.
SO I GOING TO MENTION ONE OTHER THING, WHICH IS THE CONNECTION FROM WHAT YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE, UM, AIR QUALITY TO SOME OF THE OTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THIS COMMITTEE AROUND AND THE WORK OF THE BOARD AND THE EXTREME HEAT RESOLUTION AROUND, UM, INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND THE HVAC UPGRADES THAT THE BOARD AND THE DISTRICT ARE UNDERTAKING FOR THAT HAVE THE, IN PART TO ADDRESS EXTREME HEAT, BUT THAT HAVE THE ADDITIONAL, UM, BENEFIT OF HELPING ADDRESS INDOOR AIR QUALITY.
AND WE GOT THE CHANCE TO GO TO, UM, SMART LOCAL, UM, JOINT APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING CENTER YESTERDAY, AND THEY WERE TALKING EXACTLY ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE MENTIONING, BOARD PRESIDENT SCHON OF THE DISTANCE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE CERTAIN GASES ARE, ARE GETTING HIGH ENOUGH AND, UM, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AIR ENVELOPE INSIDE THE BUILDINGS.
AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S WORK THAT THE DISTRICT IS UNDERTAKING THINK AND, AND EXPEDITING THINGS TO ACTION BY THE BOARD.
SO I THINK IT'S KIND OF FULL CIRCLE AND INCLUDING THE MAINTENANCE CERTI, UH, AND CERTIFICATIONS TO MAKE SURE ALL THOSE HVAC SYSTEMS ARE OPERATING APPROPRIATELY.
SO APPRECIATE THE ACTION UNDERWAY TO HELP ADDRESS BOTH WHEN IT'S TOO HOT AND ALSO THE THE INDOOR AIR QUALITY ISSUES.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO LIGHT.
I MEAN, BORN AND RAISED HERE AND YOU LIVE IN COMMUNITIES.
UM, I GREW UP IN THE WEST ADAMS AREA WHERE IT'S OFTEN SIMILAR, MANY, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT THE DRILLING AND THE SMELLS AND THAT COMMUNITY AND NOT KNOWING, BUT I THINK JUST AS, AS EDUCATORS HERE, I THINK I'M THINKING OF STUDENTS IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
DO THEY KNOW, OR PEOPLE THAT JUST RECENTLY MOVED TO AREAS, DO THEY KNOW THIS HISTORY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN BRINGING TO LIGHT? UM, WITH THE CAL GENT, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE TO UPGRADE THOSE MAPS TO GET THAT INFORMATION CURRENT? UM, IT, IT, IT WOULD BE CAL GM BOARD MEMBER.
UM, SO THEY CONDUCT AN ANNUAL REFRESH OF THE MAP, UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY 'CAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE WELLS, EITHER BECAUSE THEY PHYSICALLY MOVE OR BECAUSE OF THE HISTORIC NATURE OF THE MAPS, IT'S, I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACCURATE TO 10, 20 FEET.
UM, BUT CAL, UH, CAL GM AND THE STATE TRACK AND OWN THESE MAPS, UM, AND THEN DIFFERENT LOCALITIES WILL USE 'EM AS NEEDED.
AND THEN FOR THE ONES THAT ARE ACTIVE, IS THERE A TIME PERIOD, DO, DO THEY GO DORMANT? WHAT, WHAT IS THAT LIKE, WHAT IS THE, I GUESS THE, THE LIFESPAN OF A PARTICULAR WELL,
[00:50:01]
UH, I MEAN, IT COULD BE ANYWHERE FROM, FROM DECADES TO HUNDREDS OF YEARS, DEPENDING ON JUST HOW HIGH PRODUCING THE WELL IS.UH, SO I MEAN, THERE IS, SO LA COUNTY HAS PASSED, UH, PHASE OUT ORDINANCE, UH, I THINK IT'S IN ABOUT 20 YEARS THAT, UH, WELLS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE COUNTY WILL BE PHASED OUT.
SO THERE'LL BE NO MORE ACTIVE PRODUCING LAWS UNDER COUNTY JURISDICTION IN 10, 20 YEARS.
I KNOW THEY'RE WORKING ON THE AMORTIZATION AND THE BONDING STUDY RIGHT NOW.
THERE'S BEEN A SIMILAR EFFORT WITH THE CITY, UH, THAT THEY PASSED, I WANNA SAY A YEAR OR TWO AGO TO HAVE A SIMILAR PHASE OUT PROCESS, BUT WE'RE STRUCK DOWN BY THE COURTS.
SO NOW THE CITY IS WORKING ON REINTRODUCING THAT LEGISLATION.
SO ASSUMING THAT BOTH OF THESE THINGS HOLD LA WILL HAVE NO MORE ACTIVE OIL PRODUCTION IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS, NOT, YOU KNOW, UM, REFINERIES AND WHATNOT IS ANOTHER THING.
UM, BUT JUST, WELL PRODUCTION'S ABOUT 20 YEARS, BUT THAT'S CONTINGENT ON THIS LEGISLATION, UH, BEING REINTRODUCED AND SUCCESSFULLY PASSED BY THE COUNCIL.
AND WHEN IT'S STRUCK DOWN BY THE COURTS, WHAT WAS THE LANGUAGE USED TO OMIT THIS OR MAKE IT NOT VALID? UH, THERE WAS AN ARGUMENT MADE THAT, UH, THE STATE HAS EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER, UH, THE MANAGEMENT OF WEALTHS.
UH, SO, BUT ACTUALLY IN THE INTERVENING PERIOD, THE STATE, UH, PASSED LEGISLATION TO GIVE MORE POWER TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO DO THAT.
SO THEY'RE BRINGING BACK THE LEGISLATION UNDER THE NEW PROVISIONS OF THAT BILL.
GIVE IT TO LOCAL VERSUS THE STATE.
YEAH, SO I THINK CITY GOVERNMENTS AND CHARTER GOVERNMENTS GOT, UH, MORE DELEGATED RESPONSIBILITY BY CAL GM TO MANAGE OIL IN THEIR LOCALITIES.
AND IS THE STATE GIVING THEM FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK OR, UH, NO.
AND ALONG WITH, ALONG WITH THAT, OWNERSHIP IS ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY TO CAP IT YOURSELF.
SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S COMING ALONG WITH IT.
SO, UH, WHEN, WHEN COW G UM, PRODUCES THE PAPERWORK OR THE MAP, UM, TO ALL THE PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, IN ORDER TO DEVELOP WITHIN IT, UH, WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE LANGUAGE OF THAT PAPERWORK, IT SAYS THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, NOT, NOT JUST, NOT JUST, UM, THE PROPERTY OWNER, BUT ALSO THE DEVELOPER AND, AND EVERY PARTY THAT'S, UH, THAT'S A PART OF, UH, OF THAT BILL, UH, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, FOR WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, FOR CAPPING THAT OIL WELL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE HE SAID, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF SOME OIL WELL WERE TO HAPPEN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEN YOU KNOW, THEY CAN COME IN AND KNOCK IT DOWN.
SO FOR ME, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, WASTEFUL, YOU KNOW, THERE MAKES NO SENSE TO WASTE OUR TAX DOLLARS ON, ON, ON BAD DECISIONS AND, AND, UM, BAD DESIGNS AND, AND THINGS THAT CAN BE AVOIDED.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE PASSING THE BUCK IN THE SENSE THAT YOU SAID SHELL WOULD PASS IT DOWN TO THE MOM AND POP WHO KNOW THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO DO IT.
UM, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE RELIANCE ON DEVELOPER SELF-REPORTING.
UH, WHAT WOULD A STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE? AND WHAT ROLE, UM, DOES LUSD OR SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE IN IN ADVOCATING FOR THAT? OF COURSE.
UM, SO I MEAN, SO PRIMARILY IT WOULD BE THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, SO I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE PLANNING PREROGATIVES THAT THE DISTRICT HAS AT ITS DISPOSAL.
UM, BUT IT'S PRIMARILY, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
IT'S OF COURSE PRIMARILY A CITY DRIVEN PROCESS.
UM, I IMAGINE ACCEPTING L-A-U-S-D LAND.
SO ESSENTIALLY HOW IT WORKS RIGHT NOW IS THAT IF I'M A DEVELOPER AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S FOUR, FOUR WELLS ON MY PROPERTY, I HAVE TO LOOK WITHIN A GRID OF MAYBE 10 BY 10 FOR THAT SPECIFIC PROPERTY, FOR THAT SPECIFIC.
WELL, AND IF I CAN'T FIND IT, I JUST SAY, COULDN'T FIND IT.
CAL GYM WILL SAY, WELL, IT'S GOOD THAT YOU TRIED.
UM, AND THEN THEY'LL LIKE CERTIFY THE EFFORT.
WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS MORE ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT, MORE ACTIVE.
SO WE'RE PROPOSING A FEW THINGS.
UM, FIRST IS TO HAVE STRICTER SEARCH REQUIREMENTS INSTEAD OF JUST A 10 BY 10 GRID, BEING ABLE TO GO DOWN TO THE BEDROCK FORMATION AND, AND LOOK FOR THE WELLS.
'CAUSE SOME OF THEM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE HIDDEN FROM PLAIN SIGHT, ARE NOT IN THE SPECIFIC LOCATION.
UM, IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE MORE ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT BY, YOU KNOW, THE APPROPRIATE PARTY, WHETHER IT'S THE STATE, THE DISTRICT, THE CITY, TO, TO SHIFT THE BURDEN OF PROOF TO SAY, YOU KNOW, HAVE YOU, CAN WE DEFINITIVELY RULE OUT THAT THE WELLS ON THIS PROPERTY ARE NOT WHERE THEY ARE? UM, WHERE, WHEREAS THE STANDARD NOW IS LIKE, IF YOU FIND THEM GREAT, IS KIND OF THE STANDARD RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE ALSO RECOMMEND UTILIZING, UH, OIL EXPERTS AND AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM, AN INDEPENDENT BENCH, IF YOU WILL, TO BE ABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY RESULTS.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IS THAT DEVELOPERS WILL HIRE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER, NOT NECESSARILY AN OIL EXPERT, TO CONDUCT THESE ASSESSMENTS.
AND THERE'S NO INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION.
SO AS MUCH AS WE CAN RELY ON, ON INDEPENDENT EXPERTS, ON REMOVING DECISIONS OUT OF THE HANDS OF DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, UNDERSTANDABLE ONES, UM, SO THAT THERE'S KIND OF MORE INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND JUST CREATING STRICTER SYSTEMS OF SEARCH AND IDENTIFICATION, KIND OF PUBLIC NOTIFICATION TO ENSURE THAT RESIDENTS AND AND POLICY MAKERS HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED TO KEEP STUDENTS SAFE.
UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, AB 1725, WHICH IS A BILL SPONSORED BY ASSEMBLY MEMBER JESSICA OSA, AND WHICH WOULD ESTABLISH CRITICAL PROTECTIONS FOR RESIDENTS LIVING NEAR OR OIL WELLS
[00:55:01]
BY REQUIRING METHOD MONITOR MONITORING SYSTEMS AND DISCLOSURE OF NEARBY OIL WELL HAZARDS.SO I JUST WANTED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW, I, UM, AM SUBMITTING A, A LETTER OF SUPPORT, UH, FOR THIS BILL.
SO YEAH, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF LEGISLATION THAT NEEDS TO, UM, BE APPROVED IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE PROTECTIONS FOR THE RESIDENTS, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, UM, UM, CAPPING AND, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH MORE THAT THAT COMES AND ALSO WITH, UM, WITH THE DEVELOPERS AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THAT IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS WE DO HAVE, UM, METHANE DETECTORS.
SO ANYTHING ELSE AROUND METHANE DETECTORS THAT, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS REALLY NEED TO BE ON TOP OF, OR WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR THAT FOR US? OF COURSE.
UM, SO I MEAN, WE HAVE, HAVE BEEN UTILIZING THE COUNTY STANDARDS THAT THEY PASS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS AS, AS A GOOD BENCHMARK TO WORK OFF OF.
SO WHAT THE COUNTY REQUIRES, UM, IS, UH, A METHANE MONITORING SYSTEM, WHICH IS JUST, IT'S, IT'S THE MOST PUBLIC PART OF THE SYSTEM.
UM, BUT UNLIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE A, A SMOKE DETECTOR, A METHANE ALARM YOU BUY AT HOME DEPOT OR A ACE, THIS OPERATES KINDA LIKE A CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING, INSUR AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S NO METHANE IN, IN ANY PART OF IT.
UM, THERE'S ALSO SOMETHING KNOWN AS A METHANE MITIGATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM A MONITORING SYSTEM.
BOTH ARE REQUIRED BY THE COUNTY.
UM, AND THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, THERE'S LIKE A, THEY ESSENTIALLY INSTALL A LAYER UNDERNEATH THE BUILDING TO PREVENT THE SEEPAGE OF GAS.
AND THERE'S ALSO KIND OF ACCESS POINTS AND VENTILATION SYSTEMS, UH, AND SOMETIMES LIKE THE SMOKE STACK LOOKING THINGS TO MITIGATE THE PRESENCE OF, OF METHANE.
AND THEN THERE'S USUALLY PRETTY HIGH FILTRATION SYSTEMS, UM, TO ENSURE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THAT THE AIR IS BEING RAPIDLY REPLACED, RAPIDLY REPLACED TO PREVENT THE BUILDUP OF TOXIC GASES OR EXPLOSIVE GASES.
UM, AND THOSE, UH, THE COUNTY PROTECTIONS APPLY TO ALL BUILDINGS, UH, CERTIFIED FOR OCCUPANCY AFTER JANUARY 1ST, 2020.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THEY NECESSARILY APPLY TO SCHOOLS, UM, BUT IT, THEY ARE A, A GOOD STANDARD AND IT'S ALL, IT'S FOR ALL BUILDINGS, UH, WITHIN 300 FEET OF A, WELL, REGARDLESS OF ITS PRODUCTION STATUS, MORE THAN WATER.
AND, AND, AND AS FAR AS, UM, JUST BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE, UM, AND AS, AS, AS, UM, OUR GROUP HAS BEEN ACTIVELY DOING, UM, THESE TOURS AND, AND WE HAVE, UM, BEEN INTERACTING WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE RUN IN WITH OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE YOU KNOW HOW YOU SAID THAT, UM, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS KNOW, KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE WITHIN THOSE COMMUNITIES, UH, WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE, UH, THESE MONITORS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, PART OF THE PROBLEM THAT, THAT WE'RE RUNNING INTO WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY, WE'RE DISCOVERING LITTLE ANSWERS AND LITTLE NUANCES OF PROBLEMS THAT WELL MONITORS ARE GREAT.
THE, THE OTHER PROBLEM TO THAT IS THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS IT BEING REPORTED TO? UM, WHERE, WHO'S THE ONE THAT'S ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE TO OVERLOOK THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THESE THINGS ARE, ARE ACTUALLY BEING ADHERED TO? BECAUSE IF, IF YOU HAVE A MONITOR, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE ANYBODY MONITORING THE MONITOR, THEN, UM, WHAT'S THE POINT TO IT? SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S THESE THINGS THAT, THAT, THAT ARE PUT INTO PLACE, UM, TO HAVE, UH, A NICE SENSE OF SECURITY.
BUT, UH, THERE'S BUILDINGS THAT, THAT WE'VE GONE INTO WITHIN MY COMMUNITY THAT HAVE, UM, THESE ALARMS THAT SAY ABOVE NORMAL, BUT NOBODY'S ACTUALLY CHECKING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ALARM ITSELF.
UM, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH OF, OH, ONE MORE QUESTION.
JUST ONE MORE BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN.
IT, MY AREA COVERS THE VALLEY AND I WAS JUST BECAME BOARD MEMBER WHEN WE HAD THE ALISO CANYON BLOWOUT.
DO YOU, DOES YOUR GROUP HAVE ANYTHING, ANY CONNECTION AT ALL WITH ELISA CANYON OF NOT, NOT, UH, NOT DIRECTLY.
I MEAN, A, AS A CLIMATE JUSTICE ORGANIZATION, WE, WE'VE WORKED WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE IN ELISA CANYON AND, AND RESPOND TO RESIDENTS OF ELISA CANYON.
UM, WE DON'T DO ANY DIRECT ORGANIZING IN THAT AREA, BUT OF COURSE, THESE PROTECTIONS, I MEAN, THIS ISSUE AS WE UNFORTUNATELY SAW WHAT THE ELISA CANYON INCIDENT APPLIES TO ALMOST EVERY RESIDENT OF THE COUNTY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE PROTECTIONS WILL HELP KEEP FOLKS SAFE REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T DIRECTLY ORGANIZE WITH THEM.
YES, SOME OF THE ELISA CANYON, UH, RESIDENTS PARENTS SAID THAT WHEN THEY BOUGHT THEIR PROPERTY, THEY WERE NEVER INFORMED ABOUT THESE, UH, THESE GAS STORAGE, UH, AREAS AROUND THEIR HOUSE.
WHEN PEOPLE, IF THEY PURCHASE A HOUSE, LET'S SAY, OR THEY RENT, DO THEY HAVE TO INDICATE THAT THERE IS OIL WELLS ON YOUR PROPERTY? NO.
UM, SO I, I'LL LET DANNY TALK ABOUT OKAY.
JUST OSA CONTEXT IN A SECOND, BUT BROADLY STATEWIDE.
UH, THE VAST MAJORITY OF FOLKS HAVE NO IDEA THAT THEY LIVE NEAR OIL WELLS.
UM, I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR STORYBOARD MEMBER REMINDED ME, I GREW UP IN THE HARBOR, OTHER THAN THE, I THOUGHT THE REFINERIES WERE OUR ONLY PROBLEM.
TURNS OUT THAT THERE'S A BUNCH OF OIL WELLS IN TORRANCE AND IN WILMINGTON AND LONG BEACH AND PEDRO THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT.
UM, AND MOST FOLKS ARE NOT AWARE OF THEIR PRESENCE, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, THEY ONLY SEE THE DERRICKS IF THEY'RE ACTIVELY PRODUCING.
UM, SO THERE, THERE IS NO, UH, REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE, UH, IF YOU, IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE GETS MURDERED IN A PROPERTY OR IF IT'S NEXT TO A LANDFILL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO DISCLOSE
[01:00:01]
OIL WELLS ARE NOT PART OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS.UM, AND OFTENTIMES IT'S THE RINGING OF A METH ALARM.
THAT'S THE FIRST SENSE THAT SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG, UH, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE, WE'RE ACTIVELY CHAMPIONING AB 1725 WITH ASSEMBLY MEMBER KLOZA, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE THOSE THAT RIGHT TO THAT, UH, RIGHT TO KNOW LANGUAGE.
RIGHT NOW, IT WOULD APPLY SPECIFICALLY TO THE VISTA MOSA AREA, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO APPLY TO MORE AREAS STATEWIDE.
UM, BUT I'LL HAND IT OVER TO DANNY.
UM, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION AGAIN? THE, UM, THE KNOWLEDGE OF, OF THE WE, THE PRESENCE OF WES.
AS FAR AS, UM, WITHIN, UM, REAL ESTATE.
SO THAT'S PART OF, THAT'S PART OF WHAT I, WHAT I'VE BEEN, UM, DISCUSSING WITH, WITH A LOT OF, UM, UM, THE GROUPS WITHIN LEGISLATION.
I, I'VE, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN TRYING TO INTRODUCE THAT
BECAUSE TO ME, IT'S LIKE, IT, IT ALSO, UH, IT, IT, IT PUTS THE, THE, THE BURDEN ON WHOEVER'S GONNA BUY IT TOO, BECAUSE, UM, THEN THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE BUYING INTO.
THEY KNOW, UM, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO EVEN, YOU KNOW, STEP UP TO THE PLATE WHEN IT, WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE KIND OF ISSUES, UM, AS, AS FAR AS, BUT YOU KNOW, EVEN OUR, OUR MAPS ARE, ARE NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, 100% GREAT, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE BETTER THAN NOTHING, YOU KNOW? AND, AND, AND, UM, WELL, THERE WAS ANOTHER PART TO, TO IT THAT HE SAID, UM, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR GROUP AND ELISA CANYON.
I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH, WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF, UM, DIFFERENT GROUPS.
WE, UH, AND WE'VE HAD THEM EVEN COME TO, UH, OUR COMMUNITY TO SEE HOW, HOW, HOW WE DO OUR, OUR, OUR PRESENTATIONS AND HOW WE COMMUNICATE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER, UM, PEOPLE, UM, THAT, THAT ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, THE VOTING POWER AND THE VOTING SAY, UM, TO, UM, WHAT ACTUALLY GETS DONE WITH WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, SO, UH, WITHIN THAT ASPECT, WE, WE, WE DO, UM, SOMETIMES SHARE, UM, LIKE COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER GROUPS, BUT, BUT NOT, NOT DIRECTLY, UM, WITH THEM.
UH, WE, WE DO GET INVOLVED WITH OTHER LE LEGISLATION.
UM, I MEAN, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT ONE THAT, THAT WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP OUR COMMUNITY, BUT EVEN LIKE WITH LEGISLATION THAT THAT WON'T, UM, NECESSARILY, UM, NEC, UH, DEAL WITH THE ACTIVE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WITHIN, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE, UM, PART OF THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE OIL FIELD THAT'S RIGHT NEXT TO US RIGHT NOW IS, IS THE FACT THAT THIS IS A, UH, A PROBLEM THAT, YOU KNOW, OTHER COMMUNITIES WE'LL HAVE WITHIN, YOU KNOW, 20 OR UP TO A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW.
UH, THAT'S WHY WHEN WHENEVER, LIKE OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, GROUPS COME TO US AND, AND SPEAK TO US, THEY'RE ALWAYS LIKE, OH YEAH, LET'S GET RID OF THE JACKS.
I'M LIKE, THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM WE HAVE.
THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE IS THE PROBLEM THAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE FACING LATER ON.
AS SOON AS YOU REMOVE THAT NUISANCE THAT, THAT YOU'RE SEEING, THAT'S NOT THE END OF THE PROBLEM.
THE, THE END OF THE PROBLEM IS, IS, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S PROPERLY DONE IN ORDER TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SUSTAINABLE FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FUTURE COMMUNITY, UM, TO COME AND, AND THE FUTURE USES THAT, THAT IT'S GONNA BE, UM, PARTAKING IN.
SO APPRECIATE THAT, BECAUSE WE HAD TO RELOCATE THE SCHOOL AND, UH, PEOPLE WERE SICK CONSTANTLY HAVING BLOODY NOSES, AND EVEN THE, THEIR PETS WERE HAVING BLOODY NOSES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
I'M GONNA JOIN YOUR, UH, APPROVAL OF THE, OF THE, UH, BILL.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR EDUCATING US.
THANK YOU, ROSA, LINDA, BRENDA, UM, DANNY, AND ALSO NICO FOR BEING HERE.
AND, UM, REALLY LIKE, UM, BOARD MEMBER HANDY, NEW BILL, JUST SHEDDING LIGHT ON, ON ALL OF THIS.
IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPACTING STUDENT HEALTH AND FAMILY HEALTH AND ALL OF OUR, OUR RESIDENTS HERE IN, IN LA LA COUNTY AND BEYOND.
BOARD MEMBER AND COMMITTEE, WE'LL CONTINUE WORKING TOGETHER AND ADVOCATING AND PASSING LEGISLATION THAT WOULD DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
AND ALSO ALL ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK WILL, YOU KNOW, BE, UM, NOT BE IN VAIN, BUT BE FOR PROGRESS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE'S TIME AND CONSIDERATION.
[II.2. Early Education Outdoor Learning Center Project Update.]
TO, UH, OUR SECOND PRESENTATION.UH, WE'RE SWITCHING GEARS, UM, ON, ON REIMAGINING SCHOOL SPACES TO SUPPORT, LEARNING, PLAY AND DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR YOUNGEST STUDENTS WHO ARE ALSO ADVANCING BROADER CLIMATE AND GREENING GOALS.
UH, WE ARE JOINED TODAY BY MS. DENISE CASTILLO.
GOOD AFTERNOON PROGRAM LEAD WITH THE FACILITY SERVICES DIVISION.
SO THE FLOOR IS YOURS, MS. TI, AND NICE TO SEE YOU IN PERSON AND NOT ON ZOOM,
WELL, WE ALWAYS HAVE MEETINGS ON ZOOM, BUT HERE WE ARE, LIVE IN PERSON.
GOOD AFTERNOON, GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD MEMBERS AND GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, THAT WAS A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION THAT WE JUST HAD.
I WAS ACTUALLY RAISED IN THE INGLEWOOD COMMUNITY AND MANY OF THE THINGS THEY JUST MENTIONED WERE TOTALLY OBLIVIOUS TO, SO THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THOSE BILLS.
UM, SO MY NAME IS DENISE CASTILLO, ACTUALLY I'M SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
[01:05:01]
NOW.SO I HAVE, I HAVE A TEAM
UH, I'M ACTUALLY BEEN INVOLVED WITH THIS PROGRAM FOR OVER 12 YEARS NOW, UH, IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES, BUT PRIMARILY AS, AS A PROGRAM MANAGER.
UH, SO I HELP LEAD THE TEAMS THAT, UM, HAVE DEVELOPED A PROJECT SCOPE THAT HAVE WRITTEN THE BOARD ACTIONS THAT WE HAVE BROUGHT TO YOU THAT HAVE COORDINATED WITH THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS TEAM TO CELEBRATE, UH, THE OPENINGS OF THESE, OF THESE WONDERFUL PROJECTS.
UH, SO I'M HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU, UH, A STATUS ON THE, UM, OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS AND TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE RECENTLY COMPLETED OR ARE NEARING COMPLETION.
UH, SO AS YOU MAY KNOW, THESE OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ARE DESIGNED FOR OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS, AS YOU MENTIONED, TO ACQUIRE AN UNDERSTANDING OF, UH, NATURE-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND GIVE THE CHILDREN, UH, IMPORTANT AND INSPIRING NATURE EXPERIENCES.
THESE PROJECTS INCORPORATE THE GREEN SCHOOL YEAR SOLUTIONS, SUCH AS CLIMBING STRUCTURES, WOODEN BLOCKS, GARDEN AREAS.
AND IN RECENT YEARS, WE HAVE INCORPORATED, UM, A CRITICAL REPLACEMENT OF SOME OF THE COMPONENTS ON SOME OF THE CAMPUSES SO THAT WE DON'T, UM, KEEP COMING BACK TO THE CAMPUS TO UPGRADE SOME OF THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE FAILING, SUCH AS AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS, ROOFING SYSTEMS, AND SOMETIMES EVEN DETERIORATED STRUCTURES ON THE CAMPUS.
UH, ONE OF THE GOALS OF THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS IS TO ATTRACT STUDENT ENROLLMENT, UH, THROUGH UPGRADED FACILITIES.
AND I THINK THAT'S ONE ITEM THAT WE CAN CHECK OFF OUR LIST AS WHEN THESE, UH, ENVIRONMENTS ARE OPEN TO THE STUDENT USE, WE SEE AN INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT, AND IN SOME CASES, ACCORDING TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE DIVISION OF EARLY ED, A WAIT LIST FOR MANY OF THEM.
DENISE, I'M GONNA INTERRUPT YOU.
DO YOU HAVE AN ABILITY TO ADVANCE YOUR SLIDES? YES.
WE JUST HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THAT PART, SO SORRY.
IT JUST GAVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE, THE BACKGROUND OF, OF THE, UM, EARLY ED DIVISION PROGRAM.
SO SINCE THE PROGRAM'S INCEPTION, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INCLUDED SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AS EARLY AS SOME OF THE NEW SCHOOL CONSTRUCTIONS.
WE HAVE APPROVED 60, 64 PROJECTS, UH, VALUED AT ROUGHLY 251 MILLION.
UH, AT THIS TIME WE HAVE COMPLETED 33 PROJECTS, 13 ARE IN CONSTRUCTION, AND 17 PROJECTS ARE CURRENTLY IN PRE-CONSTRUCTION.
SO VARIOUS STAGES INCLUDING, UM, DESIGN ON OR AT THE DIVISION OF STATE ARCHITECT FOR EVALUATION.
SO THE PROJECTS THAT I'M GONNA BE HIGHLIGHTING TODAY, I AM HIGHLIGHTING SIX OF THEM.
AND, UH, THESE PROJECTS, WE ACTUALLY PARTNERED WITH, UH, CAL FIRE, AND, UH, WE APPLIED FOR A GRANT IN 2024 THAT WE WERE AWARDED FOR, UH, $6 MILLION.
SO IT'S A REIMBURSEMENT GRANT.
SO AS WE PURSUED THE PROJECTS, WE, UH, REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THESE.
UM, THE GRANT COVERS ROUGHLY 16% OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF THE PROJECTS.
AND ANY REMAINING FUNDS, UH, THAT ARE, THAT ARE, UM, RECEIVED THROUGH THE GRANT WILL BE REAPPLIED TO THE PROGRAM FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.
UH, THE PROJECTS ARE AT 75TH STREET, EL SERINO, HAWAIIAN, EEC, HOLMES, EEC, SAN FERNANDO, EEC, AND VINE STREET, EEC.
THE PROJECT AT 75TH STREET IS 98 8% CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE.
AND, UH, WE ANTICIPATE THE COMPLETION COMING UP IN QUARTER TWO OF 2026.
SO THAT'LL BE RIGHT BEFORE UH, SCHOOL ENDS.
THIS PROJECT PROVIDED 12,700 SQUARE FEET OF OUTDOOR, UM, UPGRADES INCLUDING, UM, ART AND MUSIC AREAS.
AND GREENING, THE BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT WAS ROUGHLY $5.1 MILLION AT EL SERINO MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UH, THE PROJECT IS ALREADY COMPLETE, SO ACTUALLY WE HAD SOME TEAM GO OUT TO THE SITE YESTERDAY AND LOOKS PRETTY FABULOUS AND ALL OF THESE SITES, SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALREADY OPEN TO THE STUDENTS, SO THEY'RE ALREADY ENJOYING THEM.
UM, AND THAT PROJECT WAS COMPLETED AT THE END OF QUARTER ONE.
THE VALUE OF IT WAS 6.6 MILLION, AND IT INCLUDED ABOUT 16,000 SQUARE FEET OF GREEN
[01:10:01]
SPACE, HAWAIIAN, EECU, WHICH HAS BEEN A HIGHLIGHT FOR THE CAL FIRE PEOPLE.I THINK THEY VISITED THIS SITE AT LEAST TWO OR THREE TIMES, UM, AND HAVE BEEN, I THINK THEY'RE GONNA CREATE A VIDEO TO PRESENT TO, UM, L-A-U-S-D AND TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR PROGRAM, UH, INTERVIEWING THE STUDENTS.
AND THE ADMINISTRATION WAS, UH, IT'S NEARLY COMPLETED.
I THINK WE'RE JUST COMPLETED SOME FINAL PUNCHLESS ITEMS. UH, AND THAT'LL BE, THAT'S ALREADY OPEN FOR THE STUDENTS TO USE.
IT'S ABOUT 15,000 SQUARE FEET OF OUTDOOR SPACE.
AGAIN, IT INCLUDES A LOT OF THE, UM, NATURE EXPLORER LIKE, UH, UPGRADES, INCLUDING THE BALANCE BEAMS AND LOTS OF GREENING SPACES FOR THE KIDS TO, UH, GATHER THAT PROJECT BUDGET WAS $6 MILLION.
NEXT PROJECT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING IS 94, I'M SORRY, HOMES, EEC.
UM, IT'S 94% COMPLETE, SO THERE'S STILL SOME UPGRADES TO BE COMPLETED.
UH, MOSTLY INTERIOR FINISHES, AND THAT'S SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED BY QUARTER THREE OF 2026 WITH A VALUE OF 3.9 MILLION.
UH, IT'S A MUCH, MUCH SMALLER SPACE, UH, AT 7,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO IT'S A VERY SMALL FOOTPRINT.
YOU KNOW, IT DID CREATE A COUPLE CHALLENGES DURING THE DESIGN PHASE, YOU KNOW, AS WE TRIED TO, UM, I GUESS USE AS MUCH OF THE SPACE AS POSSIBLE TO BE ABLE TO GREEN IT.
UM, BUT WE ARE, UH, NEARING COMPLETION AT THIS TIME.
THE SAN FERNANDO EEC CLASSROOM, UH, THIS PROJECT IS ALSO 94% COMPLETE, SO WE'RE ALMOST IN THE FINISHING STAGES.
AND, UH, IT PROVIDES 6,300 SQUARE FEET.
AND WE ACTUALLY SENT SOME TEAM TO, WE, THESE ARE SOME OF THE PROGRESS PHOTOS THAT YOU SEE HERE.
WE SENT SOME TEAM OUT TO TRY TO TAKE SOME PHOTOS AND, UH, THEY HAD TO WAIT FOR THE STUDENTS TO GO BACK INSIDE 'CAUSE THEY JUST DIDN'T WANNA LEAVE.
SO I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, FOR YOU TO EXPERIENCE THAT AT THE RIBBON CUTTINGS.
SO THIS PROJECT WAS ESTIMATED AT 6.5 MILLION AND IT ADDS 6,300 SQUARE FEET OF SPACE, GREEN SPACE.
AND LASTLY, WE HAVE VINE, E, EC.
AND, UM, THIS PROJECT IS, UM, 85% COMPLETE.
SO THERE ARE SOME UPGRADES IN THE PARKING LOT THAT WE'RE, UH, WORKING ON COMPLETING.
AND, UH, THIS PROJECT WILL BE DELIVERED AT THE END OF QUARTER THREE IN 2026.
UH, IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST SPACES WITH 22,000, UH, SQUARE FEET OF SPACE THAT WE WILL BE IMPROVING.
AND, UH, ALSO, AGAIN, THE LARGEST PROJECT, 8.8 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THESE PROJECTS INCLUDE OTHER COMPONENTS SUCH AS THE REPLACEMENT OF, UH, AIR CONDITIONING AND THE ENTIRE CAMPUS.
WELL, AS ROOFING REPLACING, UH, ALL THE MATTING HAS BEEN REPLACED.
SO IT'S PRETTY MUCH A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF THE CENTER WHEN WE WALK AWAY.
WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS.
THESE ARE JUST, UM, TRANSFORMATIONS THAT ARE JUST BEAUTIFUL.
UH, WHEN I'VE GONE TO THE RIBBON CUTTINGS AND, UM, I'M SPEAKING TO PARENTS AND THEY'RE JUST SO HAPPY THAT THEIR CHILDREN, THEIR LITTLE BABIES ARE, YOU KNOW, ABLE TO ENJOY.
UM, WHAT THEY SAY IS LIKE A PARK.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT, LIKE, JUST LIKE A PARK.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, STUDENTS DON'T WANNA GO BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM BECAUSE THEY WANNA EXPLORE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE DOING MUSIC OR THERE'S A STATION WHERE, UM, THEY'RE PLAYING WITH SAND AND ALSO LITTLE GARDENS.
AND IT'S JUST A, A, A BEAUTIFUL TRANSFORMATION OF OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS.
JUST MY FAVORITE, MY FAVORITE RIBBON CUTTINGS,
SO I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR ANY QUESTIONS THERE? YES, GO AHEAD, SCOTT.
JUST A REMINDER, 'CAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN I VISITED MY CENTERS, WHEN MR. HOVATTER WAS IN CHARGE, THERE WERE THREE THINGS THAT I ASKED HIM TO DO AND I JUST HOPE THAT THEY WERE DONE.
ONE OF THEM WAS THAT THE SINKS, OUTDOOR SINKS WERE TOO HIGH.
THE KIDS COULDN'T REACH THEM, THEY WERE TOO HIGH.
SO I ASKED THEM TO PLEASE WHEN THEY CONSTRUCT, MAKE THEM LOWER SO THE KIDS CAN NOT HAVE JUMPED OVER THE THING.
NUMBER TWO, IT WAS STAINLESS STEEL AROUND THE SINK.
IT WAS SO, WELL, THIS IS THE VALLEY, OKAY.
IT WAS SO HOT THAT YOU COULDN'T EVEN TOUCH IT.
AND NUMBER THREE WAS A COVER FOR THE SANDBOXES BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON, THE CATS IN THE VALLEY THINK THAT'S THEIR LITTER BOX.
AND, UH, THEY HAD TO BE COVERED, YOU KNOW, AND MAKE SURE THERE'S A COVER FOR THEM THAT'S TIGHT, THAT THE KIDS WOULD
[01:15:01]
BE ABLE TO PLAY THEM THE NEXT DAY SAFELY.SO THOSE ARE MY THREE COMMENTS.
AND I THINK I AGREE ROCIO, WHEN I GO TO VISIT THE EARLY ED CENTERS, THOUGH, YOU CAN'T GET 'EM AWAY.
THEY JUST WILL NOT, THEY WILL NOT GO BACK INSIDE.
UM, YES, THESE ARE THE FUN SPACES AND PLACES.
UM, WANTED TO ASK, I KNOW YOU HIGHLIGHTED THE CAL FIRE GRANT FUNDING.
UM, THESE ARE ONLY SIX THAT ARE UNDER CAL FIRE GRANT, OR OF THE 64, ARE THEY ALL, WHAT IS THE MAKEUP AS FAR AS THE GRANT? SURE.
UH, THE SIX PROJECTS THAT I'M HIGHLIGHTING TODAY, WERE THE ONLY PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED UNDER, UM, THE CAL FIRE GRANT AND THE GRANT COMPLETED THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT WE SEE HERE FOR THE 6 MILLION.
SO THE GRANT REIMBURSEMENT IS FOR 6 MILLION FOR THESE SIX SITES? YES.
SO IT'S ONLY COMPLETED 16% OF THE TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET.
AND THEN FOR SOME OF 'EM, I NOTICED THAT SOME OF THE BUDGET'S SIMILAR, BUT THE SQUARE FOOTAGE IS DIFFERENT.
HOW, HOW DO WE ACCOUNT FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN SPACE AND THE, THE COST? YEAH, SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE, ON THE FOOTPRINT OF THE SCHOOL.
SO EARLY ED CENTERS IN GENERAL ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN OUR TRADITIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SITES.
UH, SO WE TRY TO WORK, UH, WITH OUR DESIGN TEAM TO INCORPORATE THE DESIGN THE STATIONS AND TRY TO TOUCH EVERY, EVERY PIECE OF SQUARE FOOT ON THAT CAMPUS.
SO WHAT YOU SEE IS GONNA BE TYPICALLY THE SIZE OF THE PLAYGROUND SPACE.
SO THE COST DOESN'T NECESSARILY MATCH THE SIZE OF THE SPACE? IT DOESN'T, BECAUSE WE HAVE INCLUDED OTHER COMPONENTS, UH, IN THE PROJECT'S BUDGET.
SO LIKE I MENTIONED, THESE ARE, UM, NOT NECESSARILY COMP MODS, BUT VERY SIMILAR TO THE COMP MODS STRUCTURE IN WHICH WE UPGRADE.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM INTERIORS.
UM, THE CUBBIES FOR THE STUDENTS, UH, THE PLAY MAT, THE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS, UH, FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS. SOMETIMES THESE, THESE SCHOOLS ARE TIED TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR THE ADJACENT CAMPUS, SO WE WANT THEM TO HAVE A STANDALONE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM, SO WE'LL, YOU KNOW, UNTIE THEM.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES OUR SITES, AS YOU KNOW, MAY STILL HAVE SOME OF THE MANUAL POOL STATIONS, SO WE WOULD UPGRADE THE ENTIRE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM TO, UH, SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, A MORE MODERN SYSTEM.
SO YEAH, SO WE USED TO BE, WE USED TO COME, UM, PRIOR TO US NOW BRINGING THESE LARGER PROJECTS.
WE USED TO COME IN, IN, IN DIFFERENT PHASES TO DO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE, OF THE WORK AND ALWAYS INTERRUPTING THE STUDENTS, RIGHT.
SO WE WOULD COME WITH ONE PROJECT, WE'D REPLACE THE ROOF, WE'D COME BACK, COUPLE YEARS LATER, WE'D REPLACE SOMETHING ELSE.
SO WE ADOPTED A NEW CONCEPT TO TRY TO TOUCH THE CAMPUS AND, YOU KNOW, WALK AWAY WITH A, WITH A BEAUTIFUL SITE THAT THEY CAN ENJOY.
AND WITH THE EECS THAT WERE SELECTED HERE, WHAT WAS THE INTENT OR THE LISTING OR PRIORITIZATION FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE HERE? YEAH, SO THE DIVISION OF EARLY ED, UH, PROVIDED US WITH A PRIORITIZATION OF ALL OF THEIR SCHOOL SITES.
SO AT THE TIME, THEY HAD ABOUT 85.
THERE'S BEEN A FEW MORE NOW THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED.
AND THE WAY THEY PRIORITIZE THEIR SITES WAS IN THE, THE PROXIMITY TO PARKS.
SO FUNNY YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY FEEL LIKE IT'S A PARK.
THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE THERE WASN'T A PARK THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO THEM WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE, OR IF THERE WERE IN A ROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WEREN'T ANY PARKS THAT THEY CAN ACCESS BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, OTHER, OTHER FACTORS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S HOW THEY'VE BEEN PRIORITIZED.
SO REALLY THIS IS ONE OF THE PROGRAMS WHERE WE'VE GONE DOWN THE LIST SCHOOL BY SCHOOL, UM, AS HAS COME UP.
UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE RIGHT NOW, THANK YOU.
IS THE PLAN TO, UM, FOR ALL OF THE EECS TO HAVE THE, UM, NATURE EXPLORER, RIGHT? WE WOULD LOVE FOR THEM TO HAVE IT FOR ALL OF, OH, OKAY.
SO WE'RE A, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR DIFFERENT GRANTS, UM, TO, TO HELP, UH, LEVERAGE SOME OF THE COST.
UM, THERE'S ALSO OTHER CONFLICTING NOW, UM, PRIORITIES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS, IS MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR OUR, UH, FOR US TO PRIORITIZE.
SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME DISCUSSIONS ON POTENTIALLY REOPENING SOME EARLY EDUCATION SITES.
SO THERE MAY BE, YOU KNOW, NOW A VERY DIFFICULT DECISION BECAUSE BOTH ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, DO WE CONTINUE TO OPEN UP THE PLAYGROUNDS TO GREEN, YOU KNOW, OR REOPEN A CENTER? SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE ALL IN DISCUSSION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, UM, EVEN WITH THE LAST BOND MEASURE THAT PASSED, UH, THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT FUNDS TO TOUCH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
SO, UH, SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S ABOUT 27 SITES THAT STILL ARE ON THE LIST THAT
[01:20:01]
HAVEN'T RECEIVED ONE OF THESE CENTERS.AND WHAT IS THE TIMELINE TO COMPLETE ALL OF THESE 64, UH, PROJECTS? I KNOW THERE'S 13 ON CONSTRUCTION AND 17, SO DO YOU HAVE A, A, A DATE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE? YEAH, SO I THINK ALIGNING WITH THE BOND MEASURES, I BELIEVE THAT THE END OF PROGRAM WE'RE PROJECTING, UH, BEFORE 2032
AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE ANY NEW PROJECTS THAT WE BRING TO BOARD.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
JUST BRIEFLY, UM, UH, VERY EXCITED TO SEE THIS, WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE AS YOU, SO I GUESS THE QUESTION, 'CAUSE I WAS GONNA SAY I'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THESE EECS OPEN UP.
AND SO WERE YOU SAYING THAT THERE AT THIS POINT THERE ARE SOME EECS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY OPERATING AND SO THERE IS A FINANCIAL QUESTION OF WHETHER TO OPERATE THE REOPEN, THE EEC OR TO GREEN ADDITIONAL CURRENTLY OPERATING CENTERS? THAT IS CORRECT.
YES, THERE ARE SEVERAL CLOSED SITES, SO THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN AMAZING IF MY KID CAN HAVE GONE TO ONE.
UM, THE, UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS MORE JUST A COMMENT THAT THESE ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND EXCITING AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE AND SEEING THE PACE UP AND GREEN SCHOOLYARDS UPGRADES THAT WILL BE FOR THOSE NEXT SCHOOLS THAT KIDS WILL GO TO IN ELEMENTARY AFTER THEY ARE, UM, COMING OUT OF THESE BEAUTIFUL EECS.
UM, AND GETTING TO HAVE SOME OF THAT, UM, OUTDOOR LEARNING AND NATURE-BASED CLASSROOM OPPORTUNITY THROUGH THE, THE NEXT PHASE OF PROJECTS FOR THE, THOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
AND LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE ABOUT THOSE PROGRAMS AS WELL AND HOW THOSE WILL BE ROLLING OUT.
'CAUSE I KNOW THOSE ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT TOO.
THESE ARE PROGRAM THAT IS RUNNING NOW FOR PROBABLY 16 YEARS OR MORE.
AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE ALL THE DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE.
AND, AND JUST FOR OUR COMMITTEE HERE, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE LEARNED SO MUCH IN TERMS OF TYING THE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES WITH THE EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM OF THE SCHOOLS.
AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT HOW WE'RE ADAPTED AND HOW WE, WE GOT INSPIRED OUT OF THIS PROGRAM TO, UH, BRING THIS PROGRAM FORWARD FOR SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE BE COMING FORWARD FROM OUR FACILITIES TEAM.
BECAUSE WE CAN SEE THAT, UH, THE, THE INTEREST, THE CARE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR, OF OUR YOUNG ONES.
BUT WHY NOT NOW TAKE THAT AND TAKE IT TO OUR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS, RIGHT.
SO A LOT OF THE WORK, UM, THAT WAS PLANNED OR BEING PLANNED IS INSPIRED BY THAT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE OUTDOOR LEARNING STATIONS WITH DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES THAT WE CAN OUTREACH NOT JUST, UH, A CERTAIN GROUP OF, OF KIDS, BUT ALL THE KIDS WITH DIFFERENT ASPIRATIONS, DIFFERENT INTERESTS.
SO, UM, IT'S EXCITING TO SEE THIS PROGRAM FORWARD AND HOPEFULLY WITH MORE GRANTS WE CAN HELP SUPPORT THIS AND SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE RUNNING NOW WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR FACILITIES TEAM.
BECAUSE WE DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA LEAVE ANY EEC OUT RIGHT.
FROM THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY AND TO TRANSFORM THEIR SCHOOLS, BECAUSE YEAH, DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA LEAVE ANY, ANY OF OUR LITTLE ONES OUT OF THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY.
ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? LUCY? LET ME JUST MENTION, WE ARE AT THE BORDER ALWAYS TRYING TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT BECAUSE INCREASING ENROLLMENT KEEPS THE DISTRICT SOLVENT.
HOW ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT, WOULD YOU NOT WANNA SEND YOUR CHILD TO ONE OF THESE EEC CENTERS? I MEAN, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING BETTER.
I CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING BETTER.
AND, UH, I GUESS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE PROMOTE IT THROUGH, UH, ADVERTISING AND, UH, COMMUNICATIONS.
BUT, UH, IT'S A SHAME THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE MISSING.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO THIS, UM, BUT IN, DO YOU KNOW HOW THESE OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS ARE BEING INTEGRATED INTO THE INSTRUCTION OF THE SCHOOL? UM, AND HOW THEY'RE ENSURING THAT THEY'RE ACTIVELY USED AS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS? DO YOU KNOW ANY? YEAH, SURE.
WELL, I MEAN, UM, EARLY ED DIVISION WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE TO ANSWER THIS, BUT IN THEIR ABSENCE, I HAVE HEARD SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS AND I AM AWARE THAT, UM, THEY HAVE HIRED NATURE EXPLORER TO PROVIDE SOME OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO THAT IS PART OF SORT OF THE PACKAGE.
SO, UM, THEY ARE ALONGSIDE THE PLANNING OF THESE OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENTS AND THEY KIND OF SEE THE DESIGN THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION AND BEYOND.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT I CAN TELL YOU.
BUT, UM, I WOULD REACH OUT TO, TO PIA AND TO RENEE TO GAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. BUT THEY DEFINITELY DO TRAINING WITH EACH SCHOOL.
BUT AS YOU'RE SAYING FROM THE BEGINNING, THEY'RE TALKING TO THE TEACHERS AND THE PRINCIPAL ABOUT THE DIFFERENT
[01:25:01]
OPPORTUNITIES, THE DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN TEACH.AND THEY'RE ALL INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EACH SCHOOL YARD.
AND I ALSO KNOW APART FROM THE, THE, THE CHILDREN OR THE STUDENTS ARE EXCITED ARE TEACHERS AND EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO VERY EXCITED WHEN THEY HAVE, WHEN THEY SEE THEIR SCHOOL TRANSFORMED.
AND, UM, PART OF THE PLANS ARE, ISN'T THERE ALSO A SPACE FOR TEACHERS, AN OUTDOOR SPACE? 'CAUSE SOME OF THE ONES THAT, UH, THE EECS THAT I'VE GONE TO, THEY ALWAYS HAVE LIKE A SPECIAL, WHOOPS, A SPECIAL SPACE FOR OUR TEACHERS TO ALSO BE ABLE TO ENJOY, UH, WHEN THEY'RE TAKING A LITTLE BREAK TO ENJOY THE SPACE.
MOST OF THE FURNITURE IS FOR OUR LITTLE ONES.
UM, BUT THEY DO SOMETIMES ADD, YOU KNOW, A PICNIC BENCH OR SOMETHING, A LITTLE PICNIC BENCH.
AND I'VE SEEN THEM SITTING ON A LOT OF THE PLANTERS AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE LARGER CONCRETE PLANTERS.
THEY'LL, THEY'LL SIT ON THAT AND YEAH, ACTUALLY THAT WAS A REPORT THAT WAS PROVIDED TODAY WHEN THEY VISITED, UM, SAN FERNANDO THAT, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE TEACHERS WHEN THEY WERE TAKING THEIR BREAK WERE USING THE SPACE.
AND ALSO ALL THE MATERIALS AND BENCHES AND CHAIRS, THEY'RE ALL SUSTAINABLE.
AND ALSO THE PLANTS THAT ARE ALL, UM, SORT OF NATIVE PLANTS AS WELL.
WITH THE, THE GRANTS THAT COME ALONGSIDE THAT WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTED HERE, WHAT OTHER ADVOCACY COULD WE PUT OUT FOR OTHER GRANTS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, FULFILL THE 27 AND EVEN MORE IF WE OPEN ADDITIONAL EECS? UH, I THINK, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH THAT WE ARE ALREADY PROPOSING, UH, OR THAT WE COMPLETE FOR EACH OF THESE SITES, UH, IS HELPFUL.
BUT OBVIOUSLY I THINK THE SUPPORT FROM BOARD MEMBERS AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WORD OF MOUTH, JUST SHARING THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SITES IS, IS HELPFUL.
UM, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I CAN SAY ABOUT FOR THE ADDITIONAL SITES AND FOR THE REMAINING SITES.
WELL, THERE AREN'T ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
I THANK YOU SO MUCH, DENISE FOR, UH, GIVING US THIS, UH, WONDERFUL UPDATE AND LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE REST OF THE SITES.
[III. Public Comment]
WE ARE GOING TO MOVE TO OUR LAST PORTION OF OUR MEETING, WHICH IS PUBLIC COMMENT.SO I WILL TURN THE PODIUM NOW TO MR. MCLEAN.
WE HAVE FOUR SPEAKERS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
LIBBY MCCANN, ARE YOU HERE? LIBBY, IF YOU HEAR COME ON UP, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
AND AFTER MS. MCCANN IS DIANA WRIGHT.
I'M A PARENT AT ALDAMA ELEMENTARY, WHICH IS IN YOUR DISTRICT, DR.
UM, AND I AM ALSO THE GREEN TEAM COMMITTEE CHAIR, AND HAVE BEEN FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS AT ALDAMA.
UH, THE GREEN TEAM WAS STARTED IN 2018 BY THREE PARENTS AFTER THEY WITNESSED A GROUP OF STUDENTS, UM, HUDDLED UNDER A FIVE BY FIVE PIECE OF SHADE.
UM, TRYING TO JUST STAY OUTTA THE HEAT AND THE SUN.
AND THAT SAME YEAR, A KID WAS ACTUALLY BURNED, GOING DOWN A SLIDE.
UM, SO FAST FORWARD, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A MASTER GREETING PLAN FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, AND THIS WAS POSSIBLE THROUGH A TECHNICAL PARTNERSHIP GRANT WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.
AND THIS PLAN WAS CREATED WITH, UH, SCHOOL, THE ENTIRE SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
SO WE HAD SURVEYS, WE GOT INPUT FROM TEACHERS, STAFF, CURRENT AND FORMER PRINCIPALS.
UM, WE SURVEYED OUR, OUR FAMILIES TO CREATE THIS, UH, MASTER PLAN.
AND WE RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT AL DAMA IS ON THE LIST FOR A BOND FUNDED GREEN SCHOOLYARD UPGRADE.
AND WE'RE VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
UM, SO I AM HERE ASKING ON BEHALF OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY, UH, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WOULD BE IN THE TIMELINE FOR THE PROJECT AT OUR SCHOOL.
UM, AND THEN WE ARE ALSO ASKING IF OUR SCHOOL BE PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND THIS PROJECT AS WE'VE BEEN VERY, UH, ENGAGED AND WORKING VERY HARD OVER THE PAST EIGHT YEARS ON CAMPUS SCREENING.
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS DIANA WRIGHT.
YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
I AM, UH, MY NAME'S DIANA WRIGHT AND I AM A PARENT AT ALAMA ELEMENTARY AND A MEMBER OF ITS GREEN TEAM.
AND I DO WANNA THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING ALAMA, UH, IN THIS MEASURE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE SCREENING PROJECT, UH, WHICH WE WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER ON AND, UH, SHARE OUR MANY PLANS.
UM, I WANTED TO INQUIRE ABOUT TWO PROJECTS, UM, THE L-A-U-S-D SEEDS GRANT THAT WAS AWARDED TO AL DAMA IN 2023 AND THE PERMANENT SHADE STRUCTURE OVER OUR PLAY APPARATUS.
UH, BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS HAVE STALLED, UH, DESPITE OUR BEST EFFORTS.
[01:30:01]
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD INFORM US ON THE STATUS OR A TIMELINE FOR THESE PROJECTS AND AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED TIMELINE FOR THE BOND MEASURE GREENING.ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS JUSTIN TI COME ON UP.
YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
JUSTIN BI HOW ABOUT VERE DURON, VERE D ARE YOU HERE? LET ME CHECK ONLINE TO SEE IF THEY'RE REMOTE WITH US.
I DO NOT HAVE ANYONE, UH, REMOTE.
SO THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE, ALL THE PRESENTERS AND THE TEAMS, UH, FOR TODAY'S THOUGHTFUL PRESENTATIONS AND FOR THE WORK YOU'RE LEADING, PARTICULARLY OUR, UM, UM, THE, THE PRESENTA, THE FIRST PRESENTATION THAT WE HEARD FROM THE, OUR COMMUNITY OSA AND ALL THE ADVOCACY AND FIGHTING THAT THE ACT, YOU KNOW, THE ACTIVISM THAT THEY'RE CONDUCTING TO KEEP THEIR, UH, NEIGHBORS AND ALL OF US SAFE FROM THESE UNCAPPED, UH, OIL WELLS.
UM, AND ALSO TO MS. DENISE, DENISE CASTILLO FOR THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATION ARE ON OUR NATURE EXPLORE AND OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, OUR FOCUS REMAINS ENSURING THAT THIS WORK IS GROUNDED ON EQUITY, RESPONSIVE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS, AND THE IMPLEMENTED AND IMPLEMENTED WITH THE LEVEL URGENCY THAT OUR STUDENTS DESERVE.
AND I THANK OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR BEING PRESIDENT AND ALSO OUR, UM, DISTRICT STAFF AND MY BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL FOR JOINING US IN THIS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, COMMITTEE, OUR GREENING SCHOOLS AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, OUR NEXT AND LAST COMMITTEE, UH, FOR THIS ACADEMIC YEAR IS GOING TO BE ON MAY 27TH.
OUR LAST ONE IS ALWAYS A WONDERFUL ONE BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVE STUDENTS HERE AND THEY'RE SHOWING, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, SHOWCASING THEIR WORK AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF, UM, IT'S A GREAT WAY TO END THIS COMMITTEE EACH YEAR.
SO THANK YOU ALL, AND WE'LL SEE YOU ON MAY 27TH MEETING ADJOURNED.