INGLEWOOD : L.A. to Sue Over Drilling Project at Cemetery

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to sue the City of Inglewood over a proposed oil drilling project at the Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district borders the Inglewood site, proposed the lawsuit to force Inglewood to authorize a full environmental impact report on the drilling. Galanter’s concern is centered on traffic that the project will create.

“We’re talking about heavy construction equipment (creating) traffic, dust, noise and who knows what else. There’s going to be a big impact on the residents of L.A., who have no say in the project,” Galanter said.

But Inglewood City Atty. Howard Rosten said most of the traffic associated with the drilling project on South Victoria Avenue will be forced to go through the cemetery, bypassing residential streets.

The only traffic allowed through residential areas would be limited to vehicles or equipment that would be impossible or impractical to move through the cemetery, Rosten said. The Inglewood City Council included that provision after Galanter and neighborhood residents voiced their opposition to the drilling on May 24, Rosten said.

The Inglewood City Council gave its approval June 7 to the drilling project, which will allow up to five exploratory wells to be drilled on 1.1 acres on the northeast corner of the cemetery.