April 2024
Fossil Fuel companies have left behind wells that leak toxins and operate existing wells too close to public places. Ahmad Zahra, Fullerton Council Member, and EOPA CA Leadership Council member, spoke about those dangers and what the legacy of the toxins does to communities. He also had suggestions for positive actions in the CA legislature.
Zahra spoke out against companies operating older low-producing wells rather than pay to shut them down and seal them up properly.
Ahmad Zahra, a city council member in Fullerton, said Assembly Bill 2716 would incentivize their closure by charging companies $10,000 a day to operate so-called “stripper wells.”
“We have over 40,000 oil wells currently sitting orphaned or idle, leaking methane and volatile organic compounds into the air, water and soil,” Zahra emphasized.