East Los Angeles will undergo months of soil testing and excavation after May’s crude oil spill, with the cleanup expected to continue into early 2027, according to county officials.
County agencies gave an update on recovery efforts during an LA County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, which they say has shifted from emergency response to long-term remediation.
Officials said much of the work is contingent on a report due on Aug. 31 by pipeline owner Plains All American that will detail the results of soil testing and other data points to understand the spill’s impact on the surrounding community and the LA River.
“There is still some oil contamination at Cesar Chavez and Eastern Avenue,” said Mario Tresierras, chief of the LA County Fire Department’s Health Hazardous Materials Division, one of the lead agencies overseeing the cleanup effort.
What lies ahead is months of soil sampling, air quality monitoring and eventually, the excavation and removal of the contaminated soil, Tresierras said.
According to LA County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella, the scope of the excavation cannot be determined until after the county reviews Plains’ Aug. 31 report, but he expects the work to be completed by January 2027.
“January of ‘27 would be a conservative completion date … I’d expect it to be done before then,” Pestrella said. “This is going to be a fairly involved cleanup and construction project.”
How the spill happened
An estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled on May 22 after crews conducting directional drilling for a fiber optic line struck the 16-inch petroleum pipeline. Initial reports placed the spill at about 2,400 gallons before the pipeline operator revised the volume.
Much of the oil seeped into nearby streets and soil, and a “significant” amount also made its way into the storm drain system and the LA River, Pestrella said.
State and federal agencies completed cleanup of the river and storm drains on June 23, according to LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
Public Health says no ongoing health impacts detected
Barbara Ferrer, director of the LA County Department of Public Health, said there are no ongoing health impacts related to the spill and the noxious odors that caused headaches and nausea for some residents have subsided.
Ferrer said the department has not detected elevated levels of benzene, a known carcinogen and respiratory irritant, despite community concerns. Though odors may return during excavation work, the department does not anticipate dangerous benzene levels during remediation, Ferrer said.
Solis proposes community meetings
At the meeting, Solis asked county departments, including Public Works, the LA County Fire Department and the Department of Public Health, to hold a community meeting “to ensure that residents are fully aware and updated on the status and recovery while we’re preparing and then after the report.”
The request comes after months of demands from community groups calling on Solis to host a community town hall and provide greater access to environmental testing results, public health guidance and cleanup updates. Those calls for transparency were reignited following the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights, with residents calling it another example of the environmental injustice faced by Eastside residents.
As of Wednesday, Solis’ office had not yet determined any dates for the meetings but said they expect the departments to host them as soon as possible.
