DATE:
December 9, 20225
26
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
OPPOSING OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATERS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
On November 20, 2025, the Trump Administration released its Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program that would reopen Southern California's coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling for the first time in decades. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) proposal includes six large new leasing zones in federal waters off Southern California, reversing decades of bipartisan California opposition to offshore drilling and putting long-standing coastal protections, local economies, and energy affordability at immediate risk. At a time when clean energy is helping to stabilize long-term costs for families, this plan pushes us back toward the volatility of fossil-fuel markets.
This moment is both a warning and an opportunity. The draft plan shows how quickly existing safeguards can be undone, and it calls on California and its coastal counties to act early and draw a firm line. While drilling is planned in Federal waters, spills and pollution do not stay within jurisdictional lines, and our communities know firsthand the devastating and long-term impacts of such disasters. Past experiences shaped a lasting grassroots movement to defend our beaches, waterways, and coastal economies, and it is the foundation for the unified response required now.
A History of Devastating Oil Spills Catalyzing Grassroot Resistance
In 1969, an offshore well in the Santa Barbara Channel blew out and released roughly 4 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific over nearly a month. The slick spread across more than 800 square miles. Oil contaminated 35 miles of beaches. Currents carried tar all the way down the coast, including into San Diego County, and even into Mexico. More than 3,500 seabirds and marine mammals were killed. The coastal economy collapsed, families lost work, and cleanup costs were enormous. That ...
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