Bay Area conservationist describes offshore oil drilling plan as "serious" threat
The latest battleground in the fight between California and the federal government isn't really ground at all; it's underwater. The Trump administration is renewing its intention to open the state's coast to offshore oil drilling, and local forces are gearing up for the struggle.
At Portuguese Beach near Bodega Bay, the beauty of the rugged California coast is on full display. It's a place of recreation for some, serenity for others. But lately, for Richard Charter, it's become an area of concern.
"Yeah, I'm worried," he said. "This is real. This is not, you know, hypothetical."
Charter, a Senior Fellow at the Ocean Foundation, was referring to an announcement on Thanksgiving week that the Department of the Interior will be offering leases to conduct offshore oil drilling. Along with the entire state of Alaska, the full length of the coast of California is now up for sale to oil companies seeking to drill.
"I've worked on this issue here in California, and other states, for 50 years, and I've never seen a threat this serious or this imminent," said Charter. "This particular administration has, for some reason, decided to conduct what is essentially a battle against the environment."
California has a history of offshore drilling issues. In 1969, a well located off Santa Barbara blew out, releasing millions of gallons of oil, which washed up onto beaches, killing wildlife and fouling the waterfront of the popular tourist destination.
"When the Santa Barbara blowout happened, it created a leak in the seafloor that could not be closed," said Charter. "It was the type of oil spill you can't turn off. Kind of like Deepwater Horizon, same thing. Lasted for months."
The nation was shocked by what was then the largest spill in U.S. history, and the outcry led to the creation of the Earth Day movement. Because of the mess, then-President Richard Nixon formed the Environmental Protection Agency, making him an unlikely hero to environmentalists.
Since then, numerous state and federal laws have been passed, protecting the Golden State from further drilling. But now, the Trump administration says it will conduct a lease sale from the Oregon border all the way to San Diego, beginning in 2027.
In the announcement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management quoted a Trump executive order saying, "...it is in the national interest to unleash America's affordable and reliable energy and natural resources," and that it "is the policy of the United States...to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future."
California's congressional delegation has vowed to fight it to the end.
"This is yet another outrageous announcement and effort by this out-of-control administration," said U.S. Senator Alex Padilla.
"You have an administration that wants to erase the protections that we put in place on our environment. They want to harm our economy, and they want to threaten our way of life. We saw this in Trump 1.0," said Rep. Jimmy Panetta, from Monterey/Santa Cruz.
"The communities that this plan puts in the cross-hairs of oil and gas development have been fighting for generations to protect their coastlines," said Sonoma County Representative Jared Huffman. "Because we know how this story ends. Where you drill, you spill."
Charter said once the leases are sold, they become the property of the buyers and it may be very difficult to rescind them, even with a change of administration. So, he's come out of retirement to head up a coalition of local governments uniting to fight the proposal.
"In my life, I have only worked on things that are very difficult," he said. "I don't work on things that are easy, because lots of people can do those. I don't work on things that are impossible. So, the very fact that I've accepted this position to work with the counties and cities again is indicative of the fact that I believe we can stop this."
But he says it won't be easy and predicts that, like so many other federal actions, the drilling plan is likely to end up in court.
A public hearing on the issue will be held in Sausalito on Jan. 16. We reached out to the Department of the Interior for comment on Sunday, but got no response.