California coast concerns voiced ahead of NOAA Santa Monica meeting

Ahead of Monday's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meeting in Santa Monica, activists and local leaders gathered to say they are standing up to protect the "priceless California Coast."

NOAA's Office for Coastal Management meeting is a chance for the public to weigh in on the California Coastal Management Program, building on public input from the last meeting in Aug. 2024.

"NOAA seeks any new input from relevant stakeholders regarding spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects, and undersea cables," the agency wrote in a June notice.

According to the California Natural Resources Agency, "the federal government can attempt to defund and decertify the state's coastal management program," depending on the results of the review of the California Coastal Management Program.

Issues such as expanding offshore oil drilling and efforts to restart offshore oil pipeline infrastructure are at the center of ongoing federal efforts to expand development along and offshore of California's coast.

County and state leaders joined activists at Monday's rally, highlighting coastal issues.  "We are telling the Trump administration to back off our beach," Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.

In 2025, the Trump administration announced new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts to expand U.S. oil production.

California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.

Horvath highlighted Los Angeles County's commitment to phasing out existing wells and banning new oil drilling to achieve 100% renewable energy.

"Reckless proposals to sell out our coastline threaten what we all know is so important: our thriving coastal economy, our unparalleled biodiversity, and the natural beauty that we treasure," Horvath said.

Plans viewed by CBS News called for lease sales off California as soon as 2027.

Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources, pointed to the Coastal Zone Management Act, signed into law 53 years ago by President Richard Nixon. The act allows states to establish their own coastal management programs.

"For 48 years, we've had a coastal management program that has been capably administered by our California Coastal Commission, our state coastal conservancy, and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission."

Crowfoot called the federal review "sudden, baseless and unprecedented" as the administration seeks to expand offshore oil drilling, he said.