SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) — The Trump Administration is reportedly trying to bypass marine sanctuary protections and drill up and down the California coast, including near the Golden Gate, off of Sonoma County and in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
There was opposition from Monterey Bay coastal communities regarding the potential federal action on Wednesday in Santa Cruz.
Documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle detail plans by the Trump Administration to pursue offshore drilling and seabed along the California coast.
It’s a plan Congressman Jimmy Panetta says does not follow the rules.
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“A plan that will review all requirements for environmental reviews and cancel all public inputs,” Panetta said. “As the Interior Department stated about this plan – all options are on the table. That’s why we stand here today.”
Almost 40 years to the date that the City of Santa Cruz and other coastal cities voted against oil rigging off their coast, the fight against proposed federal drilling is starting again.
If put into place, the California Coast could be open to oil and gas leasing as soon as 2027.
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keely says this would override federal protections and put the environment at risk.
“The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary did not get established, so a few decades later what we could do is dot it with oil rigs,” Keely said.
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In the 80s, Santa Cruz and other coastal communities built what was known as a “blue wall” to protect our local waters.
It legally barred companies from shipping oil and gas from the sea to the land – rendering offshore drilling useless.
Four decades later, leaders and the nonprofit Save Our Shores are exploring all legal avenues to once again strengthen marine protections and prevent drilling.
“Our community has spoken,” Save Our Shores Exec. Director Katie Thompson said. “Our coast is not a backup plan for the fossil fuel industry. It is a frontline economy, an identity and a home to one of the most biodiverse regions on earth.”
These leaders say defending it for future sustainability against harmful plans will take everyone to achieve.
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