Congressman works to protect coast from drilling before Trump administration takes control

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Outgoing President Joe Biden took action on Congressman Salud Carbajal’s (CA-24) request to ban future offshore drilling off the Central Coast today.

Biden signed a new executive action shielding more than 625 million acres of Federal waters from future oil and gas exploration.

Rep. Carbajal, who presents the 24th Congressional District, has been working on this since introducing the ban as his first-ever bill in 2017.

"The first piece of legislation I authored was the California Clean Coast Act to stop future offshore drilling off out coast, since then I have had continued to be an advocate, I wrote a letter to Pres. Biden on November 15th," said Carbajal.

The letters asked President Biden to permanently ban offshore drilling off the coast of California and the rest of the West Coast.

“The Central Coast knows all too well the damage and devastation that can come from an oil spill. That’s why I made it my mission from my first bill in Congress to permanently ban offshore drilling off our coast. And with President Biden’s help today, this goal is now reality,” said Rep. Carbajal. “I deeply appreciate all the Central Coast residents and stakeholders who have spoken up during these past four years to encourage the President to follow through on this ban, which builds on his already impressive climate legacy. Together, we have passed the largest climate actions in U.S. history, shielded communities and ecosystems across our nation, and even created lasting testaments to our environment like the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.”

Carbajal said he is ecstatic.

President Biden also issued a comment.

"My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beach-goers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet out nations' energy needs," said Biden. "It is not worth the risks."

The Congressman was one of 12 members of Congress who wrote to the White House requesting action before the end of Biden's term later this month.

The ban covers the entire California Coast including the area damaged in the historic1969 oil spill that launched Earth Day and the environmental movement.

The spill covered the coast with 100,000 barrels of crude oil.

The Refugio Oil Spill on May 19, 2015 followed, but Sable oil is working to restart the platform linked to the eroded pipeline that caused that spill.

The waters between the newly-designated Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary will now be protected unless Donald Trump overturns the efforts.

The ban was Congressman Carbajal's first piece of legislation entitled the California Clean Coast Act on January 2017 on the anniversary of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, in which 100,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled into the waters off of California's Central Coast.

Rep. Carbajal represents all of Santa Barbara County and large portions of San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also sent a letter and said it would take an act of Congress to change it.

“As of today, thanks to President Biden, all future offshore drilling has been permanently banned on the West Coast,” said Sen. Schiff, “This is the right decision and long overdue. But there’s still much more needed to preserve our coastline and protect our planet for generations to come. We must invest in green energy alternatives and good jobs to accompany them, and ensure that our communities on the front lines of the climate crisis get the support they need. The work is only just beginning, and we’ll fight any and all efforts to undermine this ban by any future administration.”

Pres. Biden took action under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

If the future Trump administrations tries to reverse the ban Congress would have to act to change the law signed today.

The Environmental Defense Center's Executive Director, Alex Katz, said they are grateful for President Biden's action, but they still consider restarting platforms a threat.

"The biggest threat on the California coast is the proposal from Sable to restart Exxon's former platforms and the same pipeline that failed 10 years ago and caused the Refugio Oil Spill," said Katz. "We hope that Gov. Newsom follows the President's lead and takes action to shut down the Sable project before it's too late."

On Tuesday morning a Sable spokesperson said President Biden's proclamation does not affect Sable operations.

Environmentalists will be watching to see what happens next.