Three Los Angeles councilmembers have introduced a resolution opposing the Trump administration’s push to revive offshore oil and gas drilling along California’s coast
Councilmembers Traci Park, Tim McOsker, and Adrin Nazarian, supported by environmentalists, business leaders, and regional officials, expressed support for continuing the moratorium on offshore leasing in California, which has been in place since 1984.
The government’s plan came to light a couple of days ago, after it was widely reported by major US media outlets.
Los Angeles is not budging on the long-standing ban on new coastal oil infrastructure. The city’s stance is derived from the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and was solidified by voters in 1988.
“Los Angeles will never allow offshore drilling off our coast — not now, not ever. We won’t invite another kind of disaster,” said Park.
The plan proposes six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2030 along the California coast. The US is also considering expanding drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area mostly left alone because of Florida’s opposition due to fears of oil spills. The administration is considering lease sales there in 2029 and 2030.
For this to happen, Trump would need to reverse a moratorium on leasing in the eastern Gulf issued in his first term. The moratorium is set to expire in 2032. The plan also targets waters off New England and the Carolinas.
In Alaska, more than 20 lease sales are being considered through 2031 in almost all offshore areas, including in the High Arctic, over 320 km offshore in the Arctic Ocean.
If the plan to open up California comes to pass, it would be a considerable setback to the Los Angeles port’s multibillion-dollar shift toward a “blue economy,” including zero-emission engines and renewable innovations.
The measure heads to the Los Angeles city council for consideration. This will be done during a planned public comment period on the federal proposal and two more rounds of review before implementation.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California since 2019, believes that the proposal is “dead on arrival.”
“Over our dead body. Period. Full Stop. Trump wants to open up the coast of California to oil drilling, but he has no interest in opening up oil drilling rigs right off the coast of Florida, not right across the street from Mar-a-Lago. It’s never going to happen,” he stated.
