President Joe Biden today used his authority to ban new oil and gas drilling in most federal waters, including the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.
Just what will the president’s sweeping action mean for California’s Central Coast? To put it succinctly, not a lot.
Biden’s order aims to protect marine ecosystems from oil spills and other offshore drilling harms, according to the White House. The last federal lease approved off of California was in 1984, and California has had a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in state waters since 1969.
Biden’s order also applies only to future leases. Existing drilling operations in both state and federal waters would be allowed to continue.
Alex Katz is with the Environmental Defense Center, a Santa Barbara nonprofit. He said he would like to see local protections go further. That includes preventing the reopening of the Refugio pipeline, which ruptured a decade ago, causing an environmental disaster.
“This is really an example of leadership on the part of President Biden, and we hope that Governor Newsom follows that example and shuts down this project before it leads to another disaster,” Katz said.
Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal was one of 12 lawmakers who pushed for the ban.
“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,” Carbajal said in a statement.
