SLO County Commits $25,000 to Anti-Drilling Coalition as California Lease Fight Revives
Updated
Updated · New Times SLO · Aug 20
SLO County Commits $25,000 to Anti-Drilling Coalition as California Lease Fight Revives
1 articles · Updated · New Times SLO · Aug 20
Summary
San Luis Obispo County approved a $25,000 payment in a 3-2 vote on Aug. 18, formally joining a revived coalition opposing new federal offshore oil leasing off California.
The contribution enrolls SLO County in the Local Government Outer Continental Shelf Coordination Program, which Santa Cruz County restarted last year to fight the Interior Department’s 11th offshore leasing plan.
BOEM’s draft program outlines six lease sales over five years, with federal waters near the Central Coast potentially opened from 2027 to 2029, Northern California in 2029 and Southern California from 2027 to 2030.
Santa Cruz County says the coalition aims to deter bidding by strengthening local restrictions on onshore support and use of existing state infrastructure; total contributions have reached $192,000.
The effort revives a program that operated from 1980 to 1994 and previously relied on California’s “Blue Wall” of local anti-drilling ordinances, including SLO County’s 1986 Measure A.