Panetta Vows Fight Over 6 California Offshore Lease Sales as Trump Draft Reopens Drilling Options
Updated
Updated · Good Times · Aug 19
Panetta Vows Fight Over 6 California Offshore Lease Sales as Trump Draft Reopens Drilling Options
1 articles · Updated · Good Times · Aug 19
Summary
Monterey Bay-area leaders rallied after the Interior Department issued a draft proposal that Panetta said puts “all options on the table” for offshore oil drilling and seabed mining.
Save Our Shores said the federal plan includes six lease sales off California, including two on the Central Coast, reviving a first-term push that drew more than 300,000 opposing public comments.
Monterey County officials and business leaders warned a spill could devastate fisheries, hospitality and a tourism economy that draws 6.3 million visitors a year.
California is also tightening its coastal defenses through local “Blue Wall” ordinances and AB 1448, which would bar existing land-based infrastructure from supporting new offshore extraction if Newsom signs it.