When an undersea pipeline off the Orange County coast spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil last fall and fouled beaches and wetlands, it was only the latest illustration of the serious and ongoing danger of aging oil infrastructure along California’s shoreline.
State lawmakers should begin reducing the risks to the coastal environment and the climate by ending drilling in California waters.
They have the opportunity to do so by supporting legislation by state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), drafted in response to the October oil spill off Huntington Beach. The bill would end oil production in state-controlled waters by requiring the State Lands Commission to terminate its coastal oil and gas leases by the end of next year. The legislation would affect 11 leases actively producing oil and gas in state waters and only three platforms operating off the coast of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, operated by two leaseholders, California Resources Corporation and DCOR.
