The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to open the California coast to new oil and gas drilling for the first time in about 40 years, according to three sources who spoke to the New York Times. The move is expected to trigger a showdown with the state's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal opponent of offshore drilling who is currently in Brazil for a United Nations climate summit. Newsom, while rolling his eyes, dismissed the proposal as "dead on arrival in California" and said the state would challenge it in court if finalized. He also pointed out that President Trump did not propose drilling near his own resort in Florida, suggesting political motivations behind the plan. He added, per the Sacramento Bee, that offshore drilling is "overwhelmingly opposed by members of all political parties in the state of California."
There has been near-zero fossil fuel development along the California coast since a devastating 1969 oil spill near Santa Barbara galvanized the environmental movement in the US and led to a ban on drilling in state waters, which extend three miles out from the shore. Trump's plan would open up drilling and leasing in the federal waters off California, activities that have been largely dormant since the mid-1980s. The new proposal would primarily target areas off Santa Barbara County, where some drilling still occurs, and would also expand leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area Trump refers to as the Gulf of America. The plan is likely to face resistance from both Democrats and Republicans in coastal states, especially in Florida, where memories of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill still influence policy.
Energy analysts say oil companies are unlikely to show much interest in California, given the regulatory and political obstacles and lack of infrastructure. Most industry attention is expected to focus on the Gulf of Mexico, where infrastructure is already established. Trump's recent tax and spending bill requires dozens of new offshore lease sales, but the current plan, put in place by the Biden administration, had already limited new drilling to just a few areas in the Gulf, citing climate concerns. Environmental groups are preparing to challenge any expansion of offshore drilling, citing the risks of oil spills and harm to coastal economies. Sources also spoke to the Wall Street Journal, which says an announcement of the plan could come this week, and the Washington Post, which has details of the draft map, including the remote parts of Alaska where cleaning up a spill could be difficult.
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