March 24, 2022 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on the California Senate Natural Resources Committee to pass SB 953, a bill that would ban 
offshore oil drilling leases in California waters.
“SB 953 takes crucial steps to address these risks and move the West Coast toward a clean-energy future,” Senator Feinstein wrote. “By eliminating all oil-drilling leases in state waters by 2023, SB 953 prioritizes the drivers of California’s $44 billion coastal economy: the tourism, service, and fishery industries. Importantly, the bill also ensures that lease-holders are responsible for the cost of decommissioning and environmental cleanup, a burden that often falls to taxpayers after a spill’s expensive cleanup bankrupts the liable company.
“Time and time again, Californians have expressed our opposition to oil drilling off our coast. As I continue to fight for passing my West Coast Ocean Protection Act and the cessation of new offshore oil leases in federal waters across the United States, I urge you and your colleagues to continue California’s leadership by passing SB 953. Such proposals empower the state’s economy and safeguard the pristine coastline Californians cherish.”
Full text of the letter is available here and follows:
March 23, 2022
The Honorable Henry Stern
Chair
Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3220
Sacramento, California 95814
Dear Chairman Stern,
I write to express my support for Senate Bill (SB) 953, wwhich I understand will be heard before your Committee on April 26, 2022. SB 953 complements the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, which I introduced in the United States Senate in January 2021, and which would ban all new offshore oil and gas leases in federal waters off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
California has unfortunately become all too familiar with the environmental and economic devastation that oil spills inflict on our coastal communities. Such spills threaten public health, aquatic wildlife and the industries reliant on the ocean for tourism or fisheries. This is abundantly clear in California, which has three offshore drilling platforms in state waters and another 23 in federal waters.
The dangers posed by offshore drilling were made even more apparent on October 1, 2021, when a pipeline operated by Amplify Energy Corp. experienced a breach and spilled nearly 25,000 gallons of oil off the coast of Orange County, causing the contamination and closure of beaches, fisheries, and sensitive wetlands. Although the investigation continues into the exact cause of the breach, the aging condition of the Amplify pipeline prior to the spill is representative of much of the oil infrastructure in state and federal waters. Together, these operations produce less than 0.3 percent of all U.S. oil production. In light of this minimal output, the economic and ecological costs of spills are tremendous.
SB 953 takes crucial steps to address these risks and move the West Coast toward a clean-energy future. By eliminating all oil-drilling leases in state waters by 2023, SB 953 prioritizes the drivers of California’s $44 billion coastal economy: the tourism, service, and fishery industries. Importantly, the bill also ensures that lease-holders are responsible for the cost of decommissioning and environmental cleanup, a burden that often falls to taxpayers after a spill’s expensive cleanup bankrupts the liable company.
Time and time again, Californians have expressed our opposition to oil drilling off our coast. As I continue to fight for passing my West Coast Ocean Protection Act and the cessation of new offshore oil leases in federal waters across the United States, I urge you and your colleagues to continue California’s leadership by passing SB 953. Such proposals empower the state’s economy and safeguard the pristine coastline Californians cherish.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein
