It has become clear that the guiding principle of the Trump administration is, “Anything for a buck.”
This is starkly displayed by its attacks on environmental and public health in the name of corporate profit—an attack that is now converging on the Central Coast of California like an oil slick approaching from three directions.
First, a textbook example of federal abuse of power: The Santa Barbara County Sable Offshore Corp. oil pipeline saga.
Over the last year, Sable has been pushing to restart the defective oil pipeline system that caused the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill—which travels through the Santa Barbara Channel, along the Gaviota coast, and cuts north through Santa Barbara County, before running east along the Cuyama River watershed to Kern County. The push has been so aggressive that Sable accrued multiple felony charges, lawsuits, a restraining order, and an $18 million fine.
This month the Trump administration gave Sable a greasy gift: an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act, decreeing that Sable can ignore state laws, public safety, and federal courts in the name of “national security.” Consequently, on March 16, Sable announced that it will begin pumping oil across coastal waters and through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Kern counties despite ongoing lawsuits and public opposition.
The Trump administration claims that Sable’s oil is needed to ensure “West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness.” But the oil produced by Sable almost certainly won’t be used in the United States because oil produced in the U.S. is predominantly sold and refined overseas.
State agencies responded with a hell no! And U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) summed it up: “President Trump is using the war in Iran as a pretext to override the will of Santa Barbara County residents and the state of California. I will continue to fight this federal overreach in Congress and stand with our local partners as they pursue legal challenges in court.”
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed expanding oil and gas drilling on 850,000 acres of public lands across Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Kern, and Ventura counties, including lands adjacent to Yosemite National Park; Carrizo Plain National Monument; the Los Padres, Sierra, and Sequoia national forests; and state and county parks and beaches.
The BLM’s initial environmental impact statement was inadequate and out of date. Due to these insufficiencies, the court ordered the BLM to draft a supplemental environmental impact statement. As the Sierra Club and 48 other environmental and public interest groups told the BLM, the new draft failed to fix many of the problems that triggered the initial lawsuit. It downplayed or ignored air pollution impacts on communities and miscalculated climate impacts and impacts to biological resources, recreation, wilderness, and areas of critical environmental concern.
We are still awaiting the final draft, which needs significant improvements, including evaluation of reasonable alternatives, avoiding sensitive areas, and respecting state and local protections, reflecting current public health, environmental, and conservation requirements.
The third oil attack comes from Trump’s Department of the Interior. It is attempting to vastly expand offshore drilling (after rolling back the safety measures that were implemented after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster).
As with the Sable pipeline, California is not taking this lying down. State Sen. John Laird’s (D-Santa Cruz) Senate Joint Resolution 12 opposes Trump’s offshore drilling expansion efforts. The resolution proposes that the California Legislature declare “unequivocal support for the current federal prohibition on new oil or gas drilling in federal waters offshore of the Pacific Coast, its opposition to the proposed five-year National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program or any attempts to modify that prohibition, and its determination to consider any appropriate actions to maintain the current prohibition.”
Sen. Laird’s resolution also requests the Department of Interior implement the typically required environmental impact statement and public comment periods, as the Trump administration has indicated no plans of providing either.
California’s congressional delegation has sent the Trump administration a similar message in adamant opposition of offshore oil and gas drilling expansion.
You have the power to push back, too:
• If you act before March 30, you can submit a comment opposing the Trump offshore oil expansion plan at saveourshores.org/drilling.
• Thank Congressman Carbajal and Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey) for opposing Trump’s abuse of the Defense Production Act by calling the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
• If you live outside of SLO County, ask the Congressperson who represents your district to oppose the Defense Production Act and Sable restart if they aren’t already.
Now is the time to keep up the pressure. History and the majority of Americans agree: Oil threatens public health and our environment. It’s time to move toward an oil-free future. ∆
Gianna Patchen is chapter coordinator for the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Andrew Christie served as chapter director from 2004 to 2023. Send a letter for publication to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in March 26 – April 2, 2026.
