This administration threatens our land, sea, and air

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It is all too clear that California’s communities and environment are not immune to the Trump administration—and that state and local leaders’ pushback is powerful and necessary. Having already moved to open public lands to mining and drilling, the Trump administration is now making its presence known off the Central Coast.

On April 30, the Trump administration announced that the entire U.S. coast is open to consideration for future oil and gas exploration and production, including protected areas like marine sanctuaries.

The announcement codified Trump’s January executive order illegally revoking the coastal protections issued by Biden, triggering a lawsuit by the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, Oceana, Center for Biological Diversity, Surfrider Foundation, Greenpeace, Healthy Gulf, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Alaska Wilderness League, and Turtle Island Restoration Network.

“We have seen the impact of offshore drilling on our vulnerable ocean waters, and what it does to the surrounding communities, marine life, and the health of the ecosystem,” said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Devorah Ancel. “When nearly 40 percent of Americans live in coastal counties that rely on a healthy ocean to thrive, removing critical protections shows how little care Trump has for these communities.”

But all is not lost. Local and state governments have power to oppose offshore oil infrastructure. The present federal and state threats demonstrate the ever-growing importance of reinforcing state and local environmental laws.

Locally, it’s safe to say the administration picked the worst possible time to attempt offshore oil expansion. The Central Coast is actively fighting against the restart of the offshore oil pipeline that caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill. The company attempting this, Sable Offshore Corp., announced it restarted oil production at Platform Harmony on May 15—just days before the 10-year anniversary of the spill.

In an added ironic twist: Sable’s announcement turned out to be false. They haven’t restarted production, just their mandatory well testing activities. All of this came one month after the California Coastal Commission ordered they stop work on the ruptured pipeline and imposed an $18 million fine for ignoring a cease-and-desist order. On June 3, a judge finally made Sable stop, issuing a temporary restraining order against Cal Fire and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Defense Center had filed separate lawsuits charging that the state agencies issued waivers without proper environmental review, essentially authorizing the pipeline to restart without effective protection against corrosion, which is what caused the 2015 spill that shut down the pipeline in the first place.

Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, representing Get Oil Out!, the Santa Barbara County Action Network, the Sierra Club, and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, said, “Restarting this defective pipeline with no review and no way for the public to weigh in is a danger to our coast, our climate, and people on the Central Coast. At the very least, Gov. Newsom should demand that his agencies follow the law and do everything possible to prevent another ecological and economic disaster in our state.”

Coastal concerns are coming by sea and air. Elon Musk is still interested in launching ever-growing numbers of SpaceX rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base, and environmental groups are still interested in requiring Musk to follow existing environmental laws. Public comment is open now through July 7 for SpaceX’s most recent proposed increase in Falcon launches, from 50 to 100 per year at Vandenberg. This would be the third increase in SpaceX launches at Vandenberg in less than three years (jumping from 12 to 36 launches per year in 2023 and then 36 to 50 launches per year in 2024).

Targeted efforts against the state’s foundational environmental laws are not just coming from the federal level, but also from within. A bill introduced in the state Legislature, which would override the California Coastal Act and nullify the Coastal Commission’s objection to increased SpaceX launches at Vandenberg, has been held as a two-year bill. This means it’s dead in the water for now, but backers can try again in 2026. The bill was authored in 2024 by an Assembly member who Trump subsequently appointed as a federal prosecutor. Presumably, with Trump and Musk on the outs, even Republicans in the state Legislature may not be inclined to help Musk’s efforts to avoid “inconvenient” laws.

But good news also comes from Sacramento: Assembly Bill 1448 would strengthen environmental safeguards by closing loopholes that allow new or reactivated oil and gas development, which would hinder both Sable and Trump’s drill and spill agenda.

And, as Sierra Club attorney Ancel notes, “Trump tried this illegal move to undo protections during his first administration, and he failed. We will keep working to ensure he won’t be any more successful this time around.” ∆

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 comments in response to letters@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Winning Images 2025.