Press Releases

Santa Barbara, CA – Today, after the Trump Administration moved to broadly expand opportunities for offshore oil and gas drilling on the outer continental shelf, off the coast of California, Congressman Salud Carbajal released the following statement opposing the decision:

“Protecting the health and safety of our coastal communities is vital, and that is why the first bill I introduced in Congress, moved to ban future offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of California. Coastal tourism and recreation accounts for over 80% of California’s GDP, accounting for over 800,000 jobs and billions of dollars in revenue each year.

“The Central Coast knows too well the damage caused by oil spills, our local economies and fragile ocean ecosystems cannot afford another disastrous spill. I am committed to working with my colleagues to fight this misguided decision that risks the health and safety of our coastal communities. We must prevent further expansion of drilling in our oceans and to move toward sustainable, renewable energy sources that boost job creation locally and grow our economy.”

The California Clean Coast Act permanently bans future offshore oil and gas leasing in areas of the outer continental shelf off the coast of California. Carbajal introduce his first piece of legislation in January of 2017, on the anniversary of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, in which 100,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled into the waters off of California's Central Coast.

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