Lawmakers Urge End to Federal Oil Leases
Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) joined Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on Thursday in calling on the federal government to consider ending 40 federal oil leases, including some off the Ventura County coastline.
At the request of the oil companies, the Minerals Management Service has extended the leases for years. If the agency allows an extension beyond a June 30 deadline, developers could build new offshore platforms.
“We’re calling on the federal government to honor the wishes of the state,” Jackson said. “The risk to the ecosystem and marine life is too severe to justify any further offshore oil drilling development.”
In April, the Assembly passed a Jackson-sponsored resolution urging President Clinton and Congress to permanently ban further oil drilling off the California coast.
A federal moratorium on new offshore-drilling leases is in effect until 2012, but the law does not affect existing leases. Jackson and O’Connell, who represent much of the central coast where a majority of the undeveloped lease tracts lie, signed a letter to Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt as a means “of sending a very clear and strong message,” Jackson said.
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