Center for Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, August 3, 2017

Contact: Blake Kopcho, (805) 708-3435, bkopcho@biologicaldiversity.org

Cayucos Council Passes Resolution Against Offshore Fracking, Drilling

Trump Order to Expand Offshore Leasing Meets Resistance in California

CAYUCOS, Calif.— The Cayucos Citizens Advisory Council last night approved a resolution opposing new drilling off the California coast and fracking in existing offshore oil and gas wells.

The vote is part of a statewide campaign by the Center for Biological Diversity to organize California's cities, counties and communities against the renewed threat of offshore drilling and fracking. It follows President Trump's April 28 executive order urging federal agencies to expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters. Trump's order could expose the Pacific Ocean to new oil leasing for the first time in more than 30 years.

“The last thing Californians want is more drilling and fracking off our coast. Cayucos and other coastal communities are directly threatened by offshore drilling's contribution to climate disruption,” said Blake Kopcho, a political organizer with the Center. “Trump is delusional if he thinks we'll stand aside and let him recklessly endanger wildlife and our communities with oil spills and toxic fracking chemicals.”

The Center's resolution campaign began July 25 when the Santa Barbara City Council passed a similar resolution. Los Angeles, Goleta, Berkeley, Oakland and several other cities are in the process of introducing resolutions opposing offshore drilling and fracking. The Cayucos Citizens Advisory Council represents that community and makes recommendations to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. 

The resolution calls for:

  1. A ban on new drilling and fracking in the Pacific Ocean.
  2. A phase-out of existing oil and gas extraction.
  3. Creation of a framework for responsible renewable energy development.

The last offshore lease in federal waters off California was in 1984, but Trump's order seeks to renew the leasing program. There are more than 30 offshore drilling platforms and hundreds of miles of underwater oil and gas pipelines off California's coast. Operators want permits to frack offshore wells, using chemicals toxic to wildlife. Separate lawsuits filed by the state of California and the Center — challenging the federal government's approval of offshore fracking — are pending in federal district court.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

www.biologicaldiversity.org

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