The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), joined by dozens of environmental, community, and conservation organizations, submitted formal comments opposing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program. The letter explains that the proposed program is premature, legally flawed, and environmentally reckless—particularly its inclusion of offshore California. The coalition documents how new offshore leasing conflicts with existing law, disregards prior presidential withdrawals, and threatens nationally significant marine ecosystems that support biodiversity, coastal economies, and Indigenous cultural heritage.
Drawing on decades of scientific research, environmental law, and lived experience along California’s coast, the letter details why leasing in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf must be excluded entirely. It highlights the incompatibility of new drilling with national marine sanctuaries, endangered species protections, and the National Environmental Policy Act, while emphasizing the ongoing risks of spills, noise pollution, and habitat destruction. The organizations urge BOEM to abandon this proposal and instead uphold its legal obligation to protect coastal communities, marine life, and irreplaceable public resources.
Click here to read the full letter.