Hundreds gather to oppose federal oil and gas drilling proposals along California coast.

The community event planned for Friday evening, Jan. 9, outgrew its original space in the Bonsai Ballroom at the Portola Hotel in Monterey. Hosted by Save Our Shores, the “People's Hearing” was a way to discuss concerns about the federal government’s proposals to open California to new oil and gas leases, and was moved to the venue's De Anza Ballroom where about 270 people—a mix of residents and local officials—voiced their opposition.

“It was really powerful,” says Ashley Blacow-Draeger, Oceana Pacific Policy and Communications Manager. “The federal government isn’t scheduling any public hearings on this draft offshore drilling plan, and so coastal communities across California are coming together to hold their own people's hearings where we can share information.”

On Nov. 20, the U.S. Department of the Interior released a draft proposal for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, a five-year plan for drilling in U.S. federal waters. The proposal would open up 1.27 billion acres along the coast of Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast to new offshore oil and gas leasing. Six areas along the California coast are targeted, with two potential lease sales listed for Central California.

Local officials present included Emmanuel Garcia, district director for U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta; State Sen. John Laird; Monterey County supervisors Wendy Root Askew, Kate Daniels, Luis Alejo and Chris Lopez; and Aimee David, vice president for U.S. and California ocean conservation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, among others.

The event offered several action items, including opportunities to submit public comments in response to the proposal. The public comment period closes Jan. 23. As of Monday afternoon, Jan. 12, more than 17,500 comments had been submitted to the Federal Register.

“We anticipate that number will be much higher by the close of the 60-day comment period,” Blacow-Draeger says.

Oceana gathered signatures for a petition to be sent to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency within the Department of the Interior that manages development of energy and resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Attendees also filled out postcards expressing concerns to be mailed to the agency and used computers at the event to submit comments directly through the federal government’s online portal.

The primary concerns surrounding the proposed expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters along the California coast include risks to coastal economies, the environment and marine life. There is also concern that the federal government’s draft plan could bypass local input and environmental review, according to Blacow-Draeger.

Several regulatory buffers already limit new oil and gas drilling in Monterey County and other coastal cities and counties, including marine protected areas and heavily regulated state waters. In addition, strong bipartisan legislative opposition has long worked to deter federal action. The last oil and gas lease in California was administered more than 40 years ago.

Still, recent antagonism between the federal administration and the state of California over the oversight of an offshore oil pipeline in Santa Barbara has left local officials and communities skeptical.

“California does, at the city, county and statewide level, have a lot of buffers in place to try to prevent expanded offshore oil and gas drilling,” Blacow-Draeger says, “but there are areas where we can further fortify along the California coastline, and so we can't and shouldn't take that for granted in light of this draft proposed program to expand offshore oil and gas drilling off the entire state.”