A bipartisan California congressional delegation has urged President Donald Trump and the Department of the Interior to reconsider plans to open new offshore oil and gas leasing off the state’s Southern and Central coasts , including waters near Santa Barbara, warning that the development could threaten the state’s environment, economy, and national security.

The letter was signed by Senators Alex Padilla, Adam B. Schiff, and dozens of members of Congress, including Salud Carbajal, who led the delegation.

In a letter dated February 23, 2026, addressed to President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, members of the delegation voiced their “strong opposition” to the inclusion of the Southern California and Central California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Areas in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) ongoing offshore oil and gas leasing process. 

The recent announcement of a new public comment period on the potential leasing in those regions, separate from the 60-day comment period that concluded on January 23, 2026, for the Draft Proposed Program of the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, has raised “significant concerns” among the state’s constituents and stakeholders, the letter stated. 

In addition to opposing the drilling, the delegation requested a 90-day extension of the current public comment period on offshore oil and gas leasing in the Southern and Central California OCS Planning Areas.

The extension will give residents, local governments, tribal nations, small businesses, fishermen, environmental groups, and other stakeholders adequate opportunity to review the proposal and “submit comprehensive feedback that reflects the breadth of impacts this decision would entail,” the letter said. 

Requesting the Trump administration to consider the extension, the delegation urged the administration to “abandon these proposals in recognition of the unacceptable risks they pose” to coastal communities, regional and local economies, and national security.

In addition to the delegation, local city councils have opposed the new oil and gas lease sales, while environmental groups have warned of the risks involved in expanding offshore drilling activities.

History of Oil Spills

Citing the devastating 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, the delegation noted that there has not been a new or expanded lease in California since 1969, nor in federal waters since 1984. 

“The 2015 Refugio oil spill and the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill further underscored the ongoing risks of offshore drilling and reinforced our strong opposition to any expansion of offshore oil and gas development,” the letter said. 

Describing the waters off the coast in Southern and Central California as “economically and ecologically invaluable,” the delegation said many communities rely on recreational and commercial fishing, tourism, outdoor recreation, and other industries. These sectors can be “directly harmed by incompatible energy development,” according to the letter. 

With the state’s coastal economy supporting around 511,000 jobs and generating over $51.3 billion in GDP from marine-economy activities, new offshore drilling could jeopardize thousands of livelihoods, the letter said.

Threats to National Security

Beyond environmental and economic risks, offshore drilling poses “serious threats to military readiness and national security,” according to the letter.

Noting that California hosts the country’s largest concentration of military forces, including over 30 major installations and more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve personnel, the delegation said that offshore waters along the Southern coast support critical training and readiness programs. 

The waters are essential to the operations of the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet and the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Introducing additional offshore drilling infrastructure and hazardous materials into this “critical maritime space” will heighten operational risk, complicate training and testing activities, and elevate the chances of “catastrophic consequences in the event of a spill,” the letter said.