The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a $29,000 contribution Tuesday to support a coalition opposing new offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters as the Trump administration advances its proposed five-year offshore leasing program.
The one-time payment will go to Santa Cruz County, which leads the multi-county Save My Coast Coalition. Marin County joined the coalition in November.
The funding will support the work of Richard Charter, the coalition’s public advocate. His duties include researching federal actions, drafting public comments and attending hearings.
“Marin County strongly opposes any new oil and gas lease sales in the Pacific Region,” said Marin County District 4 Supervisor Dennis Rodoni in a public statement.
Rodoni represents constituents along the coast.
“It is deeply concerning that the federal administration is even considering drilling in our National Marine Sanctuaries,” he said. “Our coast supports rich and vulnerable marine ecosystems, and offshore drilling brings unacceptable risks of spills, pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.”
Federal plan identifies 34 potential drilling sites
The 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program is the federal government’s five-year blueprint for deciding where offshore lease sales could take place. The current proposal includes up to 34 potential lease sales in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and along the Pacific Coast.
That would mark a sharp departure from the Biden administration’s 2024-29 program, which included just three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and was described by the administration as the smallest offshore leasing program ever published.
The U.S. Department of the Interior is responsible for developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Program. According to the DOI website, the new leasing program implements executive orders by President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, both titled “Unleashing American Energy.”
“Our coast supports rich and vulnerable marine ecosystems, and offshore drilling brings unacceptable risks of spills, pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.”
Supervisor Dennis Rodoni
In a January letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the office that manages mineral resources in the nation’s deep oceans, Marin County supervisors said the agency’s “rushed wholesale area-wide approach to blanket leasing” may violate federal environmental protection laws.
The supervisors also argued the proposal failed to account for state and local climate policies, conservation goals and land-use regulations tied to coastal protections and marine sanctuaries.
Sophie Helpard, a legislative affairs associate in the county executive’s office, said the Trump administration has pursued multiple offshore leasing proposals simultaneously.
“We’re providing those comments so Marin County’s position is on the record for any future advocacy or legislative action that might need to be taken,” Helpard said.
