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CA COASTAL CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS LIEU AND BROWNLEY CALL FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING BAN AFTER HUNTINGTON BEACH OIL SPILL

October 5, 2021

WASHINGTON - Today, California Coastal Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Ted W. Lieu (CA-33) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) issued the following statement in response to the Huntington Beach oil spill. Reports estimate that at least 126,000 gallons of crude oil have already spilled into coastal waters, harming beaches and local wildlife.

"Oil spills are one of the greatest perpetual threats to our coastal communities. We are alarmed and dismayed by the Elly oil spill near Huntington Beach, which has already caused significant damage to our California coastline. We're grateful for the U.S. Coast Guard and all local and federal oil recovery efforts. Wildlife organizations are also working tirelessly to save animal and plant life. While the recovery efforts have so far been heroic, this should not have happened in the first place.

"In 2015, a massive oil spill off of the Santa Barbara coast devastated local flora and fauna and took years to remediate. Now, six years later, we have another massive oil spill to contend with. The majority of Californians oppose offshore drilling and with aging infrastructure, we're likely to see more oil spills in the future if we don't make a change now. We need to end offshore drilling, which is why we, as the cochairs of the California Coastal Caucus, are urging our colleagues to support a federal ban on offshore drilling. We need to pass the legislation introduced by Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would ban drilling off of the West Coast. It's time to put an end to offshore drilling in California. Our environment and our communities depend on it."

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