Washington, D.C. — On Earth Day, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill to permanently protect the Pacific Ocean from the dangers of fossil fuel drilling. The West Coast Ocean Protection Act would permanently prohibit new oil and gas leases for offshore drilling off the coasts of Washington state, Oregon, and California. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, is leading companion legislation in the House.
This legislation comes just after the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which resulted in the deaths of 11 workers, 134 million gallons spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days, the demise of thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles, and billions of dollars in economic losses from the fishing, outdoor recreation, and tourism industries.
Full text of the West Coast Protection Act is available here.
“The Pacific Ocean is a treasured resource that provides so much for Washington state, and offshore drilling puts everything from local jobs to fish populations to our ecosystems at risk,” Senator Murray said. “This Earth Day, while the Trump administration doubles down on handouts to Big Oil, I am proud to recommit to protecting our oceans and our communities from disastrous oil spills by introducing the West Coast Protection Act. Permanently banning offshore drilling in the Pacific Ocean will help safeguard our coastal environment and our state’s economy—from our fisheries, to outdoor recreation, and so much more.”
“We must end offshore oil drilling in coastal waters once and for all,” said Senator Padilla. “Over 50 years ago, after a catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, Californians rose up and demanded environmental protections, spurring the modern environmental movement and creating the very first Earth Day. As the Trump Administration threatens to recklessly open our coasts to new drilling, California and the West Coast need permanent safeguards to protect our communities from the devastation of fossil fuels and disastrous oil spills. We must act now to fulfill the promises we made to our children and our constituents to meet the urgency of this environmental crisis with bold action.”
These bill reaffirms vital protections for America’s coastal communities and ecosystems. The Biden Administration protected more than 625 million acres of U.S. ocean waters — including the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, the entire East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the Northern Bering Sea — from offshore oil and gas drilling. President Trump immediately tried to roll back those protections, attempting to illegally reopen those areas to drilling on day one of his second term. Trump’s record speaks for itself: during his first Administration, the Interior Department proposed a sweeping plan to open 47 offshore oil and gas lease areas across nearly every U.S. coastline, from California to New England.
The West Coast Protection Act is cosponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). It is endorsed by organizations including Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Oceana, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Surfrider Foundation, Seattle Aquarium, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Nassau Hiking & Outdoor Club, Lee (MA) Greener Gateway Committee, South Shore Audubon Society (Freeport, NY), Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Futureswell, Ocean Conservancy, Environment America, WILDCOAST, Food & Water Watch, Environmental Protection Information Center, Ocean Defense Initiative, Center for Biological Diversity, The Ocean Project, Business Alliance to Protect the Pacific Coast, Animal Welfare Institute, Wild Cumberland, Climate Reality Project – North Broward and Palm Beach County Chapter, U.S. Climate Action Network, American Bird Conservancy, Surf Industry Members Association, Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific Coast (BAPPC), Clean Ocean Action, and Hispanic Access Foundation.
Senator Murray has led the fight to ban oil drilling on the West Coast, introducing the West Coast Ocean Protection Act in 2021 to permanently ban offshore drilling in federal waters off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California, and introducing similar legislation in multiple previous Congresses.
Washington’s maritime sector contributes more than $21.4 billion in gross business income, and directly employs nearly 69,500 people. Including indirect and induced impacts, the state’s maritime economy is worth $30 billion in economic activity, and supports more than 146,000 jobs in the fishing, seafood processing, shipbuilding, trade, and other maritime sectors. The state’s maritime economy also provides jobs with substantially better pay than the average for all industries. The average pay for a job in Washington is $52,000, while maritime workers are paid an average of $70,800 — totaling over $4.7 billion in wages. Tourism on the coast adds thousands of jobs for anglers, charter boats, guides, restaurants, hotels and more. Oil spills and activities related to exploration pose a grave threat to these jobs, which rely on clean water and healthy oceans.
A one-pager on the West Coast Protection Act is available here.
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