Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Ray Mueller, Supervisor, District 3
Jackie Speier, Supervisor, District 1
Subject: Opposition to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution expressing the County of San Mateo’s strong and unequivocal opposition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s proposed 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, and authorizing and directing the President of the Board of Supervisors to approve submission of a comment letter in opposition.
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BACKGROUND:
There have not been any new offshore drilling leases issued in California since 1984. Although California has 27 offshore platforms and artificial islands where oil is currently produced, all are located in southern California and all date from the 1950’s. In fact, due to Congressional moratoria, Presidential actions, and consistent opposition from the States of Washington, Oregon, and California, the entire Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has not been included in any National OCS Program since the 1987-1992 Program.
In 1994, Republican Governor Pete Wilson, responding to public opposition to offshore oil drilling after a series of spills, signed a law banning new drilling in state waters, which extend three miles from the California coastline.
In January 2025, two weeks before leaving office, President Biden permanently banned new drilling across 625 million acres of America’s oceans, including all federal waters off the California coast. In response, a coalition of Republican-led states and the oil industry sued and, in October 2025, a federal judge struck down the ban. The case is currently on appeal.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14154 and announced a policy of “Unleashing American Energy” that would move to “restructure the nation’s energy future to block any transition away from fossil fuels.” The President’s stated aim was to make it easier and cheaper for companies to produce oil and gas and for the government to halt clean energy projects that had been approved.
On November 24, 2025, the Department of the Interior unveiled “Unleashing American Offshore Energy <https://www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so-3445-unleashing-american-offshore-energy>,” which directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to propose by October 2026 the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (Proposed Leasing Program).
The Proposed Leasing Program would offer as many as 34 potential offshore oil and gas lease sales across 21 of 27 existing OCS planning areas, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, including the entire San Mateo County coastline, home to an immense variety of precious flora and fauna, including 36 species of marine mammals, 180 species of seabirds and shorebirds, 525 species of fish and an abundance of invertebrates and algae.
The 60-day public comment period for the Proposed Leasing Program closes on January 23, 2026.
On December 2, 2025, in Resolution No. 081531, our Board approved the County’s participation in the Offshore Oil Coalition Coordination Effort, a regional effort initiated by the County of Santa Cruz to oppose federal offshore drilling.
DISCUSSION:
The Proposed Leasing Program fails to comply with a host of longstanding state and federal laws and policies, including, but not limited to, the National environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National Marine Sanctuary Act (NMSA), the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). It also fails to address the laws, goals, and policies of affected states and local governments as required under federal law, by ignoring adopted climate mitigation goals, regional policies to conserve energy and/or to move away from fossil fuels, and local land use policies.
Critically, the entire 40-mile San Mateo County coastline and the Año Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area are both within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, designated in 1992 to protect marine ecosystems and cultural and maritime resources while promoting sustainable use. Oil and gas drilling is permanently banned in those areas under federal law. Any federal effort to lease OCS tracts inside of a National Marine Sanctuary is precluded, or any attempt to modify any of the applicable government documents would trigger a public process involving extensive comment opportunities and require public hearings.
California’s State Marine Reserves Network also protects Montara State Marine Reserve and Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area in San Mateo County’s coastal waters. The need for precautionary management of these sensitive sites to protect them from routine discharges, accidental offshore oil spills, and/or transportation spills associated with OCS leases has been well-documented.
Oil spills are an inevitable part of offshore drilling and can damage entire ecosystems and communities. Since 1969, at least 48 large oil spills (over 10,000 barrels or 420,000 gallons) have occurred in U.S. waters. Hurricanes and other natural disasters can also cause major oil spills.
Each stage of offshore oil and gas development poses significant environmental risks, in addition to oil spills:
Oil exploration: Before drilling even begins, industry surveys saturate the ocean with devastating noise pollution to locate and estimate the size of offshore oil reserves. Seismic blasting emits loud explosions that can harm and can kill fish and marine mammals, while interfering with their hearing, communication, navigation and feeding.
Oil drilling: The routine operations of offshore drilling releases thousands of gallons of “drilling muds” that pollute the ocean with heavy metals, petroleum derivatives and other toxins. Drilling also pollutes the air through the release of volatile organic compounds.
Processing and transportation: Oil production requires onshore infrastructure for storage, processing, and transportation, resulting in pipelines and petrochemical plants built in coastal areas and frontline communities. Oil production also contributes to plastic pollution as over 99% of plastics are made up of chemicals derived from fossil fuels.
Environmental justice: Oil refineries pollute the air with carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and other toxins, threatening public health and disproportionately impacting lower-income and communities of color. The oil industry also contributes to the extensive loss of coastal wetlands leaving communities more vulnerable to flooding and extreme weather.
Climate change: The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the U.S. is burning fossil fuels. Offshore oil and gas drilling releases billions of metric tons of carbon, exacerbating climate change and fueling increasing heat, hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, rising seas, and ocean acidification.
Offshore drilling also poses enormous economic risks, in particular to our coastal fishing, recreation, and tourism industries, all of which depend on a clean and healthy coastal environment. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2021, California’s marine economy generated $51.3 billion in gross domestic product and $26.7 billion in wages, and ocean tourism alone provides nearly 10 times the number of jobs as the offshore oil industry.
In San Mateo County, millions of residents and visitors benefit from and enjoy our pristine coastline and scenic resources, including beaches, coastal waters, and Highway 1, all of which would be jeopardized by offshore oil and gas development.
The cost of oil spills in the future, while sure to be devastating, can be hard to estimate. We can, however, look at the cost of the most recent large spill in California, which occurred in Huntington Beach in 2021. That spill caused significant economic impacts, including millions in settlements for cleanup and damages, lost tourism revenue from beach closures (affecting fishing, surfing, events like the airshow), and substantial fines and penalties for Amplify Energy ($12 million in criminal damages, $95 million to the victims).
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Adopting the Resolution authorizing and directing the Board of Supervisors to approve submission of a comment letter in opposition to the Proposed Leasing Program is consistent with the County’s long-standing and unwavering commitment to protecting San Mateo County residents and our coastline from the environmental and economic impacts associated with offshore oil and gas development.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with adopting this Resolution authorizing and directing the Board of Supervisors to approve submission of a comment letter in opposition to the Proposed Leasing Program.