HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RESO 2019-141RESOLUTION NO. 2019 -141
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY
OPPOSING NEW FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASING
IN ALL U.S. WATERS OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA
WHEREAS, the City of National City and its visitors enjoy California's beaches and the
Pacific Ocean for recreational, commercial, and educational activities, all of which support our
local economy; and
WHEREAS, our residents value our state's ocean and coastal waters, which provide
habitat to a vast array of wildlife, including fish, whales, sea turtles, and birds that depend on a
healthy and clean environment; and
WHEREAS, offshore oil and gas drilling and exploration off the Pacific coast puts these
coastal resources, and the communities and industries that depend on them, at risk from oil spills
and other damage; and
WHEREAS, expanding offshore oil and gas drilling complicates existing efforts to maintain
clean and healthy coastal ecosystems and the tourism and recreation jobs and revenue that
depend on them; and
WHEREAS, the oil industry's negligence of oil platform safety standards has resulted in a
long legacy of catastrophic economic and environmental damage to coastal waters and
communities, including a massive oil spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara; and
WHEREAS, in 2015 a pipeline servicing offshore oil platforms in Refugio State Park burst
and fouled the same coastal areas, damaging wildlife populations and impacting recreational and
commercial activities; and
WHEREAS, the Administration has proposed an expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing
to new areas which have largely been off-limits to new federal leasing, including the Pacific Coast;
and
WHEREAS, new federal offshore oil and gas leases have not been granted off the coast
of California since 1984; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Interior's 2017-2022 Five -Year Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Leasing Program adopted as of November 18, 2016 contained no proposed offshore
drilling along the Pacific Coast; and
WHEREAS, the Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is
considering an expanded Five -Year OCS Leasing Program for the years 2019-2024, in response
to which this resolution is hereby submitted; and
WHEREAS, the City of National City is opposed to inclusion of any offshore drilling tracts
in any OCS Planning Area on the Pacific Coast in the pending 2019-2024 Proposed Program and
any other future National Programs; and
Resolution No. 2019 —141
Page Two
WHEREAS, the State of California prohibited new oil and gas leasing in state waters
due to the unacceptably high risk of damage and disruption to the marine environment; and
WHEREAS, the Governor of California, the Attorney General, the State Senate and
Assembly, the State Lands Commission, the Coastal Commission, the Fish and Game
Commission, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, along with a growing number of cities,
have taken a stand against new federal offshore oil and gas leases in the Pacific Ocean.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of National City opposes new
federal oil and gas leasing in all U.S. waters, including off the coast of California.
The City Clerk shall forward a copy of this Resolution to Secretary Bernhardt; Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management Acting Director Walter Cruickshank; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
National Program Manager Kelly Hammerle; Governor Gavin Newsom; U. S. Senators Feinstein
and Harris; U.S. Representative Juan Vargas; State Senator Ben Hueso; State Assembly Member
Lorena Gonzalez; State Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber; and any other interested parties.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 15th da of ! tob
Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, Mayor
ATTEST:
Mich el R. Dalla Cit Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
rris-J. ne , City £ ttorne
Passed and adopted by the Council of the City of National City, California, on
October 15, 2019 by the following vote, to -wit:
Ayes: Councilmembers Cano, Quintero, Rios, Sotelo-Solis.
Nays: Morrison.
Absent: None.
Abstain: None.
AUTHENTICATED BY: ALEJANDRA SOTELO-SOLIS
Mayor of the City of National City, California
City Cle k of the Cit of 116�
tional City, California
By:
Deputy
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of
RESOLUTION NO. 2019-141 of the City of National City, California, passed and
adopted by the Council of said City on October 15, 2019.
City Clerk of the City of National City, California
By:
Deputy