In January, the Trump administration unveiled a proposal designed to encourage offshore oil drilling around the country. In June, the California legislature in opposition approved measures prohibiting the State Lands Commission, which oversees offshore oil production for the state, from approving any new offshore platforms, piers, or drilling proposals.
The bill to shutdown new offshore oil production will be signed into law in August, officials agree, which will remove any lingering possibility that production might resume on Platform Holly, off the Santa Barbara Coast, or at Rincon Island, a two-acre artificial island standing off the Ventura County coast. Both installations have been shut down in recent years.
“It is of utmost importance that oil wells, gas wells, and oil production facilities that are no longer in use, be safely plugged and abandoned in order to protect the environment and communities around them from dangerous accidental releases,” said Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara). She and State Senator Hannah Beth-Jackson, also of Santa Barbara, both backed the $108.5 millon authorization to plug and officially abandon the oil wells.