January 1, 2025
Deadline to Comment January 23
The Trump administration’s Department of the Interior is proposing a new 5-Year Offshore Drilling Plan that includes California, the Gulf of Mexico, the previously protected waters off of Florida, and Alaska, including the Alaskan wilderness, where drilling has never been attempted before because of the dangerous risk to sensitive wildlife. Oil spills caused by drilling- like the tragic Deep Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico- will have enduring negative impacts on climate, wildlife and human health.
The Department of the Interior’s has requested public feedback on the draft 5-Year Offshore Drilling Plan under the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that would permit drilling off of all continental leases. Created in 2010, (BOEM) is a part of the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for managing offshore energy, mineral, and geological resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. The agency is inviting public comments until Friday, January 23, 2026.
California’s coastal waters are home to some of the richest marine biodiversity in the United States, including critical habitat for marine mammals, seabirds, forage fish, and apex predators such as sharks and tunas. These waters also border multiple National Marine Sanctuaries, including the Channel Islands, Chumash Heritage, Greater Farallones, Monterey Bay, and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, which protect essential ocean habitat, cultural resources, and thriving ecotourism industries. Offshore drilling and seismic exploration pose grave risks to these protected waters and the many species that depend on them.
This is our chance to speak directly to the officials shaping this plan. Tell them to protect our wildlife and marine ecosystems by opposing any new offshore drilling leases!
Send a comment to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and let them know you OPPOSE new offshore drilling. Your email will be mailed directly to the agency as part of the official public record.
The specific comment period docket number is BOEM-2025-0015-0003 for the 11th National Program.
Or by mail a written comment to the address provided in the official Federal Register notice BOEM-2025-0015-0003. For the upcoming 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, comments can be submitted by the link above or by mail to Ms. Kelly Hammerle, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (VAM-LD), 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166-9216.
The U.S. has been a net oil exporter since 2020, and hit an all-time high of domestic oil production in 2024. New oil and gas leasing is not needed to meet our nation’s energy needs.
Draft Comment: Opposition to the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program
To: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Docket ID: BOEM-2025-0483 (or other relevant docket ID) Subject: Strong Opposition to the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) for the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program
I am writing to express my unequivocal opposition to the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program, particularly the inclusion of any lease sales off the California coast. Expanding offshore drilling is an unnecessary, reckless, and profound threat to our invaluable marine environment, coastal communities, and ocean health.
Facts Supporting Our Opposition
Protecting California’s Marine Wildlife and Ocean Health
The California OCS is a unique, highly productive, and ecologically sensitive region that must be permanently protected from the inherent risks of oil and gas development. New drilling poses unacceptable risks to endangered and iconic marine species, including:
- Sea Otters: Offshore oil spills are catastrophic for sea otters, whose dense fur is their primary insulation. A small amount of oil can mat their fur, leading to hypothermia and death. Sea otters are a keystone species essential to the health of our kelp forest ecosystems.
- Seabirds: Oil coating the feathers of seabirds, such as the Brown Pelican and Western Grebe, impairs their waterproofing and buoyancy, leading to drowning or hypothermia. Birds also ingest oil while preening, causing internal organ damage.
- Other Marine Life: Seismic surveys, drilling noise, and routine operational discharges disrupt and harm whales, dolphins, fish, and invertebrates. The cumulative effect of industrial activity on these ecosystems is severe and long-lasting.
Any potential short-term economic gains from new drilling are outweighed by the long-term, irreparable damage to the Pacific Ocean’s ecological integrity, which supports California’s multi-billion dollar coastal tourism and fishing industries.
America is a Net Petroleum Exporter
The claim that increased offshore drilling is necessary to ensure America’s energy security is simply false.
- The United States has been a net exporter of total petroleum products since 2020. This includes crude oil and refined products like gasoline and jet fuel.
- Expanding drilling for oil that is often refined and then exported to other countries does not directly benefit American consumers or increase domestic energy independence in a meaningful way that justifies the environmental risk.
- Offshore oil and gas development is a decades-long process. The focus should be on accelerating the transition to clean, domestic, renewable energy sources like offshore wind, which offers true long-term security without the environmental devastation.
The Devastating Threat of Oil Spills
History has repeatedly demonstrated the catastrophic and long-term consequences of offshore drilling disasters. Expanding the OCS leasing program increases the probability of another major spill, which could devastate the Pacific Coast.
- Deepwater Horizon (2010): The largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It caused a massive die-off of marine mammals, seabirds, and deep-sea corals, with long-term reproductive issues still seen in dolphin populations years later.
- Exxon Valdez (1989): Spilled 11 million gallons off the coast of Alaska, killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds and 1,000 sea otters. The environmental damage persisted for decades.
- California Spills: Spills off the California coast, like the Santa Barbara (1969) and the Orange County (2021) incidents, serve as urgent local reminders that the infrastructure is old, inherently vulnerable, and prone to failure, causing immediate and visible harm to our beaches and wildlife.
Conclusion
We urge BOEM to permanently exclude the Pacific OCS Planning Areas from the 11th National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Prioritizing short-term fossil fuel extraction over the health of our oceans, wildlife, and coastal economies is fiscally and environmentally irresponsible.
Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your City/State or Affiliation, if applicable]
For more information and to view comments from leading conservation organizations, including the marine conservation group Shark Stewards, please click the link above.