[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S61-S62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Wyden, Ms. 
        Cantwell, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, and Ms. Harris)):
  S. 31. A bill to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to 
permanently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer 
Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill, the West 
Coast Ocean Protection Act, which would amend the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior from issuing 
a lease for offshore oil or gas in federal waters off the coast of 
California, Oregon, or Washington.
  I am pleased to be joined today by Senators Wyden, Merkley, Cantwell, 
Murray, and Harris in sponsoring this bill, which has been reintroduced 
in every Congress since 2010.
  The original impetus for this bill was the Deepwater Horizon 
catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010, which demonstrated 
yet again the risks of offshore oil and gas extraction.
  When the Deepwater Horizon well blew out, 11 people died and 17 
others were injured. Oil and gas rushed into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 
days.
  Oil slicks spread across the Gulf of Mexico, tar balls spoiled the 
pristine white sand beaches of Florida, wetlands were coated with toxic 
sludge, and more than one-third of federal waters in the Gulf were 
closed to fishing.
  While Deepwater Horizon served as an important reminder, the dangers 
of offshore oil and gas were already too well known to Californians. In 
1969, the Santa Barbara oil spill leaked up to 100,000 barrels of oil, 
and remains the third largest oil spill in the country to this day.

[[Page S62]]

  Like the Deepwater Horizon, the Santa Barbara oil spill was caused by 
a natural gas blowout when pressure in the drill hole fluctuated.
  It took 11 days to plug the hole with mud and cement, but oil and gas 
continued to seep for months.
  Using containment technologies still in place today, the cleanup 
effort relied on skimmers, detergent, and booms.
  There has been no new drilling in waters controlled by the State of 
California since then, and there has been no new drilling in Federal 
waters off the coast of California since 1981.
  Appropriately, the most recent plan from the Department of the 
Interior for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing will not allow 
new leasing off the Pacific Coast of California, Oregon or Washington 
through 2022.
  The fact is that those of us on the Pacific coast do not want any 
further offshore oil or gas development.
  In 2012 California's 19 coastal counties generated $662 billion in 
wages and $1.7 trillion in GDP. This accounts for 80 percent of the 
economic activity in the State.
  California's Ocean economy, including tourism, recreation, and marine 
transportation, accounts for over 489,000 jobs.
  Unlike other areas of the country, any potential fossil fuel 
resources off the coast of California are likely to be found within 
only 50 miles of the coast, because of the narrow shelf off the 
California coast. This means that any potential drilling, and any 
potential spills, would be in direct conflict with the ocean 
environment and economy that my state enjoys.
  Enacting a permanent ban on offshore drilling would protect our coast 
for generations to come.

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