[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 126 (Monday, August 3, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO LINDA KROP, CALIFORNIA'S 24TH CONGRESSIONAL WOMAN OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SALUD O. CARBAJAL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 3, 2026

  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, each year, I have the honor of recognizing 
women on the Central Coast whose leadership, service, and dedication 
have made a lasting impact on our community through the Women of the 
Year Award. This year, it is my pleasure to recognize Linda Krop for 
her decades of environmental advocacy, public service, and commitment 
to protecting the natural resources of California's Central Coast.
  Linda has devoted more than three decades to the Environmental 
Defense Center, a local public-interest environmental law firm. She 
joined the firm in 1989 and has served as its Chief Counsel since 1999. 
Throughout her career, she has specialized in environmental law 
involving offshore oil and gas development, ocean and coastal 
conservation, open-space preservation, natural-resource protection, and 
energy policy.
  Linda's work has produced lasting protections for communities and 
ecosystems throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo 
Counties. Among her most notable legal accomplishments, she helped 
secure the termination of 40 federal oil and gas leases off the 
California coast. She prevented the extension of 37 federal oil leases 
off the coasts of the three counties. She also played a leading role in 
response to the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which released 140,000 gallons 
of crude oil and polluted both the ocean and surrounding land. She led 
the EDC's legal team in efforts that forced the companies to pay more 
than $700 million in damages.
  Beyond her courtroom advocacy, Linda has helped advance environmental 
protections through public policy. She served on the Channel Islands 
National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council from 1998 to 2013, 
representing the conservation community. She was also appointed by the 
U.S. Minerals Management Service to serve on the California Offshore 
Oil and Gas Energy Resources Committee and the High Energy Seismic 
Survey Task Force.
  Since 2006, she has regularly taught in the Environmental Studies 
Program at UCSB and at the Santa Barbara College of Law.
  Through litigation, policy advocacy, and education, she has helped 
preserve some of California's most valued landscapes and has 
strengthened environmental protections throughout our region. Today, 
she continues those efforts by challenging Sable Offshore Corp.'s plans 
to restart offshore oil operations, helping protect the Central Coast's 
coastline and communities.
  I am proud to recognize Linda Krop for her extraordinary record of 
leadership and service and her lifelong dedication to protecting the 
natural beauty and environmental future of the Central Coast.

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