By NB Indy Staff
Orange County elected leaders, businesses, environmentalists and community members spoke out loudly against the U.S. Department of Interior’s offshore oil and gas drilling proposal at a people’s hearing event in Costa Mesa on Monday, Dec. 8.
More than 100 people attended the event organized by Orange County Coastkeeper, Surfrider Foundation and Oceana.
The event began with a presentation on the federal proposal to open the entire California coast, the Gulf of America, Alaska and the Arctic to new offshore oil and gas leasing with instructions on how to submit official comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management before the deadline on Jan. 23, 2026.
Event organizers then invited elected officials, business leaders and other community members to provide public remarks.
Speakers included U.S. Congressmember Dave Min of the 47th District, Orange County Board of Supervisor Katrina Foley and California Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris. All three represent Newport Beach.
“Orange County witnessed firsthand the devastating and long-lasting impacts created by offshore oil drilling. The 2021 spill (in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach) harmed our wetlands, wildlife, local businesses, and the health and safety of our coastal communities,” Foley said. “Aging offshore infrastructure often fails, endangering our economy and environment. California must invest in clean energy and coastal resilience, not expand drilling that threatens everything we work to protect. I strongly oppose any new offshore drilling and stand with our community partners as we push for a safer, sustainable future.”
“Offshore drilling would be catastrophic for California,” Min said. “This is not only devastating for our climate future and an eyesore for those enjoying our beautiful coastlines, it poses an unacceptably high risk of oil spills that threaten the vibrant coastal economy that generates $44 billion a year. This is a bad deal for California, and we will continue to fight this.”
For more information, visit CoastKeeper.org.
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