Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif)
Monterey, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta convened a roundtable of local business leaders to discuss the potential economic impacts of the Administration’s offshore oil drilling leasing proposal, which includes two sites off the central coast of California, and urge them to submit comments during the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) industry comment period, which ends February 26th.
Given the rushed timeline, Rep. Panetta joined his colleagues in calling on the BOEM to extend their deadline for industry comment. This comment period is different from the previous 60-day public comment period, because it is specifically a call for industry to identify specific lease blocks and submit information on environmental conditions, archaeological resources, use conflicts, and socioeconomic impacts.
“Preventing offshore oil and gas drilling and exploration is not just about protecting our coast, it’s also about preserving our coastal economy,” said Rep. Panetta. “Our hospitality, recreation, commercial fishing, agricultural, even real estate industries, and more generate billions annually and support tens of thousands of local jobs, which all could be threatened by the negative impacts of this Administration’s plan. That is why we will continue to come together to protect our beauty and bounty and perpetuate our thriving economy.”
Rep. Panetta continues to advocate in Congress to protect the Central Coast from offshore drilling. Following the leak of the Administration’s draft proposal in October 2025, he joined several of his colleagues in calling on the Administration to halt their plans to drill along the California coastline. He also convened local community and environmental leaders in opposition to the leaked plan. Rep. Panetta has also mobilized the constituents of the 19th Congressional District and hosted a telephone townhall last month during BOEM’s first public comment period to instruct constituents on how to submit their own comments in opposition to the Administration’s leasing plan.
Rep. Panetta also continues to carefully monitor the Administration involvement in oil drilling off of California’s coast. In 2019 after the Trump Administration’s first attempt to open up oil drilling on the Central Coast, he introduced the Central Coast of California Conservation Act to prevent new leasing for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in the Central California Planning Area, spanning the entire coastline of California’s 19th Congressional District. He also led his colleagues in a multi-state effort to ban offshore drilling along thousands of miles of U.S. coastline, citing the negative impacts of oil-related disasters and accidents on climate change and natural ecosystems.
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