Elected officials in the city of San Diego have now joined calls to eliminate the region’s offshore waters as a potential oil drilling site.
The state of Florida is under consideration for an exemption from the plan to expand offshore exploration for oil.
Officials in New York also want their state to be removed from the Interior Department's list.
And Ventura County supervisors have just voted to oppose the plan, too.
"We have a lot to deal with in keeping our ocean clean already,” San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry said, one of three councilmembers holding a news conference Monday at Spanish Landing Park on San Diego Bay. “And that should be our focus, and focusing on the future of our alternative energy sources."
The councilmembers were joined by environmentalists concerned about possible blowouts and spills like the one in Santa Barbara's waters in 1969.
It was at a Union Oil platform six miles offshore – and the country's largest spill at the time, now ranking third.
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Thousands of birds and untold numbers of marine animals were killed, from Goleta to Ventura.
A much smaller spill that was traced to an old, corroded pipeline washed up onto Refugio State Beach nearly three years ago.
Supervisors' votes in Santa Barbara and Marin Counties are expected this week.
Ventura County has a sea range used for weapons testing at Point Mugu.
Councilman David Alvarez expressed optimism that the Administration will “back off” its addition of San Diego to the list of new offshore drilling sites.
“We want the Administration to understand that the economy in San Diego, California depends on our military and our tourism,” Alvarez said, “and that offshore oil drilling would really have a significant impact on that."
Backers of offshore drilling say it's needed, to reduce dependence on foreign oil
According to the Western States Petroleum Association, California's daily use -- 2 million barrels -- is three times what it produces.
