California officials defy Trump's oil-drilling proposal as dangerous, unneeded

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration's proposal to expand offshore oil development has met unyielding opposition in the U.S. state of California, whose residents have long showed their distaste for drilling in coastal waters.

The 2019-2024 Outer Continental Shelf Draft Proposed Plan, unveiled by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, is scheduled to lease sales along the country's coast, and will vastly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans.

California Governor Jerry Brown released a joint statement Thursday morning with other governors who opposed the proposal, vowing to fight to keep federal waters off-limits to new drilling.

"This political decision to open the magnificent and beautiful Pacific Coast waters to oil and gas drilling flies in the face of decades of strong opposition on the part of Oregon, Washington and California -- from Republicans and Democrats alike," the statement reads.

In response to the proposed 2017-2024 Leasing Program in 2014, the Governor of California joined the Governors of Oregon and Washington in opposing federal offshore oil and gas leasing.

"For more than 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling, and we'll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, shortsighted action," said the statement.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra also said that he was evaluating all options to protect the state's natural resources from the Trump administration's offshore drilling proposal "because we don't want it and because we know what happens when it goes wrong."

Becerra tweeted Thursday afternoon that "drilling off the shore of California's coast is a non-starter ... And it should be underscored that regulatory agencies in our state will have a say in whether any offshore drilling ultimately does occur."

California has been taking a tough stand to protect its coast from the offshore oil and gas development since 1994 when the state legislature passed the California Coastal Sanctuary Act. It prohibits the state from entering into any new leases within state tidelands.

In 2017, the California Senate passed a resolution opposing new oil or gas drilling in federal waters located offshore California. Enditem