Lawmakers Demand Halt to Offshore Oil Drilling Citing Environmental and Economic Risks

U.S. Representatives and Senators from across the country have joined forces to express their strongest opposition to the expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing in federal waters. The lawmakers argue that opening new lease areas would pose significant risks to coastal economies, national security, and the marine life that inhabits our coastlines. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) already responding to over 150 oil and chemical spills each year, the threat of oil spills remains real and costly. A single catastrophic spill could cost taxpayers, states, and local communities tens of billions of dollars in cleanup costs, lost revenue, and degraded ecosystems.

Key Takeaways:

• The lawmakers are demanding that President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum immediately cease any plans to open new offshore oil and gas leases in U.S. federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf.
• Expanded oil and gas leasing poses significant risks to the health and livelihoods of coastal communities, jeopardizes tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, and threatens the marine life that inhabits our coastlines.
• The proposal to open new offshore lease areas would be contrary to long-standing protections that shield sensitive coastal waters from new drilling, including withdrawals under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, statutory moratoria, and agency restrictions.
• The administration's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would cut in half funding for the oil spill program and the Emergency Response Division.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) has previously stated that oil and gas activities in certain areas would be problematic for military readiness.
• The United States already leads the world in oil and gas production, with over 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters, yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas.
• There is no justification for opening vast swaths of our oceans to leasing when existing leases remain largely unused, while imposing mounting environmental and economic costs on coastal communities.
• While the administration prepares to expand offshore drilling, it is simultaneously undermining offshore wind and clean energy development, thereby reducing our ability to expand energy supplies and build resilient coastal economies.
• The lawmakers are urging the administration to take immediate action to reverse course and prioritize coastal resilience, expand offshore wind and clean-energy projects, and prevent further harm to coastal communities.

Statistics:

• NOAA responds to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters every year.
• A single catastrophic oil spill could cost taxpayers, states, and local communities tens of billions of dollars in cleanup costs, lost revenue, and degraded ecosystems.
• The administration's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would cut in half funding for the oil spill program and the Emergency Response Division.
• The United States already leads the world in oil and gas production, with over 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters, yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas.

Sources:

• United States House of Representatives -- Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)
• Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)
• Full text of the letter is available here and below: