The blue wall will protect California’s coast | Opinion
Four decades ago, 26 communities along California’s coast created a Blue Wall of zoning laws to protect them from onshore impacts of offshore oil and gas drilling. Most were approved at the ballot box, and those that were targeted by an oil industry lawsuit survived.
If the Trump administration’s new assault represented by the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2026–2031) moves forward, these cities and counties will be equipped to deal with the impacts of onshore infrastructure required to support the offshore industry — including dewatering facilities, pipelines and service yards. These laws either ban or restrict onshore facilities, or require voter approval to pass the zoning changes required to accommodate them.
Why it’s important
Last year, the Department of the Interior released its 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which among other regions targets California for the first new offshore lease sales in 36 years.
It seeks to auction federal waters through six lease sales to the oil industry — three off southern California (San Luis Obispo through San Diego counties) in 2027, 2029 and 2030, two off central California (Monterey through Sonoma Counties) in 2027 and 2029, and one of off northern California (Mendocino through Del Norte counties) in 2029.
Offshore oil development would harm tourism, agriculture and commercial and recreational fishing. It would accelerate climate change, and risk the diverse wildlife and habitats that our state and its offshore waters host.
While the risk of an oil spill is real, the amount of energy to be gained would barely move the needle for our nation’s energy needs.
As of Jan. 23, 2026, more than 270,000 comments from the public over the previous 60 days were submitted in response to the program. Two days later, the administration jumped into a Call for Nominations, asking the oil industry what areas it’s interested in within southern and central California where the first leases are scheduled for 2027.
California waters include five national marine sanctuaries that are protected from offshore oil development: Channel Islands off southern California, Chumash Heritage off parts of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, Monterey Bay from Cambria to the Marin Headlands, Greater Farallones from Marin County to Point Arena in Mendocino County and Cordell Bank west of Greater Farallones. The state also hosts 27 offshore platforms off Santa Barbara County, Long Beach, and Huntington Beach and is the seventh-largest producer of onshore and offshore oil and gas in the nation.
The Blue Wall
The Blue Wall includes the counties of Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo (Measure A, passed in 1986) and San Diego, and the cities of San Diego, Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Redondo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Watsonville, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, Point Arena, Fort Bragg and Trinidad. Marin County’s Board of Supervisors approved its ordinance in 2020.
Thirteen of those communities were sued by the Western Oil and Gas Association to overturn their ordinances, but prevailed in the courts. These laws use the power of zoning, a right that cities and counties have.
Onshore facilities for offshore oil and gas are industrial and bring significant impacts to local government treasuries, neighborhoods and the environment.
Save Our Shores will be working to fortify the Blue Wall by strengthening existing ordinances and adding new ones where they are needed. It’s our coast and our ocean. For more information, go to saveourshores.org/drilling/
Katie Thompson is director of Save Our Shores (katie@saveourshores.org) where she is working to fortify the Blue Wall that former director Dan Haifley (dan.haifley@gmail.com) built between 1986 and 1993.