Trump Administration Decision to Open More than One Million Acres of California Public Lands to Fracking and Drilling is Irresponsible

For Immediate Release—October 31, 2019

Santa Barbara—The Trump Administration’s Bureau of Land management today announced plans to open more than a million acres of public lands to oil and gas drilling on California’s Central Coast. Despite receiving thousands of objections, the BLM is moving forward with the plan to open drilling, including fracking, in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties. The move ends a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land to fossil fuel companies in California.

In response, Food & Water Action Senior Central Coast Organizer Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino issued this statement:

“At a time when the climate crisis demands that California move away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy, it is the epitome of irresponsibility to expand fracking and drilling in our state. The climate-charged wildfires raging throughout California and the loss of life and billions in damages they create, demonstrate the profound urgency of the crisis. While Trump and the BLM may be content to fiddle while Rome burns, the people of California are prepared to fight to protect our families and our communities from reckless, dangerous drilling.

To that end, we call on Gov. Newsom to counter Trump’s plan by halting all new drilling on state or private land in California to protect us from proposed oil and gas expansion in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and throughout California”

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Contact: Julie Light, [email protected], 510-992-4083

Food & Water Action is the political advocacy arm of the research and education organization Food & Water Watch. We mobilize people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water and climate problems of our time.