Fish Sniffer Magazine Volume 41 Issue 18 | Page 18

18 November 11 , 2022 VOL . 41 • ISS . 18

Oil slick discovered off Long Beach highlights lack of real marine protection in California

L

ONG BEACH , CA - As
offshore drilling continues off Southern California in a state
portrayed as the “ nation ’ s green leader ” by the state ’ s politicians and media , an oil slick was discovered off the coast of Alamitas Beach in Long Beach near the four THUMS islands on Saturday , October 15 . These are artificial islands formed by five oil companies to produce tens of thousands barrels of oil every day , according to a press statement from Sierra Club California . The four THUMS islands are owned by the State of California and the City of Long Beach and operated by the City and California Resources Corporation . This spill comes just over a year after the 126,000 gallon spill in Orange County that was caused by a ship ’ s anchor at the port of Long Beach . “ This slick highlights the fact that fossil fuel production has no place , anywhere in California , but especially offshore and near our beaches ,” said Nicole Levin , Sierra Club Campaigner for Dirty Fuels in a statement . “ How many more oil spills and fossil fuel accidents do we need until the city and the state begins to prioritize public health and the environment ?” “ In January the Long Beach Sustainable City Commission made recommendations to ban new oil drilling and study the phase out of existing oil drilling , but Long Beach City Council has yet to adequately act on these recommendations . Long Beach City needs to follow the lead of surrounding cities and work to phase out and clean up their oil wells as quickly as possible to protect public health and the environment ,” she stated . According to CBS Los Angeles , the Long Beach Fire Department was able to contain the 200 by 300 feet across oil slick off the city ’ s coast . It was near the dock slips off of the 400 block of East Shoreline Drive . “ Authorities are unsure how the slick originated but will continue to monitor it . Long Beach fire has set up booms to contain the slick as hazmat teams continue to clean up the spill ,” CBSLA noted . “ No marine or wildlife were damaged by the slick .” Contrary to the “ Green California ” myth , the Southern California Coast is NOT protected
from offshore oil and gas drilling , due to deep regulatory capture by Big Oil and Big Gas . There have been two major oil spills off the SoCal Coast — the Refugio Beach Oil Spill of 2015 and the Huntington Beach Oil Spill last October — since the highly touted “ marine protected areas ” created under the Marine Life Protection Act ( MLPA ) Initiative went into effect in January 2012 . In an apparent conflict of interest that state officials have refused to discuss , Western States Petroleum Association President Catherine Reheis-Boyd chaired the Marine Life Protection Act ( MLPA ) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “ marine protected areas ” off the South Coast from 2009 to 2012 . She also served on the task forces for the Central Coast , North Central Coast and North Coast from 2004 to 2012 . Ironically , four of the “ marine protected areas ” off the Santa Barbara coast created under Reheis-Boyd ’ s helm were fouled by the Refugio Oil Spill . Many fish , birds and other wildlife were killed or injured during that destructive spill as the region was closed to fishing and public access as the spill was cleaned up . As the Western States Petroleum Association ( WSPA ) and Big Oil spend millions of dollars every year lobbying the Legislature and other state officials , California oil and gas regulators have continued to approve new and reworked offshore oil well permits under existing leases off the Southern California Coast . Governor Jerry Brown approved over 200 offshore oil well permits in state waters from 2011 to 2017 , according to data analyzed by Food and Water Watch and Fractracker Alliance . Governor Newsom ’ s oil and gas regulators have continued granting offshore oil well permits also . As of October 1 , 2021 , there were a total of 150 reported permits issued for offshore wells since January 1 , 2019 , according to an analysis of permits approved through October 1 , 2021 and posted at www . NewsomWell- Watch . org by Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance . “ Five of these permits were for new drilling and the remaining 145 for reworks ( including sidetracks and deepening operations ). Half of the total were issued for idle wells that should be plugged and properly abandoned to reduce the risk of blowouts , leaks , and other accidents . Over the first three quarters of 2021 there have been 17 offshore permits issued ,” according to the groups . Currently , 19 oil and gas leases in California ’ s coastal waters allow drilling up to three miles off the state shoreline and represent 1,200 active wells . A bill to end all offshore drilling in California state waters failed to move forward in the Legislature this year , due to fierce opposition by the Western States Petroleum Association and the oil industry . In May , Senator Dave Min ’ s Senate Bill ( SB ) 953 failed to pass out of the Senate Committee on Appropriation and was held on the Suspense File . WSPA , the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento , alone has spent over $ 17.5 million lobbying the California Legislature and other state officials over the past three years . The lobbying spree by Big Oil and Gas to defeat offshore drilling and other legislation it opposed came to a total of $ 7,638,377.68 during the sixth quarter of the 2021-22 legislative session and $ 5,647,476.89 during the fifth quarter — a total of $ 13,285,854.57 between January and June of 2022 . Not surprisingly , the Western States Petroleum Association spent the most of any organization , $ 3,436,478.82 , between January and June 2022 . Chevron , infamous for environmental devastation from the Amazon to California , came in second with $ 2,601,896.18 spent on lobbying in California between January and June . Sempra Energy , the corporation that owns SoCalGas , responsible for the Aliso Canyon gas blowout of October 2015 , came in third with $ 2,420,143.85 pumped into lobbying in the first six months of 2022 . Finally , the California Business Table came in fourth with $ 1,510,529.84 spent during the first six months of 2022 . Over the past four years , fossil fuel companies paid almost $ 77.5 million to lobby lawmakers in Sacramento , reported Josh Slowiczek in Capital and Main on May 14 .
By Dan Bacher
“ Oil and gas interests spent four times as much as environmental advocacy groups and almost six times as much as clean energy firms on lobbying efforts in California between 2018 and 2021 , according to a Capital & Main analysis — reflecting the intensity of the industry ’ s efforts to influence policy in a state whose leaders have vowed to build an energy future free of fossil fuels ,” Slowiczek wrote . WSPA and Big Oil wield their power in 8 major ways : through ( 1 ) lobbying ; ( 2 ) campaign spending ; ( 3 ) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels ; ( 4 ) creating Astroturf groups ; ( 5 ) working in collaboration with media ; ( 6 ) creating alliances with labor unions ; ( 7 ) contributing to nonprofit organizations ; and ( 8 ) sponsoring awards ceremonies , including those for legislators and journalists . WSPA and Big Oil have for years worked closely with media outlets and more recently have sponsored awards for legislators and journalists . For example , Catherine Reheis- Boyd , WSPA President , was on the “ short list ” of nominees for the LA Times “ Inspirational Women Awards ” held on October 18 , 2022 . Can you guess who was one of the sponsors of the LA Times awards ? Yes , you guessed right — WSPA was a sponsor . According to a tweet from @ OfficialWSPA , “ Today @ latimes acknowledged a woman who is already well known in our industry as a trailblazer and inspiration to tens of thousands of women . Congrats to our fearless leader @ WSPAPrez for being recognized as a shortlisted nominee for the Inspirational Women Awards .” It is also no surprise that five LA Times reporters this year received “ environmental reporting ” awards from the Sacramento Press Club that were sponsored by WSPA , PR and lobbying firms and others . In 2015 , I wrote this article about how LA Times and the California Resources Corporation teamed up on a propaganda website : https :// www . dailykos . com / story / 2015 / 10 / 30 / 1442947 / -LA- Times-and-Big-Oil-team-up-onpropaganda-website . However , the LA Times is no longer managing and running that website .