Oil drilling on Santa Barbara Coast
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled today to vote on a symbolic resolution to allow more offshore oil drilling along the county coastline. My colleague Maria La Ganga reports that the resolution is expected to be approved.
Offshore drilling is ultimately up to the state and federal government. But it is an interesting development to see the should-we-or-shouldn't-we-drill debate played out at a more local level. My colleague George Skelton last week opined in his column that we should drill, since California consumes far more oil than it produces and it's hypocritical to import all that oil from elsewhere.
The above map is from the federal Mineral Management Service and shows the 17 oil platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel (click on the map to see a larger version). There are 33 total oil platforms off California's coast, including four in the Santa Maria Basin and 12 in San Pedro Bay, according to the California State Lands Commission.
Map: U.S. Mineral Management Service
