'Environmental Extremism' Fight Erupts Over California Coast

SANTA MONICA, CA — California officials, lawmakers, environmental advocates and coastal residents gathered in Santa Monica Monday for a daylong fight over the state's coastline.

At the heart of the fight is California's power to weigh in on federal activities along its coast. The Trump administration has accused the state of maintaining "obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism," while California officials argue the federal review could ultimately weaken the ability of local communities and state agencies to influence projects affecting their coastline.

NOAA is conducting the evaluation under the Coastal Zone Management Act. The agency is seeking additional input on spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects and undersea cables.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot pushed back against the federal government's characterization in an Aug. 5 letter to NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs, calling the review "deeply troubling." Crowfoot said it falls outside the normal federal review cycle, was launched without prior communication with California coastal agencies and was announced with "inaccurate assertions about coastal management in California.

California's Coast Is Not For Sale

The day began outside the Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites, where a midday rally organized by The Coastal Alliance drew a crowd Monday onto a small patio under the August sun before participants headed indoors for hours of formal public comment before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Crowfoot was joined at Monday's rally by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Reps. Nanette Barragán and Dave Min, Indigenous representatives, environmental advocates and coastal business leaders.

Crowfoot said California has concurred with 96% of more than 3,700 federal and federally regulated projects reviewed under the coastal program, a figure also cited in his letter to NOAA.

"California's coast is not for sale," Crowfoot told the crowd. "A hostile takeover of our coast by the federal government, by federal leaders that don't recognize and don't respect California's coastal communities won't be tolerated."

Horvath, whose 3rd District includes Santa Monica and much of LA County's coastline, said the county opposed efforts to expand offshore oil and gas drilling or deep-seabed mining off California.

"We are telling the Trump administration to back off our beach," Horvath said.

Min drew on his experience with the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill to argue that offshore drilling poses an economic as well as environmental risk.

"Our coastal economy generates over $50 billion a year," Min said. "It employs over a half a million people. These are real jobs."

Speakers representing Indigenous communities, recreational fishing, surfing and coastal businesses also argued that California's program protects wildlife and public access while supporting industries dependent on clean water and open beaches.

The rally had an immediate objective, too: get attendees inside the hotel and their opposition into the federal record.

"The work right now in early August is to submit public comment," Crowfoot said during a question-and-answer session. "We need a basis to demonstrate California's strong opposition to this proposal."

A Marathon Of Public Comment

By 2 p.m., the crowd had traded the heat outside for the air-conditioned Pacific Ballroom, where NOAA officials began a marathon public-comment session.

Speakers were called forward in groups of 10 and given up to three minutes each. The meeting was scheduled to finish at 6 p.m., but NOAA announced that the hotel had allowed it to continue until 6:30 p.m. because of the lengthy speaker list.

The registration list stretched well into the 120s, with NOAA still calling speaker numbers 120 through 127 late in the session.

Among the speakers was Taryn Kiekow Heimer, director of ocean energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who argued that California's record demonstrated cooperation rather than obstruction.

"This is not a record of obstruction," Heimer said. "It is a record of effective governance, science-based decision making, public participation and long-term stewardship that has supported thriving coastal communities."

Across several hours of testimony, speakers repeatedly raised concerns about offshore drilling, public beach access, fisheries, tourism, Indigenous interests and the role of California communities in federal projects affecting the coast.

Opposition was also expressed in an Aug. 6 letter to Jacobs signed by 11 California lawmakers, including Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur and state Sen. Ben Allen. The lawmakers called the evaluation a "politically driven superfluous review" and similarly pointed to California's 96% concurrence rate.

NOAA officials did not respond to individual speakers Monday, saying responses would be included in the agency's final evaluation. Additional virtual public meetings were scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday, with written comments accepted through 11:59 p.m. Aug. 22.