Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard warned his colleagues a third time about sending a letter to the federal government outlining Del Norte County’s opposition to offshore oil drilling.

Del Norte County’s letter is in response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Section 312 evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program. While he called it mild, Howard said he worried about any fallout the county may experience as a result. He was especially concerned about the $2.1-$2.7 billion tunnel bypass around Last Chance Grade south of Crescent City.

“I’ve expressed concerns about federal funding for our tunnel project and an administration that seems to be very vindictive as it relates to funding projects where communities take an opposition to those federal policies,” Howard said Tuesday.

Howard echoed Del Norte County’s lobbyist in Washington D.C., Thorn Run Partners representative Greg Burns, who said the Trump administration is frustrated with the California Coastal Commission.

Despite Howard’s warning, three of his colleagues supported sending the county’s letter to the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short, also mentioning “what Greg Burns has taught us,” joined his District 3 colleague in dissenting.

According to the county’s staff report, prepared by Assistant County Administrative Officer Randy Hooper, NOAA’s evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program falls under Section 312 of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. NOAA is seeking public input as part of that evaluation, particularly on spaceport infrastructure, oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects and undersea cables, according to the county’s report.

On July 14, Burns said the Trump administration is frustrated with the California Coastal Commission over its attempt to regulate SpaceX flights from Vandenberg Space Force Base. 

Burns also mentioned the state’s opposition to resuming drilling for oil off the Southern California Coast.

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey, however, pointed out that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it would start investigating whether implementing leases for offshore oil drilling would be feasible. That proposal could include a Northern California lease sale in 2029, Starkey said.

Even though NOAA’s Section 312 evaluation of the state’s coastal management practices isn’t only about offshore oil drilling, she said Tuesday, comments from the Board of Supervisors illustrate the community’s priorities, values and concerns.

“It is a very soft letter, but I think that’s OK,” Starkey said. “It’s OK to just point out where our concerns are and how we want to protect our coastal community.”

In its letter, Del Norte County raises concerns about the potential risks offshore oil development poses to its fishing grounds, vessel traffic patterns, gear deployment, marine habitat and the viability of its “working waterfront.”

An oil spill could have severe and lasting harm to fisheries, coastal businesses and tourism, the county points out.

In their letter, county supervisors also raise concerns about the risk such activity would pose to the community’s overall “coastal character.”

“Residents and visitors value the wild and working nature of this stretch of the California coast,” the letter states. “Offshore oil infrastructure and operations can carry visual, acoustic, environmental and economic consequences that may be difficult to fully anticipate or reverse.”

Kevin Hendrick, chairman of the Del Norte Democratic Party, praised the letter as being factual, polite and diplomatic. He said he understood the concern about the Trump administration potentially denying federal funding for the Last Chance Grade project, but he urged the Board to be courageous.

“It’s important to be courageous and respond to something that could do harm to our economy,” he said. “Our fishing and tourism industry both rely on a pristine environment. We should not trade off a clean ocean for the hope of funding for a new tunnel. We need both and we should fight for both.”