Newsom Declares State of Emergency in Orange Co. from Oil Spill

At Bolsa Chica State Beach near the site of the recent oil spill in Huntington Beach, Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a briefing by U.S. Coast Guard, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and California Natural Resources Agency officials regarding the emergency response. Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Orange County to protect public health and the environment from the spill, which originated in federal waters.

“I thank all the federal, state and local responders who have mobilized to protect communities and the environment along California’s world-renowned coastline,” said Newsom. “We’re coordinating closely on cleanup efforts and to ensure we hold the responsible parties accountable. As California continues to lead the nation in phasing out fossil fuels and combating the climate crisis, this incident serves as a reminder of the urgent need to usher in a cleaner and greener future that safeguards public health, the economy and our environment.”

At the governor’s direction, the state has deployed personnel from the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to the incident command in Long Beach to closely coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard, local agencies and responsible parties on the response, cleanup and mitigation of the oil spill. In addition, agencies from across the administration are supporting various elements of the response including staff from California State Parks, California Volunteers, California State Lands Commission, CAL FIRE and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, among others.

California has not granted new offshore leases for oil production in more than 50 years and Newsom has directed the California Air Resources Board to analyze pathways to phase out oil extraction no later than 2045. During Newsom’s tenure, he urged the Department of the Interior to withdraw California from further consideration for renewed offshore oil and gas development, and asked the Bureau of Land Management to shelve its proposal to open new areas of California public land for oil and gas lease sales.