Chesbro, Thompson urge Salazar to back off drilling in Humboldt

Eureka Times Standard

First District Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, urged U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to remove the California coastline from the proposed Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program at a hearing Thursday morning in San Francisco.

North Congressman Mike Thompson, unable to attend the hearing due to intelligence committee travel engagements, similarly issued a statement asking for the North Coast to be excluded from the program.

"My message here is simple: I oppose drilling off the coast of Northern California," Thompson said in a release. "In the last two Congresses I have introduced legislation to ban drilling off the coast of my district in Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties and co-sponsored similar legislation that would prohibit drilling along the entire California coast."

The risks clearly outweigh the benefits, Thompson said.

"The economic and ecological values of our coastal and ocean ecosystems are simply too great to trade for a short term gain by the oil and gas industry," he said.

Chesbro had much the same to say in his comments to Salazar.

"The risks of harming our coastal economy by opening these planning areas are far too great," he said. "I strongly encourage you to remove these planning areas before the proposed five-year OCS plan is finalized.

"The beaches, forests, and ocean waters of the North Coast are an irreplaceable pristine resource and a critical source of income and jobs for the region I represent," he said.

Chesbro said that the national energy policy "should follow California's example of shifting towards a clean energy future with programs for solar roofs, major investments in clean, renewable energy, conservation, and more. Any drilling off the coast will send the wrong message to Americans about the urgency of making this shift to true energy independence."