Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License Del Norte County supervisors declined to take a position on offshore oil drilling in the Golden State with one representative stating that weighing in on the issue might “put ourselves in the middle of a much larger fight.” District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard on Tuesday quoted from a Politico article that stated that the Trump administration’s plans to open federal waters in the Pacific to offshore drilling “looks designed to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom.” Howard also cited reports from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Stanford University that stated that the last time the Elk River Basin was studied for potential petroleum development was in 1960. “When you have significant federal projects that we’re asking to be funded, including Last Chance Grade, and knowing how this specific administration has reacted to people who aren’t supportive of their processes, it might be better for us to maintain a neutral position,” he said. Howard’s colleague, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey, brought the matter to the full Board, saying it’s an issue other counties have weighed in on. According to Starkey, some of Del Norte’s coastal neighbors had reached out and asked if the Board of Supervisors would take a position on the potential for offshore oil drilling in the Pacific. Every coastal county with the exception of San Francisco and Orange County have adopted resolutions opposing offshore oil drilling, she said. And Morro Bay Assemblywoman Dawn Addis introduced AB 1536, the Save Our Shores Act which, according to Starkey, would put restrictions in place “with regard to the oil coming onto land.” Humboldt, Marin and Sonoma counties are also members of the Save My Coast Coalition, an initiative created by Santa Cruz County last year that opposes offshore oil drilling. Starkey said she wanted the Board to discuss the stance they would like to take with regard to the issue. That includes joining a regional and statewide coalition as well as submitting formal comments on the Trump administration’s plan, Starkey said. “The one I think resonates the most with me is to really have some staff monitoring this,” Starkey told her colleagues, mentioning Del Norte’s federal advocate. “To direct staff to really track the federal policies. Let’s let Thorne Run (Partners) know this is on our radar so if anything comes up on the federal side, we can address it here locally however we choose to.” Just as he opposed offshore wind energy platforms about two years ago, District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson said he opposes offshore oil drilling. However, taking an official position is, according to him, stupid. Wilson blamed Newsom for driving most petroleum refineries out of California, stating that Chevron had just announced it was leaving. The former sheriff envisioned higher gas prices because the petroleum would have to come from out of state. “There are plenty of offshore oil in existence already in Southern California,” he said. “But the rarity to be able to actually find a refinery in California is getting harder and harder… I think our wading into this mess is unnecessary given what’s coming out of Sacramento and the direction we know is going to be taken by the California governing body at this time.” Howard also referred to the offshore oil wind discussion that occurred in Del Norte County about two years ago, stating that the science BOEM had conducted on the potential for wind-generated energy was “quite specific.” On the other hand, the last time the exploratory work was conducted for petroleum-based operations off waters between Humboldt and Del Norte counties was in 1960, Howard said. “The exploratory work that would be necessary to find these petroleum reserves, which could potentially be out there, that’s going to be a long period of time,” Howard said. “BOEM has stated it would take them until at least 2028, at a minimum of three years and generally, they stated, it’s gone longer to even begin to offer up these leases. The administration will be out of office and likely the antagonistic behavior that we see playing out that we shouldn’t be involved with shouldn’t be occurring.”