Schwarzenegger pulls plug on offshore oil project
Ken Yamamura
The Sacramento Bee
05/03/2010
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger withdrew his support Monday for a controversial new offshore oil drilling project off the Santa Barbara coast in the wake of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Republican governor for two straight years has pushed the Tranquillon Ridge project as a way to raise money for California's strapped budget. In his January plan, Schwarzenegger sought to raise $119 million in 2010-11 and $1.8 billion over 14 years by allowing a company to drill into California waters from an existing oil platform in federal territory.
"I think that first of all, it's clear that we have to make up that $100 million a year that we (would) make from that," he said. "But if I have a choice between the $100 million and what I see in the Gulf of Mexico, I'd rather just figure out how to make up for that $100 million."
The plan drew sharp criticism from environmentalists, who raised the specter of another disaster comparable to one that occurred in 1969 in which oil from a spill drifted on to beaches in Santa Barbara.
Schwarzenegger wanted the Legislature to approve the deal because the State Lands Commission previously rejected the new oil drilling project. But that was last year, when Democrat John Garamendi was still on the commission by virtue of serving as lieutenant governor. He has since left for Congress and was replaced last week by Republican Abel Maldonado, who has said he would be willing to review the Tranquillon Ridge project despite his past opposition to offshore oil drilling.
