California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Orange County Tuesday and called for an end to offshore drilling in a public appearance with local mayors, county officials, and legislators who represent areas affected by an oil spill off the coast of Orange County over the weekend.
"It's time once and for all to disabuse ourselves that this has to be part of our future," Newsom said of offshore oil drilling. "This is part of our past."
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Newsom reaffirmed calls by U.S. Representatives Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.-47), Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49), and Katie Porter (D-Calif.-45) to phase out drilling in waters of the California coast.
U.S. Coast Guard and state wildlife departments also joined the discussion.
Porter informed the crowd the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which she chairs, would examine the cause of the spill to hold the appropriate parties responsible.
Newsom reaffirmed his promise to not grant any new offshore drilling permits in California waters. He dismissed arguments that fossil fuels were integral to the state's economy, noting that clean energy jobs outnumbered fossil fuel jobs in California this year five-to-one, and credited its fast-growing economy with a green tech boom.
The drilling company, Amplify Energy, holds a lease with the federal Department of Interior. Officials stressed the leak occurred in federal waters, noting it’s been roughly 50 years since California last authorized any drilling in state waters.
Though he admitted environmentalists have criticized his administration for implementing the phase out at a slower pace than desired, he pointed to plans to tamp down on the sale of gas-powered cars in California over the next decade as a sign of progress. Newsom said the key to eliminating fossil fuels from the state economy lied in "radically changing demand" arising from the car market.
"We need to grow up and grow out of this dependency," Newsom said. "It's about future-proofing America."
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