Title
a. Receive a report in response to Board Referral No. 2019.03, issued by Supervisor Alejo on May 14, 2019; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign and submit a formal protest letter by June 9, 2019, in response to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Central Coast Field Office, Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Receive a report in response to Board Referral No. 2019.03, issued by Supervisor Alejo on May 14, 2019; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign and submit a formal protest letter by June 9, 2019, in response to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Central Coast Field Office, Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development.
SUMMARY
On May 9, 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Coast Field Office released the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Oil and Gas Leasing and Development. This Proposal was published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2019, beginning a 30-day protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review. If the Board authorizes submittal of a protest letter, either as included with this report (Exhibit A) or with edits, it will be filed by the June 9, 2019 protest deadline.
Through this proposal, the Trump Administration is attempting to open nearly 730,000 acres of public lands and mineral estate across California’s Central Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area to new oil and gas drilling. The document analyzes six alternative approaches, specifies which BLM-managed public lands or subsurface Federal mineral estate would be open to future oil and gas leasing, and provides the stipulations or restrictions that would be applied to protect resources. The land-use management decisions resulting from this planning effort would affect Federal mineral estate managed by the Central Coast Field Office, primarily located in Monterey, San Benito, and Fresno Counties.
DISCUSSION
Timeline: No oil and gas leases have been issued in California since a 2013 legal challenge against proposed expansion of oil drilling operations resulted in a ruling that the federal government unlawfully approved extraction plans without adequately analyzing their environmental impact. As part of the settlement in the case, BLM agreed to complete an environmental impact analysis before deciding whether to allow drilling and fracking on public land across California.
Prior to that, in July 2012, the BLM Hollister Field Office (now the Central Coast Field Office) released for public comment an Environmental Assessment (EA) that proposed to offer 17,847 acres of Federal mineral estate lands for competitive oil and gas leasing in Monterey, San Benito, and Fresno counties. In July/August 2012, the County’s Resource Management Agency (RMA) coordinated with the Health Department and Monterey County Water Resources Agency (WRA) to file comment letters with BLM outlining Monterey County’s concerns related to the potential impacts of the proposal to county facilities and resources.
The public scoping period for the BLM Hollister Field Office RMPA/EIS was 8/5/13 to 2/28/14. Public scoping meetings were held in early 2014 in Hollister, Sacramento, Salinas, and Coalinga, California. In October 2013, RMA submitted a comment letter to BLM during the scoping process for the RMPA/EIS that identified potential impacts to traffic/road infrastructure, water quality, water quantity, aesthetics, hazardous materials exposure, seismic hazards and housing.
In January 2017, BLM issued a Draft RMPA/EIS with a 90-day public comment period, and in May 2019, BLM issued a Proposed RMPA/Final EIS with a 30-day public protest period and 60-day governor’s consistency review.
Background: There is a long history of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the County’s federal legislators, and County residents working to oppose oil and gas development in the County. The primary concerns related to oil and gas development center around potential public health impacts, environmental concerns, protection of underground sources of drinking water, the preservation of public infrastructure, dam safety, and the preservation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
In 2012 and 2013, the County submitted four comment letters to BLM specific to this issue.
In November of 2016, Monterey County voters approved Measure Z prohibiting the use of land within the County’s unincorporated areas for hydraulic fracturing treatments, acid well stimulation treatments, and other well stimulation treatments. This matter is still being contemplated by the courts, and the County is a party in that litigation.
In February 2018, the Board adopted a resolution opposing offshore oil and gas development as proposed by the Trump Administration.
The County has taken support positions on proposed Federal legislation, the West Coast Protection Act, both in the last session and this session of Congress. These bills would permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling off the California Coast.
The Board’s 2019-20 Legislative Program includes language related to oil and gas exploration and the potential effects of these activities on water quality and dam safety. It also provides direction to support efforts to protect, conserve, and maintain healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems and the thriving economy it support in the County.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
The CAO-Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs Division prepared this report with assistance from the Resource Management Agency, County Counsel, Water Resources Agency, Health (Environmental Health Bureau), and the County’s federal legislative advocate - Brent Heberlee with Ballard Spahr LLP.
FINANCING
Approval of the recommendation included in this report will not result in additional General Fund contributions.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
Receipt of this report and authorization of the proposed comment letter supports:
X Economic Development
X Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
X Public Safety
Prepared by: Annette D’Adamo, MAIII
Approved by: Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant CAO
May 29, 2019
___________________________________________ ____________________
Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer Date
Attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board
Exhibit A: Protest Letter