Dantona Urges Federal Officials to Reject Offshore Oil Drilling Proposal
Jim Dantona, former SLO Chamber CEO and candidate for Second District Supervisor, has submitted a formal public comment to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) opposing proposed offshore oil and gas leasing off California’s Central Coast.
The letter responds to the federal government’s Draft Proposed Program for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which includes two potential lease areas off the Central Coast.
Dantona’s comments urge federal officials to reject the proposal, warning that renewed offshore drilling threatens the region’s coastline, local economy, and long-term environmental health - while reversing decades of progress made to protect California’s shores.
“Our coastline is not a bargaining chip,” said Dantona. “Opening the San Luis Obispo County coastline to offshore oil drilling puts our environment, our economy and our way of life at risk - all to prop up outdated energy policies that belong in the past.”
Dantona’s letter highlights the Trump administration’s push to expand offshore drilling nationwide, arguing that the proposal ignores both the realities of climate change and the hard lessons learned from past offshore spills. He specifically cites the lasting damage caused by events like the Refugio oil spill near Santa Barbara and the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Central Coast economy depends on clean beaches, working waterfronts, tourism, agriculture and fishing,” said Dantona. “One spill could devastate this region for generations. History shows that when offshore drilling fails, coastal communities pay the price long after the oil companies are gone.”
The letter also challenges the notion that expanded offshore drilling is necessary for energy security, noting that California already has substantial inland oil production and that offshore development would lock the country into decades of additional fossil fuel dependence at a time when investment should be focused on clean energy and resilience.
Dantona called on federal officials to listen to coastal communities and remove the Central Coast lease areas from further consideration.
“Protecting our coastline means standing up - even when it means pushing back against powerful interests in Washington,” said Dantona. “This coast is worth fighting for, and the people who live here deserve to be heard.”
The full comment letter has been submitted as part of the public record for the proposed federal leasing program.
Dantona is a member of the Cayucos Citizens' Advisory Council and formerly served as President / CEO of the SLO Chamber of Commerce for seven years. His former position as a small business advocate has given him keen insight into the nexus between quality of life and economic stability.
San Luis Obispo County's Second Supervisorial District encompasses Morro Bay, Cayucos, Cambria, Los Osos, San Simeon and a portion of the City of San Luis Obispo.