Trump wants to strip California of coastal protections unless state meets list of demands

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Set us as preferred In what one environmental law expert described as “a dangerous ultimatum,” the Trump administration said it would strip California of its authority to protect its coastline unless state regulators agreed to more than a dozen “corrective actions” that would benefit close allies of the White House, according to the draft findings of a controversial federal review.Citing “a pattern of jurisdictional and regulatory overreach,” the 92-page review said California coastal authorities have demonstrated “unjustified hostility and political bias against offshore drilling opportunities, oil and gas projects broadly, and SpaceX’s launch activities.” The document, which The Times obtained through a public records request, said future federal funding for the state’s coastal management program has been suspended “unless and until the identified deficiencies are satisfactorily addressed.” At the top of the list of corrective actions are demands that the California Coastal Commission meet with SpaceX and “discuss any outstanding concerns about political bias and ...

productive next steps moving forward.” It also directed coastal authorities to discuss “any outstanding concerns about regulatory burden and overreach” with Sable Offshore Corp., a Texas-based oil company that has sought President Trump’s influence to bypass state oversight and restart a once-dormant offshore operation off the Santa Barbara coast.The state’s leading coastal agency must also issue an official statement by January pledging that California “will not categorically oppose initiatives led by certain entities, or relating to certain industries, such as oil and gas, or involving certain activities, such as offshore drilling,” according to the preliminary findings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrat...