A local congressman wants to stop the federal government from opening more than 720,000 acres of the Central Coast to new oil and gas drilling.
On Wednesday, Carmel Valley Democrat Jimmy Panetta introduced legislation that would stop the Bureau of Land Management from leasing new oil and gas wells on California’s Central Coast pending an additional review looking at a wider range of environmental impacts than previous studies.
These impacts include air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, groundwater, surface water, earthquakes, low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous communities.
If significant impacts were found, Panetta’s legislation would require the federal agency to complete a major environmental review before drilling could begin.
