By Jennifer Savage
California Policy Associate Director
Last month, the Surfrider Foundation warned us that the federal government had launched a review of California's coastal management program with the likely end goal of eliminating California's authority to push back on destructive offshore drilling and other federally regulated projects along our coast.
California's coastal magnificence and economic success aren't an accident, but the result of hard-won protections built, defended, and won over decades. We're not about to give those protections up now.
The review comment period has opened. Join us in fighting for California's right to protect our coast on Aug 10-12, see deadlines below.
On June 26, NOAA published a Federal Register notice formally kicking off the public input phase of its Section 312 performance evaluation. The notice confirms what we flagged last month: NOAA is soliciting feedback specifically on California's review of spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects, and undersea cables.
If NOAA finds California out of compliance, the consequences are real. Most importantly, a hostile review is the predicate for challenging California's federal consistency authority – the tool that stopped the Trestles toll road, that lets California object to offshore drilling in federal waters, and that requires federal infrastructure projects to account for coastal impacts before breaking ground.
Additionally, the Secretary of Commerce can suspend federal financial assistance to the Coastal Commission, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. These suspensions would last a minimum of six months and can run as long as 36.
How to submit a comment:
NOAA is accepting input through three channels. Comments become part of the official public record, so anything submitted, including names, will be publicly accessible.
~ In-Person Public Meeting Aug. 10, 2-6 p.m. PT Pacific Ballroom, Hilton Santa Monica Hotel and Suites, 1707 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401.
~ To speak, register by Aug. 8 email:
czma.california-evaluation@noaa.gov
~ Write your comments with the subject line: "Comments on Performance Evaluation of the California Coastal Management Program. Deadline: Aug.26, at:
czma.california-evaluation@noaa.gov
~ Virtual public meetings are Aug. 11 & 12, 2-5 pm each day via Adobe Connect:
https://tinyurl.com/NOAAvirtual
The meeting will be recorded, and a transcript will be available by emailing the address above.
What to say:
If you live, work, surf, fish, or simply love the California coast, NOAA needs to hear from you directly. Tell them what California's coastal protections mean to your community. Point to the track record: a program that has concurred with most federal projects it reviews, while still catching the rare ones that pose real harm.
Remind them that this review follows directly on the heels of a 2024 evaluation that found California's program working exactly as intended.