A Trump administration review of the California Coastal Commission could strip the agency's power to block federal oil and infrastructure projects along California's coastline.
Environmental advocates say the review puts at risk the same regulatory framework that protects Encinitas's coastal bluffs, beaches and surf breaks from unchecked federal development. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the review in May, calling the commission's opposition to an expanded SpaceX launch schedule at Vandenberg Space Force Base "environmental extremism."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is carrying out the evaluation. Lutnick said it will examine how California has handled federal priorities on offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, spaceport infrastructure and desalination projects.
No state has ever been stripped of its authority to review federal coastal projects, KPBS reported Thursday, Sept. 3. Hundreds of Californians packed a NOAA public hearing in Santa Monica on Monday, Aug. 10, to push back. More than 15,000 people submitted written comments ahead of that hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Coastal Commission, formed in 1972, reviews development along California's coast and weighs in on federal projects under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. Of more than 3,700 federal actions reviewed since 1978, the commission has aligned with the federal government 96% of the time, Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge said at the Aug. 10 hearing.
A Biden-era review of California's coastal program, completed in 2024 but never finalized because of the change in administration, gave top marks to the state agencies that run it, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Encinitas connection
The federal review targets the commission's authority over federal projects, not its separate power under state law to approve local coastal development permits. But the commission plays a direct role in Encinitas through both channels. The city has a pending permit before the commission for the Swami's Beach Staircase Access Refurbishment project, with a hearing scheduled in October, according to city records.
Any future federal project affecting the Encinitas coastline, such as offshore drilling or pipeline work, would lose a layer of state oversight if the review results in decertification.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents Encinitas in Senate District 38, co-authored AB 1448, a bill adding restrictions to offshore oil drilling that the state Senate passed. Blakespear announced her co-authorship in an Aug. 26 Instagram post.
Deborah Sivas, professor of environmental law at Stanford Law School, told KPBS the review fits a broader pattern. She said the administration wants to "get rid of renewables and go back to good old-fashioned fossil fuels, and what better place to start than California?"
Federal oil expansion moves forward
The review comes as the administration has moved to expand oil production off California's coast. Federal officials recently took a step toward authorizing fracking on a 45-year-old platform 9 miles off Ventura County. Energy company DCOR said the plan would more than triple daily output from 1,100 barrels to 4,000 barrels in 16 wells.
The Coastal Commission voted unanimously in August to oppose that plan.
Trump officials also helped a Texas firm restart a pipeline system idled since its 2015 rupture caused one of California's worst oil spills, blackening 150 miles of beaches from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, according to KPBS.
It is not known when NOAA will complete the review or what actions could follow.
