Trump administration pushes offshore fracking plan amid California coastal pushback

President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are pressing a federal review that could open federally managed waters off California to offshore hydraulic fracturing, a project championed by DCOR LLC on Platform Gilda in the Santa Barbara Channel. State regulators at the California Coastal Commission have labeled the plan hazardous, noting the potential for oil spills in some of the West Coast’s most protected marine areas and questioning compliance with a prior court-ordered environmental review.

Activists, Indigenous leaders and local officials gathered in Santa Monica to denounce what they describe as federal overreach and a bid to undermine California’s coastal management authority under the CZMA. The controversy echoes earlier fights over the Sable offshore platform, where the Ninth Circuit partially dismissed environmental lawsuits, and coincides with a $63 million pipeline acquisition by California Resources Corp. that awaits approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. Critics argue the administration’s actions could set a precedent for other coastal states, while supporters claim the projects enhance national energy security.