The Trump administration is planning a review of the powerful California Coastal Commission and other state regulatory agencies that deal with the state’s shoreline, saying they’re likely out of compliance with the nation’s coastal management laws — an assertion critics say is merely a pretense to weaken their authority.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directed the review in a recent letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He alleged that California regulators were making decisions about development and other activities without giving due consideration to military plans and possibly many other federal interests, including offshore oil and gas drilling.
By initiating an assessment of California’s federally approved coastal management program, and the agencies that execute it, the administration is opening the door to changing how much say the state has over federal and federally licensed projects — from dredging harbors to developing wind farms in the ocean to building undersea pipelines.
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Coastal management programs, which ensure states have a voice in federal planning, are periodically reviewed and lightly modified under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. But because a review of California’s program had been nearly completed under the Biden administration, the Commerce Department’s call for a new review, on top of its stark criticism of the state, have some in California worried the agency is looking to make major changes.
“This is not a routine review,” said Richard Charter, a longtime oceans advocate and director of the Local Government Outer Continental Shelf Coordination Program, a coalition of coastal cities and counties opposed to oil development. “This is a targeted effort to remove the defenses of the California coast.”
The review comes as the Trump administration has tangled with California over a number of issues, not the least of which is the expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling. Many in the state oppose new fossil fuel development along the coastline, fearing harm to the ocean and an acceleration of climate change.
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