A federal court in California has ordered the Trump administration to release records that could reveal evidence of political interference in decisions to restart oil and gas drilling off the California coast.
On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California directed the Interior Department to produce over a year’s worth of emails, texts, chats and meeting notes with state and federal officials, as well as project developer Sable Offshore, over plans to revive drilling at the Santa Ynez Unit off the Santa Barbara coast. The unit had been shuttered for a decade following a 2015 oil spill and began limited oil production last year as part of the Trump administration’s push to expand domestic fossil fuel production.
The court also ordered Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to release about two years of internal communications about its decision to extend the leases for the unit.
“The Trump administration must give us any records that reveal political meddling in decisions that enable the restart of dangerous drilling off California. I’m so glad that the court agreed,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in an emailed statement following the ruling.
