WHEREAS, Monday, January 28, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill; and
WHEREAS, On January 28, 1969, Platform A, an offshore oil platform owned and operated in state waters in the Santa Barbara Channel by Union Oil of El Segundo, California, began to leak thousands of gallons of crude oil after containment failed on a newly drilled underwater well; and
WHEREAS, Over subsequent weeks, millions of gallons of crude oil continued to spill into the Santa Barbara Channel, despoiling the marine environment, killing and impairing wildlife, and saturating the coastline; and
WHEREAS, The months-long oil spill brought the regional marine and coastal economy to a complete standstill, adversely affecting the maritime, fishing, recreational, tourism, and hospitality industries, among others; and
WHEREAS, The oil spill also saddled local governments, the state, business owners, property owners, and residents with millions of dollars in costs, and years of effort to clean up and restore damaged resources and property; and
WHEREAS, By the time the oil spill had ended, over 3,000,000 gallons of crude oil was spilled into the environment, amounting to what was then the largest oil spill in the history of the United States; currently, the Santa Barbara oil spill is the third largest oil spill in U.S. history, after the BP Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010 and the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989; and
WHEREAS, The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill left lasting impacts in the region, in the state, and nationally and internationally; and
WHEREAS, Included in the legacy left by the Santa Barbara oil spill is the birth of the modern environmentalist movement, which started, in large part, to create public awareness to correct the inadequacy of the laws, protections, and funds that were in place at that time to address the damage caused by incidents such as the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill; and
WHEREAS, Among the citizen-led responses to the oil spill was the establishment of local, grassroots environmental organizations, including the Santa Barbara-based organizations Get Oil Out! (GOO!), the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), and the Community Environmental Council; and
WHEREAS, The public outcry in the wake of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill resulted in the creation of the California Coastal Commission, and spurred several landmark state and federal environmental statutes and programs; and
WHEREAS, On the one-year anniversary of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, the Santa Barbara community celebrated the very first “Environmental Rights Day,” which informed the federal establishment of the first “Earth Day” on April 20, 1970; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill, the Senate recognizes the birth and subsequent achievements of the modern environmental movement; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate encourages its members to urge their constituents to participate in beach cleanups and other community efforts to bring citizen action and involvement to the protection of our environment; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate honors the tireless efforts and important accomplishments of California’s environmental leaders stretching from the time of the Santa Barbara oil spill 50 years ago up to, and including, the present day; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.