Sanity flies out the window
We continue to be disappointed by the State Lands Commission and its decision, announced June 1, to turn down a well-crafted compromise that would lead to abandonment of several oil platforms off our coast.
The so-called Tranquillon Ridge agreement between oil companies and environmentalists would have raised a ton of money for the state in tax revenue and royalties, limited oil drilling offshore and capped production after a reasonable period.
But the land board saw fit to vote 2-1 against the proposal, in effect handing a political victory to termed-out Assemblymember Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, who announced in recent days that he is running for attorney general.
We hope the parties that tried and failed with this initial settlement will not lose sight of their goals.
The state will continue to be broke for some time, and America will not achieve energy independence overnight. Memo to Democratic Party bigwigs: Persistence in pursuit of a sensible compromise is not a sellout.
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