It’s another environmental catastrophe in Southern California this past week, with a ruptured oil pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach spewing 127,000 gallons into the ocean and onto beaches and wildlife.

It’s at least the fourth major oil spill in Southern California waters in the last half century or so, and the second pipeline rupture off of Southern California in just the past six years.

Given the state’s climate goals and decreasing reliance on petroleum for transportation, the spill is a reminder of the risks of our continued in-state oil and gas production, though this facility was permitted in federal waters.

To discuss options for state and local leaders to avoid this kind of tragedy in the future, I spoke to KTVU Channel 2 News about potential paths forward (see this video at about the two-minute mark).

My thoughts are based in part on our 2020 Berkeley Law report Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-Out of Fossil Fuel
Production in California.