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Bilingual guest contribution — Community Environmental Council — Speak out on Sept. 15 to stop new oil wells in Santa Barbara County

by Community Contributor • September 11, 2026 • Comments Off

Speak Out on Sept. 15 to Stop New Oil Wells in Santa Barbara County

We can’t let new oil drilling threaten our communities and climate — your voice can help stop it.

Join us Tuesday, Sept. 15, to urge the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to approve proposed amendments to the Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) and Coastal Zoning Ordinance (CZO) that would prohibit new onshore oil and gas wells. These long-awaited protections would safeguard community health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and prevent future expansion of oil extraction while creating a responsible pathway for winding down existing operations in Santa Barbara County.

We’ve made real progress. The Board of Supervisors has already voted twice to move this policy forward. In April, after receiving more than 100 public comments in support, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved and recommended ordinance amendments to prohibit drilling new oil and gas wells. Now, we’re in the final push to get these protections across the finish line. The Board of Supervisors is set to hear the first reading of the draft ordinance next Tuesday.

Community voices have gotten us this far, but we need you now more than ever. If you can’t join us in person, please send a written comment in support of an oil ban using the talking points and resources below. This is the moment years of advocacy can finally become enforceable law — but only if our community shows up and speaks out.

Call to Action

Attend and Make a Public

Comment at the Board of Supervisors Meeting

Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, beginning at 9 a.m.

Attend in Person

Join us at the Betteravia Government Center (511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria, CA 93454) in the Board Hearing Room. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and breaks at noon — the oil and gas prohibition ordinance amendments may be heard in the mid/late morning, or perhaps after the break. To ensure your public comment is heard, it is safest to arrive before 10 a.m. The agenda, including the specific oil ordinance item, is available here.

Attend via Zoom

If you can’t attend in person, participate virtually to provide public comment or listen in. You can register here or access the Zoom link in the Sept. 15 meeting agenda packet, which you can download here. You can also watch live on Local Cable Channel 20 or the County’s YouTube livestream.

If you plan to give a comment in-person or over Zoom, please:

Limit your comment to 1-3 minutes
Practice, plan ahead, and prepare — 3 minutes go by quickly
Speak slowly and clearly

Can’t Make The Meeting? Email Your Comments By Monday at 5 p.m.

Email the board of supervisors (sbcob@countyofsb.org) a written comment or video message by Monday, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. asking that they approve amendments to the LUDC and CZO that would prohibit new oil and gas wells in Santa Barbara County. In the subject line, write: Public Comment for Agenda Item #1.

Talking Points

Share your appreciation and why this matters to you:

Thank County staff and elected officials for the progress made — from the 2024 Climate Action Plan to the ordinance amendments — and for the opportunity to finalize this ordinance at the Sept. 15 hearing.
Share in your own words why clean air, safe drinking water, and a stable climate matter to you and your community.

Urge the Santa Barbara County Supervisors to:

Approve the proposed amendments to the LUDC and CZO prohibiting the drilling of new oil and gas wells to protect community health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Emphasize that:

The planning commission recommended these amendments, and hundreds of community members have spoken in support. Approving them shows Santa Barbara County is serious about protecting public health and meeting its climate commitments.
Oil production is the largest facility source of PM2.5, benzene, and other harmful air pollutants in Santa Barbara County — pollutants linked to cancer, asthma, and heart disease.
Prohibiting new oil and gas wells supports the county’s 2030 climate goals and could prevent more than 344,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
The remaining hard-to-extract oil threatens our drinking water supplies. Oil companies are seeking to inject toxic wastewater near the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin, which provides drinking water to 200,000 people. Banning new wells protects that supply.
The economic impact of a phaseout would be modest. Oil-related jobs account for less than 1% of all employment in the region, and oil property taxes contribute about 0.2% of county revenues.
Find more talking points here.

Learn More

In September 2024, Santa Barbara County adopted a Climate Action Plan with a goal to cut community greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030, but the plan failed to address oil and gas facilities in the emissions inventory. Following community pressure, the County added a Fossil Fuel Transition policy directing staff to explore strategies for phasing out extraction.

In May 2025, the County of Santa Barbara began the process of phasing out oil and gas production — the Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to move forward with an ordinance that, once implemented, will protect our community and natural resources, reduce air pollution, and help meet the County’s climate goals. In October 2025, the Board voted 3-2 to advance rules banning new onshore wells and study phasing out existing operations. Supervisors cited the devastating impacts of climate disasters — from catastrophic wildfires and mudslides to the health risks faced by communities living near oil drilling — recognizing that the most effective way to reduce emissions from this sector is to prohibit new oil and gas development.

In April 2026, with strong community support, the Planning Commission approved and recommended ordinance amendments to prohibit drilling new oil and gas wells. On Sept. 15, the Board will hold its first reading of the ordinance and vote on whether to advance it toward final adoption.

For over 50 years, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) has defended and advocated for measures that protect our coastlines and communities from harmful fossil fuels. We’ve come so far, but the work isn’t over. Don’t miss this moment to act.

Access the full advocacy toolkit from our partners at Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG), including additional talking points and background information.

Access Toolkit

Support Critical Work Like This

Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC is led by CEO Sigrid Wright, 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. See our most recent impact report to learn how we are serving California’s Central Coast by advancing rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis.