A coalition of environmental groups, elected officials and local advocates has taken its fight against federal offshore drilling plans straight to San Diego’s streets, launching a new billboard blitz that tries to pull a wonky Washington process into everyday view. The campaign targets a proposed federal program that would open parts of California’s coastline to new offshore oil leases as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management moves its 2026-2031 leasing plan deeper into environmental review.
Billboards hit San Diego streets
Wildcoast rolled out a series of billboards this week, including three along key corridors in Clairemont and Pacific Beach, that pair postcard-worthy sunset shots with looming oil platforms to highlight spill risks, according to NBC 7 San Diego. Organizers say the out-of-home ad buy is just phase one of a broader local push that will add more billboards and a digital campaign.
Wildcoast Executive Director Serge Dedina stood under one of the signs and pointed to California’s long history with offshore spills as reason enough to keep new drilling away. “To think that we’re going to be looking out over oil rigs, it’s just nuts,” he told NBC 7 San Diego.
Local officials unite behind the ads
San Diego’s City Council voted in January to formally oppose the federal proposal, and Council President Joe LaCava later said the billboard campaign underscored the city’s message that “we must say no to offshore drilling,” according to a city news release. As part of that action, the city submitted official comments to the Department of the Interior’s leasing docket, a move detailed in the release posted on the City of San Diego’s website.
Federal and state lawmakers joined the launch to show they are on the same page. Rep. Mike Levin warned that new drilling off the Pacific would put coastal communities at risk and declared, “We are saying in one collective voice, stay the hell away from California's coast,” as reported by CBS 8. State Sen. Catherine Blakespear has also stepped in at the Capitol, authoring SJR-12 to ask the Legislature to demand public hearings and a programmatic review in California, with the resolution spelling out both the request and the state’s opposition to new offshore leasing.
What’s in the federal plan?
The Interior Department’s draft 11th National Outer Continental Shelf leasing program lays out 34 potential lease sales nationwide, including six in the Pacific region that would open new lease activity off Northern, Central and Southern California, according to the BOEM. The agency has already issued Calls for Information and Nominations and has begun the National Environmental Policy Act review, which would be required before any sale could move forward.
Legal fight and federal orders
The clash over California’s coast is not just playing out on billboards. In March, the administration invoked the Defense Production Act to push a restart of production tied to the Santa Ynez unit and its pipeline, a move state leaders say they intend to challenge, according to the Los Angeles Times. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has already filed formal comments and signaled potential legal action, saying in a news release from his office that the state will use every available tool to protect its coastline.
What comes next
According to BOEM, the leasing program still has to move through public comment periods, additional information requests and environmental reviews. In SJR-12, state lawmakers urge the agency to hold public hearings in California as part of that process, while local officials and advocates work on the ground to keep building pressure with advertising and public events. Organizers behind the San Diego billboards say this week’s rollout is just the opening salvo in a longer campaign to influence both public opinion and the federal review.
