SECTIONS 6240-6244 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 6240-6244

6240. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Coastal Sanctuary Act of 1994.

6241. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that offshore oil
and gas production in certain areas of state waters poses an
unacceptably high risk of damage and disruption to the marine
environment of the state.

6242. (a) A California Coastal Sanctuary is hereby created which
includes all state waters subject to tidal influence, except as
provided in subdivisions (b) and (c).
(b) The California Coastal Sanctuary shall not include any state
waters subject to a lease for the extraction of oil or gas in effect
on January 1, 1995, unless the lease is deeded or otherwise reverts
to the state after that date.
(c) The California Coastal Sanctuary shall not include any state
waters situated east of the Carquinez Bridges on Interstate 80.

6243. Notwithstanding any provision of Article 4 (commencing with
Section 6870) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 or any other provision of law,
no state agency or state officer shall enter into any new lease for
the extraction of oil or gas from the California Coastal Sanctuary,
unless the President of the United States has found a severe energy
supply interruption and has ordered distribution of the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve pursuant to Section 6241(d) of Title 42 of the
United States Code, the Governor finds that the energy resources of
the sanctuary will contribute significantly to the alleviation of
that interruption, and the Legislature subsequently acts to amend
this chapter to allow that extraction.

6244. The commission may enter into any lease for the extraction of
oil or gas from state-owned tide and submerged lands in the
California Coastal Sanctuary if the commission determines that those
oil or gas deposits are being drained by means of producing wells
upon adjacent federal lands and the lease is in the best interests of
the state.