President Trump's proposal to open wide swaths of federal waters to new oil and gas leasing has triggered big concern on the Central and South Coasts.
Tuesday night, a coalition of environmental groups is holding a community meeting to look at the issue.
The Environmental Defense Center, the Sierra Club, and the group “Get Oil Out” are co-sponsoring the event. Organizers say the event will focus on how people can make their voices heard on the issue. The meeting will take place at the Santa Barbara Public Library, in downtown Santa Barbara starting at 6 Tuesday night.
The proposal has prompted some heated opposition on the Central and South Coasts because of the region's history of serious oil spills, including the 1969 oil platform blowout in the Santa Barbara Channel, and the more recent 2015 spill caused by a pipeline rupture at Refugio State Beach.
