Third Act SoCal member Maureen Ellenberger was among dozens to speak out at a recent public hearing against a Trump administration move that could result in limiting California’s oversight of its treasured coastline.<\/p>\n
The hearing and a press conference were covered by the LA Times<\/a>, which quoted Maureen, NYTimes<\/a>, ABC7<\/a>, CBSNews,<\/a> and LAist<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here is a transcript of Maureen’s Aug. 10 testimony:<\/p>\n Good afternoon. I’m Maureen Ellenberger, a former VA employee, and a former CEO–now an activist and stakeholder from Santa Barbara–I’m here to provide stakeholder input on California’s coastal management program.<\/p>\n I am a fan of the Coastal Commission and the Coastal Management program.\u00a0 The program works. Fifty years ago, California created a system to enforce the rules and regulations that keep our coast, our wildlife, and our communities safe. This program exists to stop fly-by-night operations like Sable Offshore from corroding our waters with aging pipelines. It exists to say no when the answer should be no.<\/p>\n I walk in Shoreline Park every morning. I can see eight oil platforms flaring in the dawn light, 8 ticking time bombs.\u00a0 \u00a0But I also know that we have a system that has stopped them from expanding further. That system works. It does exactly what it was designed to do.<\/p>\n In 2025, the Coastal Commission reviewed 160 coastal permits, approved 250 waivers, reviewed 39 federal projects, amended 71 local coastal plans. It’s a functioning system managing hundreds of decisions every year. A system that balances economic development with protection. A system that works.<\/p>\n This is not a real performance evaluation. A real evaluation would ask: does the program implement and enforce coastal management effectively? The answer is yes. Your own 2025 evaluation said the same thing.<\/p>\n So this is not about performance. This is about POWER<\/strong>. It’s about whether the Trump administration can strip California’s authority because THEY don’t like the answers the Commission gives to oil companies. Because California keeps saying no to Sable Offshore, no, \u00a0NO TO WORKING WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT PERMITS, no to breaking laws and no to projects that WILL foul our waters and destroy our communities. And that answer is costing big oil billions of dollars.<\/p>\n I’m scared. Not because we haven’t built something worth protecting\u2014we have. I’m scared because this meeting is performance theater. You’ve already decided.<\/p>\n But I’m speaking today anyway. So, there’s a record. So, years from now, when the platforms multiply, when the water gets dirty, when people lose access to the coast they thought was theirs\u2014everyone will know we fought this. That we did not consent. That we will keep fighting!<\/p>\n We will fight you in court. We will fight you in Congress. We will fight in every way we know how. We will organize. We will mobilize. This is not over. It’s just beginning.<\/p>\n I have faith we will get our country back.<\/p>\n The coast belongs to all of us. Not to the \u201cdark lords of extraction<\/strong>\u201d but to all of us. AND WE WILL KEEP IT!<\/p>\n