Governor Schwarzenegger says images of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico prompted the about face. The Governor had been pushing the controversial project off Santa Barbara County’s coast, known as Tranquillon ridge. It would have allowed drilling from an existing federal platform. Schwarzenegger says the project would have earned the state about 100 million dollars a year to help with its budget mess. But now he says it’s not worth the risk:
“But if I have a choice between 100 million dollars and what I see in the Gulf of Mexico, I’d rather just figure out how to make up for that 100 million dollars.”
Environmentalists and Democrats are cheering the Governor’s decision. The State Lands Commission rejected the drilling proposal last year. Governor Schwarzenegger had asked lawmakers to help push it through.