(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no leases shall be let for the extraction of oil and gas from coastal tidelands or submerged lands in state waters within the Santa Barbara Channel unless the commission determines that such a lease will not result in the seepage or spillage of oil (either by finding that the safety and containment devices to be used are sufficient to prevent such seepage or spillage or that no seepage or spillage would result in any event) or in the destruction of scenic or aesthetic values.
(b) As used in this section, the Santa Barbara Channel is the area described as follows:
Beginning at the point of intersection of the ordinary high-water mark of the Pacific Ocean with the westerly point of Point Conception; thence in a generally easterly and southeasterly direction along said ordinary high-water mark to the westerly point of Point Mugu; thence in a generally southwesterly direction to the southwest tip of Anacapa Island; thence along the inland sides of Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands to the most westerly part of San Miguel Island; thence in a northerly direction to the point of beginning; excluding the area described in subdivision (b) of Section 6871.2.
(Added by Stats. 1970, Ch. 1530.)