Making the relationship between Santa Barbara and the oil industry even worse was the disaster of January 28 , 1969 , one of the formative events in the modern environmental movement . A blowout on an offshore oil well at the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field spewed between of oil , producing an immense oil slick which spread over hundreds of square miles of ocean in the Santa Barbara Channel , contaminating shorelines , killing wildlife , ruining the tourist industry , and appearing on television screens worldwide . The anti-oil group " GOO " ( Get Oil Out ) formed shortly after the spill , and oil drilling has been a sensitive issue in the area ever since . Wider consequences of the spill included the 1970 passage of both the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act , laws which require assessment of potential environmental impacts of projects before they begin
disaster of January 28 , 1969
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
History of Santa Barbara, California