Offshore Drilling
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Hundreds in Richmond urge federal officials to protect our coast
Virginians’ only opportunity to speak out about the Trump administration’s proposal to allow offshore drilling off Virginia unfolded this week a hundred miles from the coast. But even so, the Richmond meeting organized by the Bureau of Ocean Energy...
Leadership in Atlanta, Georgia General Assembly join opposition to offshore drilling
After a seven-hour marathon meeting, the City of Atlanta unanimously voted to pass a resolution against offshore drilling and seismic testing this week. Atlanta City Council Unanimously Passes Legislation Opposing Drilling and Seismic Testing Off...
SELC op-ed: Stop playing politics with our coast
Senior Attorney Sierra Weaver, leader of SELC's Coast and Wetlands Program, penned a quick rebuttal to the Department of Interior's stunning decision to remove Florida from its recently-released offshore drilling lease plan. An excerpt of the...
Administration pulls Florida from offshore drilling proposal via Twitter
After talking with @FLGovScott, I am removing #Florida from the draft offshore plan. pic.twitter.com/lZIfdCDNOR — Secretary Ryan Zinke (@SecretaryZinke) January 9, 2018 Late yesterday in a stunning announcement via Twitter, Interior Secretary...
Trump administration plan for Atlantic offshore drilling puts Southeast communities at risk
The Trump administration announced its draft five-year offshore drilling plan, proposing to open the Mid- and South Atlantic to risky drilling off our coast. “Today’s announcement by the Trump administration willfully ignores coastal governors,...
Protecting Atlantic waters from seismic blasting’s “storm of noise”
Marine scientist Christopher Clark has been listening to the world’s oceans for more than forty years. Off the coast of Virginia, using simple underwater microphones, the Cornell University bioacoustics expert has heard the rumblings of blue whales...
SELC op-ed: Atlanta’s voice needed to fight offshore drilling
As Georgia coastal communities continue to recover and rebuild from two major hurricanes that have hit the coast within the past year, these storms represent one more reason why offshore drilling has no place off Georgia’s waters. To be successful...
With Governors stacked against offshore drilling, the coast has spoken
Today Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe came out against the Trump administration’s plan to consider offshore drilling in the Atlantic, including off Virginia’s coast. Gov. McAuliffe joins North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and South Carolina...
Offshore drilling plan threatens Southeast, ignores overwhelming opposition
Today on behalf of more than 70 organizations, representing thousands of businesses and citizens, SELC submitted comments asking the Trump administration to reject offshore drilling in the Atlantic. The comments said: “Opening the Atlantic to...
#StickIt to offshore drilling
With summer here and many visitors heading to our treasured beaches, SELC is launching a campaign to #StickIt to offshore drilling. This campaign provides regular reminders of just how much is at stake if the Trump administration succeeds in its...
SELC looks to stop seismic blasting in Atlantic, a precursor to drilling
Today SELC joined national and local organizations, Atlantic coast states, local communities, and leading scientists in calling on the Trump administration to deny five draft permits for seismic airgun blasting off the Atlantic coast. These permits...
North Carolina Governor announces opposition to offshore drilling
Today North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he had four words on offshore drilling: Not on our coast. His announcement brings him in line with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who both recently stated...
Time to tell Trump administration, again, we don’t want offshore drilling
Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) at the Department of the Interior issued a formal Request for Information asking governors in the Southeast and the general public for input on whether their respective states should be included in...
Virginia Beach votes to oppose offshore drilling
Virginia Beach, once a holdout among coastal cities publicly staking out no-drilling stances, this week voted to oppose oil and gas exploration and seismic testing in its offshore waters. The move is a remarkable turnaround for a city council that...
Trump administration gets closer to Atlantic seismic blasting with exemptions for marine life harm
The Trump administration continued trying to clear the way for seismic blasting—a precursor to heavily opposed offshore oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic Coast—with five draft “Incidental Harassment Authorizations” issued today. These documents...
SELC, partners intervene to defend Atlantic coast from seismic blasting
Update (5/12/17): President Trump filed his America First Offshore Energy Policy, initiating federal consideration of shelved permit applications for seismic testing in the Atlantic, the first step toward drilling. SELC awaits the board's response...
Trump Executive Order aims to open Atlantic to dangers of offshore drilling
An Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump today looks to reopen the issue of offshore drilling in the Atlantic. The order instructs the Department of Interior to review the decision of the previous administration to exclude the Southeast...
Still not worth the risk
As the Trump administration reportedly prepares to restart consideration of offshore drilling in the Atlantic, coastal residents up and down the Eastern seaboard are reminding this president what they told the last: No drilling off our coast. As...
Officials deny Atlantic seismic permits following overwhelming opposition
In a move welcomed up and down the East Coast today, a federal agency denied permits for Atlantic seismic blasting, a precursor to offshore oil and gas drilling. Seismic airgun blasting—used to survey the ocean floor for oil and gas deposits—has...
New Atlantic drilling protections don’t extend to much of Southeast
The Obama administration announced yesterday that it will permanently protect 3.8 million acres of the Atlantic Ocean from oil and gas development, removing 31 Atlantic canyons from any offshore drilling activity. But to the disappointment of...
New climate change guidelines make for better decision-making
Today the Obama Administration released guidelines on how federal agencies should consider climate change when assessing proposed projects. The guidelines, which apply to all federal projects reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act,...
S.C. mayors urge Obama to block seismic blasting
Mayors from 15 coastal South Carolina towns and cities delivered letters to President Obama, urging him to deny permits for seismic blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. After a persistent public outcry from coastal communities, President Obama’s...
Marine scientists reiterate need to prevent Atlantic seismic blasting
A coalition for more than two dozen marine biologists today implored President Obama to block the oil industry’s proposed seismic blasting in the Atlantic Ocean, saying the air-gun blasts could drive a rare whale species to the brink of extinction....
With Atlantic drilling off the table, seismic blasting should be too
The broad local coalitions that formed around protecting our coast from offshore oil drilling have quickly realized that the removal of the Atlantic from federal leasing plans does not mean the end of threats to our coast. Industry applications to...
Southeast spared from offshore drilling in new federal plan
In breaking news today, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management protected the Atlantic from the threat of offshore drilling by killing a controversial drilling plan for the Atlantic Ocean that could have crippled coastal economies. “This is...
Offshore drilling announcement expected today
We are eagerly anticipating news, expected later today, on the proposed federal offshore drilling plan. Initial reports from the New York Times claim the Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will not include the Atlantic in the...
Expanded protections for whale could curtail proposed offshore drilling
Last month, federal managers announced that the best available science warranted vastly expanding the critical habitat for endangered North Atlantic right whales, a move that could make offshore drilling proposals in the Southeast more complicated. ...
Oil drilling infrastructure drives away tourism dollars
Communities on the Gulf of Mexico without offshore oil-drilling infrastructure fare far better when it comes to tourism than do counties and parishes housing drilling activities, according to an analysis by SELC. SELC’s findings run counter to...
Movement to protect our coast from offshore oil drilling takes hold
The surging coastal opposition to proposed Atlantic offshore oil drilling was highlighted in a story on the front page of Sunday’s Washington Post. In the article, Derb Carter, Director of SELC’s North Carolina office, aptly observed that oil...
New report debunks industry job promises from Atlantic drilling, highlights what’s at risk
The supposed economic benefits of offshore drilling are being debunked by a new report released today. The analysis in the Blue Economy report breaks down how the existing coastal economy would be threatened if drilling moved forward on both a state...
Coastal leaders in Washington D.C. urging administration to abandon Atlantic drilling plans
Today coastal leaders from Virginia to Florida are in Washington D.C. to urge the Obama administration to abandon the proposal to open the Atlantic to industrial offshore drilling for the first time in U.S. history. The visit comes in advance of an...
50 resolutions passed to protect our coast from offshore drilling
With a vote this week in Pawley’s Island, the list of towns and cities advocating to keep offshore drilling and seismic testing off the Southeastern coast reached 50. This new video clip illustrates just how widespread the opposition has grown. ...
Resolutions continue as communities vote to protect our coast from offshore drilling
Tybee Island, Georgia will be the next town to take up the question of offshore drilling with a vote scheduled tomorrow. On Tuesday three more coastal towns—North Carolina's Holden Beach and Oak Island, and South Carolina's Surfside Beach—passed...
Momentum growing behind movement to protect our coast
This morning we’re starting our day excited to share the news of the four votes against offshore drilling that have happened this week. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Beaufort, Holly Ridge, and Morehead City in North Carolina all took a stand...
Resolutions against offshore oil drilling headed for vote
Today and tomorrow elected officials in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Beaufort and Morehead City, North Carolina all will consider resolutions asking the federal government to drop its proposal to open waters off the Southeast coast to oil...
Join the campaign to protect the Southeast coast from offshore drilling
As more communities along the Atlantic pass resolutions against offshore drilling, SELC and our partners have launched a new campaign to demonstrate the widespread support for protecting our coast from this threat. Think about the many special...
Wilmington joins cities opposed to offshore drilling, seismic testing
In a unanimous vote last night, the Wilmington City Council passed a resolution opposing offshore oil drilling and seismic testing, making it North Carolina’s largest city thus far to do so. The vote came after two hours of deliberations and in...
SELC op-ed: California spill highlights risk to Mobile’s water from Plains pipeline
The devastation caused by the Santa Barbara County oil spill is a sobering reminder that pipelines, rigs and other oil infrastructure are far from infallible, and that the damage pipeline ruptures inflict on our communities, businesses and the...
Hurricane season another reminder of drilling dangers
As hurricane season begins today, federal officials remind us of what a dangerous combination storms and offshore drilling can be. An article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Response and Restoration lays...
Memorial Day holiday reminds us what offshore drilling puts at risk
As the country readies for one of the biggest summer travel weekends of the year, the threat of offshore drilling looms for those enjoying Atlantic beaches this Memorial Day. Tourism is the economic backbone of hundreds of towns and cities along...
Who do Southeast governors represent in their push for offshore drilling?
Despite the increasing and intense opposition to opening the Southern coasts to offshore drilling–towns along the coasts have passed resolutions opposing drilling and elected officials have spoken out against it–coastal Southeast governors continue...
“We should not allow the Gulf’s past to become the Atlantic’s future.”
On the anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, SELC Senior Attorney Sierra Weaver reflects on implications for proposed drilling in the Atlantic. “Five years after the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, the...
Seismic testing for Atlantic offshore drilling could begin this year
While the Department of the Interior considers the many comments it received on its proposal to open the Atlantic coast to offshore drilling, the first step toward drilling is already under review and drawing intense opposition. Seismic air gun...
As comment deadline nears, coastal consensus against offshore drilling emerges
With only a few days left for public comments on a federal plan to open the Mid- and South Atlantic coasts to offshore drilling, citizens from up and down the southeastern seaboard are delivering a clear message to the Bureau of Ocean Energy...
SELC brings scientists into Atlantic offshore drilling conversation
The deadline to comment on the federal proposal to open Atlantic coastal waters to offshore drilling is less than one week away. With the deadline fast approaching, SELC recently organized a scientific forum on the subject. The event brought...
Record number of locals turn out to protest offshore drilling proposal
More than 600 residents of the Outer Banks turned up at a meeting Monday to weigh in on a proposed plan to open the Atlantic coast to offshore drilling. Turnout at the meeting in Kill Devil Hills, NC, was the largest ever for a the Bureau of Ocean...
Two weeks left to share your concerns about offshore drilling off the Atlantic coast
In January 2015, the federal government announced it is considering opening up the Southeast coast to offshore oil and gas drilling. Risky drilling off our Southern coasts jeopardizes the communities, jobs, and beloved beaches that are the very...
The Great Invisible: What can we learn from the Gulf’s BP oil spill?
Nearly five years after the disastrous BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a new proposal is on the table to open up the Southeast coast to offshore drilling - a move that would jeopardize the communities, jobs, and beloved beaches that are the very...
SELC hosts South Atlantic Offshore Drilling Forum
Concerned about the recent proposal to open up the Southeast coast to offshore drilling? SELC and partners are hosting a public forum with leading experts to explore the risks drilling poses to coastal and marine environments. The South Atlantic...
The environmental threat of Atlantic drilling is too great
The New York Times asked four experts, including SELC Senior Attorney Sierra Weaver, to weigh in on whether it's worth the risks to open up the Atlantic coast to offshore drilling. Sierra makes a convincing case for why offshore drilling on our...
Too much to lose: Plan would open Southeast to offshore drilling
Even though the BP oil spill was five years ago this spring, the devastating effects are still being felt along the Gulf Coast as communities and economies struggle to clean up and rebound. Now, the federal government is considering opening up our...
SELC and Partners Warn of Looming Risks with Seismic Testing
Following the February 2014 release of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s final environmental impact statement on the plan to open up the Atlanta coast to seismic surveys for oil and gas, SELC and partners have submitted comments about the...
Seismic Testing to Move Forward
Yesterday the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its final environmental impact statement on the plan to open up the Atlanta coast to seismic surveys for oil and gas. This decision potentially opens the door to deep water drilling off the...
Conservation Groups File Lawsuit, Challenge Permitting for Oil Pipeline in Big Creek Lake Watershed
The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit today, on behalf of Mobile Baykeeper, challenging a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Plains Southcap, LLC pipeline routed through the Big Creek Lake watershed. The...
Decision on Seismic Testing Expected in 2014
Although the Obama administration is keeping the Atlantic and new areas in the Gulf off-limits to oil exploration and production for now, it plans to go forward with seismic testing in the Atlantic – the first step to opening the area to drilling....
SELC cautions against exploring for Atlantic oil
Despite ongoing and serious problems in federal oversight of offshore drilling, the Obama Administration is proceeding with plans to allow seismic oil and gas exploration in the Mid- and South Atlantic. The technology used for seismic surveys is...
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