Non-profit supports plans for protections along the West Coast
The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017 through 2022, which includes plans for offshore drilling in the Mid- and South Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic oceans.
The Surfrider Foundation (surfrider.org), a leading non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, is deeply dismayed by the decision.
Pete Stauffer, Senior Ocean Program Manager for the Surfrider Foundation, issued the following statement in reaction to the decision:
“The Surfrider Foundation is strongly opposed to the expansion of offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is a dirty and dangerous practice that threatens the health of our oceans and coastal communities.
Oil and gas development in the Atlantic would require seismic surveys, drilling operations, oil transport by tankers, and the installation of platforms, pipelines, and other infrastructure. Collectively these activities would significantly damage both the environment and related economies, while exposing the East Coast to the risk of a catastrophic oil spill.
On behalf of more than 250,000 Surfrider Foundation members and supporters, including 25 local chapters from Maine to Florida who vigorously oppose offshore drilling in the Atlantic, we call upon the Obama Administration to cancel plans for offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.
Surfrider strongly supports the Administration’s draft leasing plans to protect the West Coast from offshore drilling. The marine ecosystem and coastal economies of California, Oregon, and Washington would be significantly harmed by new offshore oil and gas development. The decision by the Obama Administration to exclude the West Coast is consistent with long standing opposition from state and federal leaders, coastal communities, and ocean stakeholders.”
On July 31, 2014, the Surfrider Foundation submitted comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in support of the protection of the Atlantic Coast, Pacific Coast, Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska from any oil and gas lease sales in the 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Program.
Details can be found at www.boem.gov/
Source: The Surfrider Foundation, SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 27, 2014
