Offshore Drilling Moratorium Expanded to NC President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum on Sep. 25 that expanded an offshore drilling moratorium to the waters off the coast of North Carolina. The memorandum to the Department of Interior states, “this withdrawal prevents consideration of this area for any leasing for the purposes of exploration, development, or…
Senator Tillis issued a news release on Monday, September 21 announcing that “North Carolina will be included in a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing new leasing for offshore oil and gas developments for the next 12 years. Under the order leases for the purposes of offshore development are prohibited between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2032.” …
There is no doubt that seismic blasting to explore for oil and gas off our coast will have negative effects on fish and marine mammals and will limit public access to ocean waters for recreational and commercial fishers. Because of this, the Coastal Federation joined the State of North Carolina in objecting to WesternGeco’s proposal…
Environmental groups opposing offshore oil and gas prevail for now. The legal challenge against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will continue in U.S. District Court in South Carolina after Judge Gergel denied the Department of Interior’s motion to dismiss it. This ruling follows a decision Judge Gergel made at the beginning of the year,…
The release of the 2019-2024 Proposed National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program has been postponed indefinitely according to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. Bernhardt explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, published on Apr. 25, 2019, that the agency will await the outcome of the appeals process against the decision from…
On March 29, Judge Gleason of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska overturned President Trump’s push to open up 128 million acres in Arctic and Atlantic waters to oil and gas drilling. These federal waters were withdrawn from lease sales in 2015 and 2016, making them off-limits to oil and gas exploration…
The League of Women Voters of Dare County hosted a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27 to discuss the current activity associated with seismic surveys and the development of the 2019-2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Craig Merrill, the Natural Resources Committee Chair, welcomed the attendees and introduced Bob Woodard, Dare County Commissioner…
Press release via Oceana CHARLESTON, SC – A group of conservation organizations today asked a federal judge to block the start of harmful seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean, a precursor to offshore drilling, until the case can be fully heard in court. The motion for a preliminary injunction filed in federal court in…
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Leading environmental groups sued the federal government today to prevent seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. This extremely loud and dangerous process, which is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean’s surface, is the first step toward offshore drilling. If allowed, seismic airgun blasting would harm marine life,…
On Nov. 30, 2018 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) granted incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) to five companies that submitted applications to conduct geophysical surveys along the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. The NMFS is required to review the applications in accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and provide companies with a suite of…