Updates
January 27, 2021
Secretary of Interior to Pause New Oil and Gas Leases on Public Lands
On Jan. 27, President Biden signed an Executive Order that directs the Secretary of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and offshore waters to the extent possible. This action represents a significant step towards the permanent protection of our coast from the impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. The accompanying Fact Sheet summarizes the details included in the EO, which focuses on actions that can be taken to address climate change.
Additionally, the EO directs the Secretary to launch a rigorous review of all existing leasing and permitting practices related to fossil fuel development on public lands and waters, and identify steps that can be taken to double renewable energy production from offshore wind by 2030. Currently, Kitty Hawk Offshore is the only wind energy area in development off the coast of North Carolina.
October 2, 2020
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 production during the 10-year period beginning on July 1, 2022 and ending on June 30, 2032.” Unfortunately, the memorandum only references the portion of the planning area that lies south of the northern administrative boundary line of North Carolina, and not the entire Mid-Atlantic Planning Area or the entire Atlantic Coast. Therefore, continued grassroots efforts to contact local, state, and federal representatives with the request to expand the moratorium for the entire Atlantic Coast are encouraged as the acute and chronic impacts of offshore drilling do not respect state lines. The federation will also continue to monitor the status of these moratoriums as President Trump stated that he, “can change things very easily,” immediately after announcing the decision to add North Carolina to the moratorium during a campaign rally.
September 22, 2020
Offshore Drilling Moratorium Requested for NC
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.” This followed an earlier request Governor Cooper sent in a letter Sept. 15 that urged President Trump and his administration to include North Carolina in the recently announced moratorium. Governor Cooper released a statement on Sep. 22 that he will “stay vigilant and ready to resume the fight in the event the federal government makes any move toward offshore drilling,” while waiting for confirmation that the President will extend the offshore drilling moratorium to North Carolina’s waters.
September 15, 2020
NC Absent from Expanded Offshore Drilling Moratorium
Just after Labor Day, President Trump extended a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in a portion of the Central and most of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and expanded the decade-long ban to planning areas off the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. During his remarks, the President extended “congratulations to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and frankly North Carolina.” Unfortunately, North Carolina was not included in the expanded moratorium so frankly, there is no reason to celebrate. If anything, the recent order should cause concern since North Carolina remains under consideration for proposed offshore oil and gas lease sales.
Offshore drilling and seismic surveying for oil and gas exploration would not be compatible with our vibrant coastal environment and economy. That’s the sentiment from 100% of the state’s oceanfront municipalities. The North Carolina coast has been off-limits to offshore drilling for over 30 years, help us keep it that way by contacting your local, state, and federal representatives to request they call for expansion of the recently announced moratorium to include North Carolina and the entire Atlantic Coast.
July 24, 2020
House restricts funding to current OCS program
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the FY2021 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies base bill. This bill included a provision to restrict the Secretary of the Interior or the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to conduct or authorize oil and gas pre-leasing, leasing, or related activities, including but not limited to the issuance of permits for geological and geophysical exploration, in any planning area where the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016) did not schedule leases.
March 11, 2020
100% of oceanfront municipalities oppose offshore drilling and seismic testing
100% of oceanfront municipalities in North Carolina have now passed resolutions opposing offshore oil drilling and seismic testing. The Town of Indian Beach in Carteret County adopted such a resolution during the March meeting of the Board of Commissioners, joining a total of 44 other towns, cities, and counties throughout the state. Even inland communities, some located as far west as Asheville, have joined in this fight that affects all North Carolinians.
Sept. 13, 2019
House votes to protect U.S. coasts from offshore drilling
The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of two bills that would prevent new offshore drilling from occurring off the Atlantic, Pacific and Florida Gulf Coast.
In response to the vote, Rep. Price issued a statement saying, “I am extremely pleased that this legislation passed the House of Representatives and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take it up without delay.” Both of these bills will be placed on the Senate calendar for consideration along with the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act (S. 1304), which was introduced by Sen. Menendez (D-NJ).
Read more here.
Apr. 25, 2019
Program release postponed, but the fight against offshore oil continues
The release of the 2019-2024 Proposed National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program has been postponed indefinitely according to newly confirmed 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 a federal judge. This decision will determine whether or not the ban on offshore drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska and within specific canyons in the North and Mid-Atlantic will be upheld.
While this ruling is critical for the protection of irreplaceable habitat in Arctic and Atlantic waters, it does not diminish the threat of drilling along the North Carolina coast. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management scheduled open houses in Kill Devil Hills and Morehead City in conjunction with the release of the proposed program, providing an indication that North Carolina was going to be included. Early speculation indicates that the appeals process could continue throughout the year and would coincide with the 2020 presidential election.
Read more here.
Dec. 11, 2018
Groups sue feds to stop seismic airgun blasting in Atlantic Ocean
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, including whales, dolphins, fish and zooplankton – the foundation of the ocean food web.
The lawsuit, filed in South Carolina, claims that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it issued Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) in late November. Those permits authorize five companies to harm or harass marine mammals while conducting seismic airgun blasting in an area twice the size of California, stretching from Cape May, New Jersey to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The government has estimated that seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic could harass or harm marine mammals like dolphins and whales – which depend on sound to feed, mate and communicate – hundreds of thousands of times. Seismic airgun blasting would also jeopardize the iconic North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species, according to 28 leading right whale experts.
“Seismic testing and offshore drilling are incompatible with our coast in North Carolina,” said Todd Miller, executive director at North Carolina Coastal Federation. “There’s never a window that would be a good time for seismic testing to happen. Studies show that seismic affects the behaviors of marine mammals, fish and zooplankton and seismic is harmful for fisheries. And on top of all that, it’s a precursor to offshore drilling which is strongly opposed here in North Carolina.”
Read more here.
Nov. 30, 2018
Recent authorizations related to seismic testing can negatively impact marine life in North Carolina
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 monitoring and mitigation requirements. An IHA essentially grants these companies the ability to unintentionally “harass, hunt, capture, or kill” a small number of marine mammals.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is concerned that the continuous and cumulative air gun blasting associated with seismic testing surveys will negatively impact marine mammals. Recent studies indicate that marine mammals are likely to suffer from communication disruptions and behavioral disturbance resulting in stranding and even death. Studies have also shown that seismic activity can dramatically decrease the abundance of zooplankton, which is a key organism in the marine food web and a main source of food for fish and baleen whales.
The federation has been consistently concerned with seismic activity along the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Since late 2015, the federation has been submitting its own and signing on to comment letters opposing seismic activity and stating its concern for marine life. Additionally, Gov. Cooper recently declared his opposition to the decision made by NMFS to grant IHAs, reiterating his opposition to offshore drilling.
Read more here.
Jan. 4, 2018
Federal government moves to open nearly all U.S. waters to offshore drilling
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the draft 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. This draft program opens almost all U.S. coastal waters to drilling, including the waters off the coast of North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper released a statement the same day reiterating his opposition to offshore drilling. The comments sent to BOEM will help with the development of the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and the proposed program. Once these documents are released, there will be a 90-day comment period.
July 20, 2017
‘Not off our coast’ — Gov. Roy Cooper announces his opposition to offshore oil drilling and seismic blasting
Gov. Cooper announced his opposition to offshore oil drilling and seismic blasting at Fort Macon State Park in Atlantic Beach. Cooper cited the need to protect the coastal tourism and fishing industries from any potential harm an oil spill or seismic testing would cause. He also said that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality would submit arguments against seismic blasting to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Read a full update here.
June 29, 2017
BOEM releases public notice for comment on new five-year leasing program
BOEM published a public engagement notice for comment the new five-year leasing program for offshore oil and gas exploration that the Department of Interior plans to create. BOEM is seeking comments related to the potential economic and environmental effects of offshore oil and gas exploration.
June 6, 2017
National Marine Fisheries Service releases public notice for comment on seismic surveys
As a result of the executive order to reverse the freeze on offshore oil development in Atlantic, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published a public notice (PN) for comment on potential seismic surveys (blasting) along the Atlantic Coast. The PN describes the process, the potential impacts to marine mammals and provides information on each of the five companies who have applied for permits and potential mitigation of the expected impacts. The North Carolina Coastal Federation is working with a coalition of environmental groups to inform the public of this ill advised action. Read the PN. The comment period ends July 21.
April 28, 2017
Executive order directs review of locations for offshore oil and gas exploration
President Trump signed an executive order on April 28 directing the U.S. Department of Interior to review locations for offshore oil and gas exploration, including those taken off the table in March 2016.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is urging North Carolina residents to email Gov. Roy Cooper and ask that he let the federal government know the waters off of North Carolina’s coast should be off limits to offshore oil and gas drilling.
Learn how you can contact Gov. Cooper.
Read Coastal Review Online’s article on the executive order.
