Trump Administration Delays Offshore Drilling Plan
Press Release Date: April 25, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Contact:
Anna Baxter | email: abaxter@oceana.org
Anna Baxter
Today, the Trump administration signaled a delay in its plan to radically expand offshore drilling to nearly all U.S. waters. In what was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior David Bernhardt cited the recent decision by a federal judge in Alaska to protect areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from drilling as the reason for the decision, stating that it is “going to take a while.”
Oceana released the following statements in the response to the news:
Oceana’s chief policy officer Jacqueline Savitz:
“We are encouraged by this move. It signals that our campaign and the voices of coastal leaders and communities are working. We may have generated enough opposition to slow this down, but until the Trump plan is final, the President is positioned to open up our coasts at a moment’s notice.”
Oceana campaign director Diane Hoskins:
“Sidelined indefinitely or completely off the table? Anything short of all new areas being protected would be a major problem for the communities and coastal economies who have the most to lose from dirty and dangerous offshore drilling. Considering every East and West coast governor opposes drilling off their coast, President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt should fulfill their duty to represent the people, not stand with special interests.”
As of today, opposition and concern over offshore drilling activities nationwide includes:
- Every East and West Coast governor, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, California, Oregon and Washington
- More than 350 local municipalities
- Over 2,100 local, state and federal bipartisan officials
- Alliances representing over 46,000 businesses and 500,000 fishing families
- Pacific, New England, South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic fishery management councils
- Commercial and recreational fishing interests such as Southeastern Fisheries Association, Snook and Gamefish Foundation, Fisheries Survival Fund, Southern Shrimp Alliance, North Atlantic Marine Alliance, Billfish Foundation and International Game Fish Association
- California Fish and Game Commission, California Coastal Commission, California State Lands Commission, California Ocean Protection Council and California Senate and Assembly
- U.S. Department of Defense and the Florida Defense Support Task Force
To learn more about Oceana’s campaign to stop the expansion of offshore drilling activities, please click here.
