July 5, 2017 — Last night, to celebrate the fourth of July, the air over the U.S. filled with fireworks. The noise they created was extremely loud and, mercifully, brief. But imagine having to listen to even louder explosions once every ten seconds, for days or weeks on end. Starting this fall, that may be the new reality for whales, fish, and other marine life off the eastern seaboard, if the Trump administration’s plans go ahead.
NE Florida Republican Congressman Helping Lead Bipartisan Effort Against Atlantic Seismic Testing
June 29, 2017 — Northeast Florida Republican Congressman John Rutherford is helping lead a bipartisan effort against seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic Ocean, which could lead to drilling for oil and gas.
Rutherford said the blasting could hurt coastal businesses relying on healthy oceans.
Seismic testing is a way of finding oil and natural gas beneath the ocean floor with loud blasts of air. If the oil is there, drilling to retrieve it is the next step.
The Trump administration is reviewing applications by five energy companies who want to explore oil in the Atlantic. But Rutherford and more than 100 other members of Congress signed a letter sent to the secretary of interior against the blasting.
Rutherford said in an email, airgun testing poses a threat to coastal economies, like North Florida fisheries.
“While future offshore drilling activities in the Atlantic would put our communities at risk down the road, seismic testing threatens our fragile coastal economies today,” he said. “Our coastal economy should not be put at undue risk at a time when our booming oil and gas production is more than enough to meet our current energy needs.”
Environmental group Oceana, which opposes the testing, is applauding the letter. The group argues seismic testing could displace fish stocks, decrease catch rates, and disturb whale breeding.
Fishery Group Comes Out Against Seismic Surveys
June 23, 2017 — The New England Fishery Management Council is asking the Trump Administration to slow its push for offshore oil and gas developments on the East Coast.
An Executive Order signed in April urges oil exploration in the mid and south Atlantic. Currently, five companies are seeking permits to conduct what are called seismic surveys in these areas.
Those surveys fire powerful sound waves into the ocean floor. Then, surveyors listen to the echoes to detect oil reserves.
Scientists increasingly worry those sound waves disturb whales and fish. A study published this Wednesday in the journal Nature says the surveys kill off zooplankton, a cornerstone of the ocean food chain.
Thomas Nies is Executive Director of the New England Fishery Management Council. His organization has spoken out about the surveys, because of concerns they’ll affect fisheries here. “We’re concerned about seismic surveys. The council isn’t convinced that we have enough information on what their impacts are across a wide range of species.”
LoBiondo, NJ officials blast Trump’s offshore drilling proposal
June 19, 2017 — U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, called a move by the Trump administration to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean “barbaric” and “insane” during a press conference Monday.
Seismic air guns are used to find gas and oil pockets deep beneath the ocean floor. President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order in April aimed at expanding offshore drilling near the East Coast, and, earlier this month, five companies applied to conduct seismic testing — including in an area just south of Cape May.
Environmentalists, local politicians and tourism officials gathered Monday afternoon near the 30th Street beach in Avalon to signal their opposition to seismic testing and offshore drilling.
“We in Cape May County have a $6.3 billion tourism business,” Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton said. “Now I want you to imagine an oil spill out there today, with this wind blowing on the beach.
“We can’t afford that, ladies and gentlemen,” he added.
During seismic testing, air is blasted into the ocean floor every 10 seconds for an extended period of time. LoBiondo said he attended an air-gun demonstration last year.
“The decibel level for this seismic air gun is up to 250 decibels.” LoBiondo said. “That would blow a human ear out.”
Industry groups say seismic surveys have been conducted in the United States and around the world for decades, with little adverse impacts. The National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS, the agency seeking the seismic testing permits, has said that air-gun operations would include measures to monitor and mitigate any harm to marine mammals.
NJBIZ: We must fight any plan to drill off the Jersey Shore
June 11, 2017 — Drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of New Jersey is a bad idea that never goes away.
Former President Barack Obama was for it — before, at the very end of his term, he signed an executive order reinstating a moratorium on offshore drilling from Massachusetts to Virginia. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order of his own to reopen the possibility of drilling off the East Coast. And then, last week, the Trump administration announced plans to issue five permits for offshore seismic testing from the Delaware-New Jersey border to Florida. The tests, which involve loud blasts that critics say harm whales and other sea creatures, are a first step to oil exploration.
(The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on the proposal until July 7.)
And that’s only the recent history of this perennial issue. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies actually drilled exploratory wells off Atlantic City. They didn’t find significant enough deposits to continue the effort.
But here we are again.
New Jersey’s two U.S. senators and House members from coastal districts are opposing the latest push for offshore drilling, just as they have done every time this issue has bubbled to the surface, no matter their party. And the argument — a good one — against offshore drilling is always the same: Why endanger the state’s $44 billion-a-year tourism industry and the 500,000 jobs it supports? Half of that revenue is generated from counties along the coast. Offshore drilling could also threaten the state’s $7.9 billion-a-year fishing industry and the 50,000 jobs it creates.
The fear, of course, is that a spill off the state’s coast could blacken New Jersey beaches with oil. Furthermore, oil spills from drilling off states to the north and south of New Jersey could also end up drifting onto the state’s beaches.
Massive oil spills can cause catastrophic damage. The Gulf of Mexico still has not recovered, and may never recover, from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Once pictures of oil-coated wildlife fade from the news, the spills are largely forgotten by the general public — but not in the region where the spills occur, where the damage is lasting.
NORTH CAROLINA: Seismic testing companies say they will pursue NC coast
March 31, 2016 — EMERALD ISLE, N.C. — Several seismic testing companies said they are still trying to pursue the testing off our coast.
Here’s how it works: A large vessel tows a streamer, which emits sound waves to map the crust of the ocean along more than 400 miles of the NC coast.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation said the testing could impact multiple industries, from tourism to fishing and wildlife.
While several companies are waiting for their permits to get approved, officials along the coast said the data collected would be the first step needed toward off shore drilling.
Obama Reverses Course on Drilling Off Southeast Coast
March 14, 2016 — The Obama administration is expected to withdraw its plan to permit oil and gas drilling off the southeast Atlantic coast, yielding to an outpouring of opposition from coastal communities from Virginia to Georgia but dashing the hopes and expectations of many of those states’ top leaders.
The announcement by the Interior Department, which is seen as surprising, could come as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record because the plan had not been publicly disclosed.
The decision represents a reversal of President Obama’s previous offshore drilling plans, and comes as he is trying to build an ambitious environmental legacy. It could also inject the issue into the 2016 presidential campaigns, as Republican candidates vow to expand drilling.
In January 2015, Mr. Obama drew the wrath of environmentalists and high praise from the oil industry and Southeastern governors after the Interior Department put forth a proposal that would have opened much of the southeastern Atlantic coast to offshore drilling for the first time.
The proposal came after governors, state legislators and senators from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia all expressed support for the drilling. Lawmakers in the state capitals saw new drilling as creating jobs and bolstering state revenue.
Jersey Shore Rally Urges Obama Admin to #KillTheDrill, #ProtectOurAtlantic
January 31, 2016 — ASBURY PARK, N.J. – The following was released by the office of Senator Bob Menendez:
U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, and Congressman Frank Pallone (N.J.-06) today were joined by over 100 local leaders, environmental and tourism groups, Jersey Shore business owners and residents at a rally on the Asbury Park boardwalk to demand action to guard the Atlantic against offshore oil and gas exploration.
The Obama Administration is currently planning to allow oil production off the coast of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, putting New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk of a catastrophic oil spill. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is expected to release its revised plan in the coming weeks.
“The Jersey Shore is one of our most precious natural resources, providing enjoyment for generations of New Jersey families and visitors alike. An oil spill threatens everything we hold dear about the Shore—and we have to do everything in our power to prevent it from becoming a reality,” said Sen. Menendez. “Let’s call Atlantic drilling what it is: another handout to the oil industry. Oil companies don’t need another gift from the federal government.”
“We must stand united in protecting the people and economy of the Jersey Shore and the entire East Coast in the face of the potentially irreparable effects from drilling in the Atlantic,” said Sen. Booker. “Knowing full well the devastating economic and environmental dangers associated with catastrophic oil spills like Deepwater Horizon, we simply can’t stand idly by while our region is exposed to the same risk.”
“Allowing offshore drilling in the Atlantic would inevitably set the stage for another man-made environmental catastrophe—this time, off the Jersey Shore and up and down the East Coast,” said Rep. Pallone. “We know that the technology to drill safely does not exist and that the effects of a spill would be devastating and long-lasting. I have said time and time again that we cannot jeopardize our state and regional economies, our environment, and our marine life to pursue a dangerous and outdated energy policy. I urge the Administration to think twice before allowing Big Oil to endanger New Jersey’s environmental and economic well-being.”
Read the full story at Atlantic Highlands Herald
NORTH CAROLINA: Environmental issues roll into 2016
January 1, 2016 — Offshore drilling draws opponents
After a year of growing opposition from coastal communities against offshore drilling off the North Carolina coast, close watch will be kept on decisions in Washington in the upcoming year.
The Obama Administration is expected to release its proposed Atlantic oil leasing plan in early 2016.
To date, 93 communities along the Atlantic coast have gone on record against offshore oil and gas exploration activities.
That number includes several in the local area:
In Onslow County, the towns of Holly Ridge, Swansboro and Surf City have adopted resolutions.
In Carteret County, Emerald Isle, Morehead City and Beaufort have adopted resolutions opposing offshore drilling; and Atlantic Beach councilmen agreed to a resolution to be formally adopted this month. The Carteret County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority have also taken a stance against it.
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