15 Nov Is Drilling in the Atlantic Dead?
By banding together about thirty Mayors and Councils from Deleware and thousands of businesses along the coast, we won the fight to remove the South Atlantic coast from the Administration’s five year plan and now is the time to remove it from all plans.
Seismic Testing and Drilling for oil and gas just does not make sense environmentally nor financially for states and communities who have invested billions of dollars creating the infrastructure than created tourism businesses along our pristine coast.
Last week I was asked to participate in a national radio news conference among mayors and business leaders engaged in getting the issue off of the plate as quickly as possible. If you would like to read a report from the conference follow the link to a blog post.
Small Businesses Lobbying the Administration to permanently remove the atlantic coast from future seismic testing and drilling.
Atlantic Coast Business Leaders Meet with Obama Administration on Opposition to Seismic Testing
Posted: 14 Nov 2021 05:55 AM PST
Over 12,000 businesses seek protection for local coastal economies
Washington, DC—A delegation from the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast (BAPAC) meet today with Administration officials who will decide the future of local economies along the Atlantic seaboard.
Over 12,000 businesses and 400,000 commercial fishing families are represented on a letter to the President calling on him not to proceed with allowing seismic airgun blasting to search for oil and gas deposits, an exploration method that puts fishing, tourism and recreation economies at risk. The businesses oppose seismic testing and the industrialization that would come with offshore drilling.
Meeting with the Department of Interior and the White House Council on Environmental Qualitywere:
Frank Knapp, President & CEO, South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
Laura Wood-Habr, Vice Pres., VA Beach Restaurant Association; Co-owner, Crocs 14th St. Bistro
Vicki Clark, President, Cape May (NJ) County Chamber of Commerce
Sandra Bundy, Broker-in-Charge, B&P, Inc.,
Tom Kies, President, Carteret County (NC) Chamber of Commerce
Karen Brown, President, Outer Banks (NC) Chamber of Commerce
Pat Broom, Outer Banks (NC) Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix Restoration
Tonya Bonitatibus, Exec. Director, Savannah Riverkeeper (GA/SC)
Kerry Marhefka, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance; Abundant Seafood
Seismic airgun testing is a dangerous process that blasts extremely loud sound waves miles below the seafloor in a hunt for oil deposits. One seismic vessel can tow up to 96 airguns that can cover an area 21 times larger than the National Mall in Washington DC. These blasts are repeated every 10-12 seconds and can be heard for thousands of miles and creating one of the loudest noises in the oceans. Seismic testing under just one approved permit can go on for up to an entire year. The Administration is currently reviewing a half dozen of these permits to explore the same area.
The letter campaign was coordinated by the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast (BAPAC), which is dedicated to protecting the long term health and economic vitality of the Atlantic seaboard through the responsible stewardship of the coastal and ocean waters. Along the Atlantic coast, nearly 1.4 million jobs and over $95 billion in gross domestic product—mainly through fishing, tourism and recreation—rely on a healthy ocean ecosystem.
The Administration reversed course on its plan to allow Mid and South-Atlantic offshore drilling earlier this year. BAPAC is asking the Administration at a minimum do the same regarding seismic testing. In addition is is strongly encouraging the President to finish the job using his authority to permanently protect the Atlantic Coast.