{"id":33670,"date":"2016-03-15T15:17:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T19:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=33670"},"modified":"2016-03-15T15:17:09","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T19:17:09","slug":"obama-pulls-plans-to-allow-oil-drilling-off-southern-atlantic-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=33670","title":{"rendered":"Obama pulls plans to allow oil drilling off southern Atlantic coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Darryl Fears<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>

In a major reversal, the Obama administration says it will not allow oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement via Twitter. (AP\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/p><\/div>\n

In a major reversal, the Obama administration says it will not allow oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement via Twitter. (AP\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is dropping its year-old plan to allow companies to search and drill for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean off of four southeastern states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Department of Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement that objections from the Pentagon and strong opposition from nearly a hundred coastal communities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia factored into the decision to not offer leases to companies starting in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

[<\/i>The government\u2019s Atlantic drilling plan takes friendly fire \u2014 from the Pentagon<\/i><\/span><\/a>]<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard from many corners that now is not the time to offer oil and gas leasing off the Atlantic coast,\u201d Jewell said. \u201cWhen you factor in conflicts with national defense, economic activities such as fishing and tourism, and opposition from many local communities, it simply doesn\u2019t make sense to move forward with any lease sales in the coming five years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There were added issues as well. The statement from the department, which received more than a million comments on its draft plan, listed commercial interests, current market dynamics and limited infrastructure as factors also driving the decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other aspects of the president five-year energy plan, which has already undergone several rounds of public hearings, will move forward, such as a plan to offer 10 new leases in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the world\u2019s most productive sources of oil Jewell said. Three leases will also be explored in the Alaskan Arctic.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Interior\u2019s estimates, more than\u00a03 billion barrels of oil is recoverable on the outer continental shelf, plus more than 30\u00a0trillion cubic feet of natural gas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) had expressed support for oil excavation as long as it was done responsibly, with the protection of the state\u2019s lucrative beach tourism in mind.\u00a0McAuliffe had little comment Tuesday, other than to say that Jewell\u2019s announcement provides \u201can opportunity to work with the Department of Defense\u201d to address its concerns moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

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U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in a statement he has long felt that the ban on Atlantic drilling should be reconsidered. He said he was struck by the Pentagon\u2019s objections because he\u2019d never heard them previously, even when he was governor from 2006-2010. \u201cThe DoD has been relatively quiet during this public debate and has never shared their objections with me before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The military\u2019s more recent objections to the Atlantic drilling plan appear to have carried significant weight. The Pentagon said Sunday that it drafted an assessment, at Jewell\u2019s request, that identified \u201careas where the [Defense\u2019s]\u00a0offshore readiness activities are not compatible, partially compatible or minimally impacted by oil and gas activities,\u201d spokesman Matthew Allen said in an email.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials also argued that oil exploration such as seismic testing and platforms could compromise\u00a0training naval exercises \u201cfrom unit level training to major joint service and fleet exercises.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reaction from oil industry advocates was immediate and negative.\u00a0\u201cThe decision appeases extremists who seek to stop oil and natural gas production which would increase the cost of energy for American consumers and close the door for years to creating new jobs, new investments and boosting energy security,\u201d said American Petroleum Institute President and Chief Executive Jack Gerard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision stunts the safe and responsible path to securing the domestic energy supplies future generations of Americans will need,\u201d he said, adding that it ends a chance to create jobs for Americans along the Atlantic coast and nationwide, and \u201calso erasing\u00a0millions more in revenue to the government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, also lashed out.\u00a0\u201cAmerica\u2019s job creators have become accustomed to the relentless drumbeat of anti-energy policies from the Obama administration,\u201d she said. But closing off the Atlantic coast\u00a0to\u00a0offshore drilling \u201cis nevertheless remarkable for its catering to fringe constituencies at the expense of energy security and the American economy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Environmentalists, however, praised the administration. \u201cWe applaud the Obama administration for listening to the tens of thousands of citizens up and down the East Coast and protecting the Atlantic Ocean, safeguarding its beaches and coastal economies,\u201d Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an incredible day for the Southeast,\u201d said Sierra Weaver, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. \u201cIt represents the hard work of thousands of people and protects some of our most cherished places, from the Chesapeake Bay and the Outer Banks to the South Carolina Low country and Georgia barrier islands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision was the second rejection of a major project involving oil since the administration turned down the Keystone XL pipeline in November. Both actions are a nod in favor of environmentalists, who have been disappointed with some of President Obama\u2019s energy initiatives during his two terms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Obama\u2019s decision on\u00a0the Keystone pipeline, this one\u00a0runs against public opinion.\u00a0A Yale University survey<\/span><\/a> last fall found 60 percent of Americans supporting expanded drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats opposed expansion, while 62 percent of independents and 79 percent of Republicans supported it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coastal communities that supported the possibility of Atlantic drilling six years ago turned against it following\u00a0the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Virginia Beach\u00a0abruptly reversed course when its council voted to rescind its 2010 resolution after some of the city\u2019s biggest business alliances campaigned against drilling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scott Clement contributed to this report.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

___
\nhttp:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy-environment\/wp\/2016\/03\/15\/obama-pulls-plans-to-allow-oil-drilling-off-southern-atlantic-coast\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Darryl Fears In a major reversal, the Obama administration says it will not allow oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement via Twitter. (AP\/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}