President Obama Approves Oil Exploration Off U.S. East Coast
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North Atlantic Right Whales. Photo: NOAA/NEFSC |
CAPE
CANAVERAL, Florida -- The Obama Administration announced on Friday a decision to allow
the use of controversial seismic airguns to look for oil and gas
deposits below the Atlantic Ocean floor off the U.S. East Coast from Delaware Bay to just south of Cape
Canaveral, Florida from the inner edge of Federal waters along that coastline to 403 miles offshore.
"The use of seismic airguns
is the first step to expanding dirty and dangerous offshore drilling to
the Atlantic Ocean, bringing us one step closer to another disaster
like the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. During this process, our
government will jeopardize the health of large numbers of dolphins and
whales as well as commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism and
coastal recreation – putting more than 730,000 jobs in the blast zone at
risk," said Oceana campaign director Claire Douglass.
"According to the government’s own estimates, these dynamite-like
blasts could injure and possibly kill up to 138,200 marine mammals,
while disrupting the necessary activities of millions more. Impacts to
marine mammals could include everything from temporary or permanent
hearing loss, to disruption of vital behaviors like communicating,
feeding, mating, calving and migrating, and masking of biologically
important sounds."
But the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says that the decision has mitigation measures to protect marine life which include vessel strike avoidance measures, special closure areas to protect the main migratory route for the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, consideration of geographic separation of simultaneous seismic airgun surveys, and Passive Acoustic Monitoring to supplement visual observers and improve detection of marine mammals prior to and during seismic surveys.
“After thoroughly reviewing the analysis, coordinating with Federal agencies and considering extensive public input, the bureau has identified a path forward that addresses the need to update the nearly four-decade-old data in the region while protecting marine life and cultural sites,” said Acting BOEM Director Walter D. Cruickshank. “The bureau’s decision reflects a carefully analyzed and balanced approach that will allow us to increase our understanding of potential offshore resources while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments.”
But the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says that the decision has mitigation measures to protect marine life which include vessel strike avoidance measures, special closure areas to protect the main migratory route for the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, consideration of geographic separation of simultaneous seismic airgun surveys, and Passive Acoustic Monitoring to supplement visual observers and improve detection of marine mammals prior to and during seismic surveys.
“After thoroughly reviewing the analysis, coordinating with Federal agencies and considering extensive public input, the bureau has identified a path forward that addresses the need to update the nearly four-decade-old data in the region while protecting marine life and cultural sites,” said Acting BOEM Director Walter D. Cruickshank. “The bureau’s decision reflects a carefully analyzed and balanced approach that will allow us to increase our understanding of potential offshore resources while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments.”
The decision comes after more than 100 scientists called on President Obama and his administration to wait on new acoustic guidelines for marine mammals, which are currently in development by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
“For more than 30 years, the Atlantic coast has been off limits to
offshore drilling. Today, our government appears to be folding to the
pressure of Big Oil and its big money," Douglas said.
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Photo: Members of the Surfrider Foundation Protest Seismic Air Gun Testing. Brevard Times / File |
But the decision by the Obama Administration to open up the Atlantic to oil exploration shouldn't come as a surprise to environmentalists. During a speech at Andrews Air Force Base in March of 2010, President Barack Obama said:
"...we’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas
exploration, but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic
energy resources and the need to protect America’s natural resources.
Under the leadership of Secretary Salazar, we’ll employ new technologies
that reduce the impact of oil exploration. We’ll protect areas that
are vital to tourism, the environment, and our national security. And
we’ll be guided not by political ideology, but by scientific evidence.
That's why my administration will consider potential areas for
development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while
studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic. That’s why we’ll
continue to support development of leased areas off the North Slope of
Alaska, while protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay.
There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision,
including those who say we should not open any new areas to drilling.
But what I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a
broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil
fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and
clean energy. And the only way this transition will succeed is if it
strengthens our economy in the short term and the long run. To fail to
recognize this reality would be a mistake."
Beyond
the environmental concerns, the decision requires oil and gas explorers
to address conflicts of their operations with NASA and the Department
of Defense (DoD). NASA has designated downrange danger zones and has
identified patterns for recent debris cones from rocket tests that
represent hazards for surface activities after such tests. There are
also restricted areas for rocket testing, satellite launches, and other
range mission activities.
NASA
restricted areas within the proposed exploration areas are offshore the
Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC’s) Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in
Virginia and offshore of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral,
Florida. Also, five major DoD range complexes include periodic vessel
access restrictions to portions each range complex.
Oil and gas explorers would be required to notify designated DoD or NASA personnel of the nature and schedule
for any pending exploration activity planned within military range complexes or NASA’s use areas.
Additionally, commercial fishing would be temporarily excluded from any exploration operation areas.
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