The Obama administration announced its draft plan for offshore oil and gas leasing as part of the agency’s five-year planning process. Previous drafts included waters off the North Carolina coast for oil and gas leasing. However, the version released today removes all Atlantic Coast waters from the plan.
In response, Molly Diggins, state director of the NC Sierra Club, issued the following statement:
“Our members applaud the Obama administration for listening to North Carolinians and acting to protect our state’s coastal environment and communities by removing North Carolina from the oil and gas leasing plan. Our coast is a natural treasure that belongs to all North Carolinians. It is also a strong economic engine that is largely driven by tourism and fishing industries. If an oil spill occurred - like the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico - off our coast, the results would be devastating to our state’s economy and beaches.”
“More than two dozen coastal communities in North Carolina passed resolutions opposing offshore drilling. Not only did Governor McCrory fail to listen to coastal residents, but he has been a leading proponent of drilling. It appears that the Obama administration listened to coastal residents when Governor McCrory failed to do so. Hopefully this decision ends Governor McCrory’s relentless push to drill for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast. It’s time for Governor McCrory to step down from his position as Chairman of the Governor’s Outer Continental Shelf Coalition, an industry-backed drilling effort.”