Richmond, VA -- This week, Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, expressed his opposition to offshore drilling off Virginia’s coast.
The current five-year offshore drilling plan, finalized just last year by President Obama after a multi-year process where millions of Americans weighed in, did not include any opportunities to drill in the Atlantic Ocean. Obama took additional steps to protect the Atlantic Ocean, using section 12a of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently protect portions of the Ocean from drilling. Donald Trump signed an executive order this spring directing Interior to revisit the plan with the goal of expanding drilling off our coasts.
McAuliffe joins a bipartisan group of East Coast governors who have urged the Trump administration not to expand drilling in the Atlantic, including the governors of Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
In response, Kate Addleson, Director of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, issued the following statement:
“We are thrilled to see Governor McAuliffe join Virginia’s families, businesses, and coastal communities like Virginia Beach in opposition to threatening our beaches and marine ecosystems for the sake of oil industry profits.
“Governor McAuliffe and governors from both parties up and down the East Coast have sent a clear message to Donald Trump: the Atlantic coast is too valuable to expose to the risks of oil spills.”
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