Womp Womp - GOP-Led Southern States Vehemently Opposed To Shitstain's Offshore Drilling Plan

[hatrack]

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In November, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment banning offshore drilling, in a nod to the coastal state’s vulnerable tourism industry, as well as the hurricanes and heat waves associated with climate change. In last week’s letter, Florida lawmakers emphasized the impact drilling could have on the state, jeopardizing its “fragile and treasured coasts,” in addition to “military preparedness.” The U.S. military trains in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Florida isn’t the only state putting pressure on the federal government as offshore drilling plans move forward. On Friday, South Carolina asked a federal court to intervene and halt the Trump administration’s plans to drill in the Atlantic. The main focus of the legal request is seismic testing, the invasive process companies use to assess oil and gas reserves, which can be harmful to marine mammals.

During the partial government shutdown in January, South Carolina sought to join a lawsuit opposing seismic testing, but the Interior Department declined to act, citing the shutdown. The department’s interest in drilling persisted during that time, however: Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) brought back staff specifically to work on issuing seismic permits and the broader OCS program several weeks into the impasse. A federal judge subsequently ordered BOEM to stop its offshore drilling work until the shutdown ended, at which point they resumed.

Now, South Carolina is arguing that seismic testing “would be contrary to applicable law and would have a disastrous impact on marine life,” in addition to hurting the state’s economy. In a statement to ThinkProgress and other outlets, Billy Keyserling, mayor of the coastal city of Beaufort, South Carolina, argued that local businesses would take a severe hit from offshore drilling. “Our economy is built on the value of our natural assets, specifically the abundant opportunities for recreation and observation of marine life, alone with recreational, commercial and sustenance fisheries,” he said, noting that “our businesses depend on our healthy and vibrant population of marine life.”

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Catherine Wannamaker, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), told ThinkProgress in January that local opposition to drilling shouldn’t be underestimated. “We have every coastal community opposed to this,” said Wannamaker, with the caveat that Trump nonetheless “doesn’t seem to be listening” to the bipartisan outcry over drilling.

Ed. - Why, no - why would he listen or care?

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https://thinkprogress.org/coastal-states-trump-offshore-drilling-florida-south-carolina-baa03332c3e8/

[Fullduplexxx]

1. Drill baby drill but nimby