The Department of the Interior today released a plan to open up coastal waters from Virginia to Georgia and some parts of Alaska for oil and gas drilling. The proposals are part of the Interior Department's latest five-year plan, which lays out the agency's plan to sell federal leases for oil and gas development from 2017 to 2022.
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, communications director for the North Carolina Sierra Club, issued the following statement:
"We're disappointed that the administration plans to open up North Carolina’s coast to offshore drilling."
"As the administration moves to finalize this draft proposal, we hope they'll recognize that North Carolina’s energy future should be focused on tapping our region's large offshore wind potential. Choosing clean energy will benefit economies up and down the Atlantic coast and will benefit the environment. Offshore drilling can have adverse onshore impacts for coastal communities, including the risk of oil spills and the industrialization of our coast."
"Drilling for fossil fuels off the North Carolina coast would contribute to the carbon emissions which are driving climate change. We owe it to our communities to invest in clean energy solutions."