Washington, DC -- Today, the Department of Interior announced that it will move on Monday to take the first step towards re-doing its five-year offshore drilling plan, with the goal of expanding drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and to include parts of the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Arctic.
The current plan was finalized by the Obama administration just seven months ago, after a multi-year process during which millions of Americans weighed in.
In response, Lena Moffitt, Senior Director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign, released the following statement:
“It is disappointing but not surprising that Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are reopening the five-year planning process, which was just completed with input from millions of Americans who said, loud and clear, that we do not want offshore drilling off our coasts.
“Expanding drilling off our shores would put our coastal communities’ health, economic well-being, and environment at risk, and continue to ignore the impacts of climate change across the nation. Opposition to this administration’s polluter-friendly agenda will only grow as they take yet another step to prioritize oil and gas industry profits over the health and safety of the American people.”
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