Newsletter
May 2017
Trump Budget Undercuts Arguments for Atlantic Coast Offshore Drilling
President Donald Trump’s FY 2018 budget released this week undercuts two critical arguments made by proponents of offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic according to the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast (BAPAC).
First, the Trump budget proposes to raise federal revenue by selling off half of the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve which was created in 1975 in a national energy security effort.
Second, the proposed budget would also end existing revenue sharing with Gulf of Mexico states. Half of the royalties the U.S. receives from oil companies permitted to drill in the Gulf now goes to these states.
Seismic Airgun Blasting on Fast Track Permits Could be Issued in Only Months
The dangerous, old technology of exploring for oil and gas deposits in the ocean, seismic testing, might be bringing marine life destruction and loss of revenue to local businesses within a matter of months. The National Marine Fisheries Services at NOAA is expected to issue 5 Incidental Harassment (of marine mammals) Authorizations for the Atlantic possibly next week. There will be a 30-day public comment period for all of us to protest seismic testing. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimates that this testing could injure up over 23,000 dolphins and 4,600 whales. Seismic testing, according to BOEM, could also alter the migration, breeding, feeding and other behaviors of over 2.7 million dolphins and 453,000 whales. Sea turtles would also be impacted but there are no projections as to how many. Seismic testing vessels are to take mitigation efforts to reduce these numbers but BOEM cannot quantify the effectiveness of these measures.
What has not been quantified is the economic loss to commercial fishing, recreational fishing, seafood markets, restaurants and hotels from seismic testing injuries and harassment of fish and marine mammals. Your comments on the potential of your economic loss will be vital in our efforts to stop this testing for oil drilling we do not want.
More Businesses and Organizations Supporting BAPAC
Every week more businesses are supporting BAPAC. For a complete list of business organizations support, click here. Over 41,000 businesses and 500,000 commercial fishing families support our efforts to stop seismic testing and offshore drilling for oil in the Atlantic.
Please support BAPAC with a small financial contribution of only $25 for an individual business or $100 for a business organization. Fighting Big Oil and the White House takes resources so please be as generous as you can. Thanks.
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