Today, Donald Trump’s Department of the Interior released its draft five-year offshore drilling plan. In the largest expansion of offshore drilling ever, the plan would expand drilling off America’s coasts, including in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic.
The current plan was finalized by the Obama administration in November 2016, excluding the Atlantic coast and nearly the entire Arctic Ocean. Following the release of the plan and in response to the calls of coastal communities and millions of Americans across the country, President Obama acted under his authority designated by Section 12a of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently protect parts of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans from the threat of offshore drilling. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit in May over Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to roll back these protections.
Expansion of offshore drilling faces strong, bipartisan opposition from coastal communities as well as from the governors of states including New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are now trying to sell out our coastal communities, our waters, and our climate in order to please corporate polluters. Millions of Americans have raised their voices to send a message, loud and clear, that they do not want offshore drilling off our coasts, but rather than listen to the people they are supposed to work for, Trump and Zinke are listening to the industry that’s bankrolled their campaigns and filled their administration.
“Trump and Zinke are acting against the wishes of the American people in their attempt to expand offshore drilling and roll back permanent protections for America’s public waters. The Sierra Club will continue to stand with coastal communities in fighting back against this reckless plan, and we are currently examining our legal options to do so.”
