Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 16, 2016 3:13 p.m.
On December 2, 2014 Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) passed a resolution opposing seismic airgun use as a prelude to offshore oil drilling off the Atlantic Coast. Their vote followed a presentation by the ocean preservation organization Oceana citing the dangers that such testing poses to marine life. [Click here for previous Thamm article “Fernandina Beach says no to seismic air gun testing in the Atlantic Ocean.]
As a result of opposition from 110 coastal American communities that shared Fernandina Beach’s concerns, as well as more than 100 Members of Congress, 700 state and local elected officials and 1,100 business interests, the Obama administration has reversed its position to open up Atlantic coastal waters to drilling.
Official statement
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper on March 15, 2016 announced the proposal for the nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022.
According to the official press release, after receiving extensive public input and analyzing the best available scientific data, the Proposed Program released March 15 evaluates 13 potential lease sales in six planning areas – 10 potential sales in the Gulf of Mexico and three potential sales off the coast of Alaska. The Proposed Program does not schedule any lease sales in the Mid- and South Atlantic Program Area due to current market dynamics, strong local opposition and conflicts with competing commercial and military ocean uses. [Emphasis added.]
“This is a balanced proposal that protects sensitive resources and supports safe and responsible development of the nation’s domestic energy resources to create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Secretary Jewell. “The proposal focuses potential lease sales in areas with the highest resource potential, greatest industry interest, and established infrastructure. At the same time, the proposal removes other areas from consideration for leasing, and seeks input on measures to further reduce potential impacts to the environment, coastal communities, and competing ocean and coastal uses, such as subsistence activities by Alaska Natives.”
Release of the Proposed Program follows the publication of the Draft Proposed Program (DPP) in January 2015 and is one of several steps in a multi-year process to develop a final offshore leasing program for 2017-2022. Before the program is finalized and before any lease sales occur, the Department will consider another round of public input on the proposal and its accompanying Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The latest proposal was informed by more than one million comments, 23 public meetings and extensive outreach with members of the public, non-profit organizations, industry, elected officials and other interested parties across the country.
“Public input is paramount to our planning process, and the proposal benefits from extensive stakeholder engagement,” said Director Hopper. “We will seek additional input from citizens, industry, other Federal and state agencies and elected officials as we develop the proposed final program.”
The OCS Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a Five-Year Program that includes a schedule of potential oil and gas lease sales and indicates the size, timing and location of proposed leasing determined to best meet national energy needs, while addressing a range of economic, environmental and social considerations.
BOEM currently manages approximately 5,000 active OCS leases, covering more than 26 million acres – the vast majority in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2015, OCS oil and gas leases accounted for about 16 percent of domestic oil production and five percent of domestic natural gas production. This production generates billions of dollars in revenue for state and local governments and the U.S. taxpayer, while supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Oceana’s official reaction
Oceana Vice President U.S. Oceans Executive Committee
In response to the newly proposed plan, Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana’s vice president for the U.S., released the following statement:
“President Obama has taken a giant step for our oceans, for coastal economies and for mitigating climate change. This is a courageous decision that begins the shift to a new energy paradigm, where clean energy replaces fossil fuels, and where we can avoid the worst impacts of decades of our carbon dioxide emissions.
“This is a victory for people over politics and shows the importance of old fashioned grassroots organizing. It will prevent oil spills and coastal industrialization; it makes seismic testing unnecessary and it will help promote the clean energy solutions that we so desperately need.
“With this decision coastal communities have won a ‘David vs. Goliath’ fight against the richest companies on the planet, and that is a cause for tremendous optimism for the well-being of future generations.
“On behalf of Oceana and all those that are opposed to offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, we thank you, President Obama, for seeing that offshore drilling along the East Coast is an unnecessary risk to nearly 1.4 million jobs and over $95 billion in gross domestic product. This includes fishery and tourism economies that rely on healthy oceans.
“Our nation has seen the devastation that comes from offshore drilling, and the benefits are simply not worth the risks. Over the last two years, Oceana has built and led a powerful grassroots movement to demonstrate the broad-based and diverse opposition to this dirty and dangerous activity. President Obama is listening to the voices of coastal citizens from 110 East Coast municipalities, as well as more than 100 Members of Congress, 700 state and local elected officials and 1,100 business interests that have all publically opposed offshore drilling and seismic airgun use.
“With offshore drilling off the table in the Atlantic, there is absolutely no reason to risk the damage that would be caused by seismic airguns in that area. We urge the President to go further and to stop seismic airgun use, an extremely loud and dangerous process used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean floor. Seismic airgun permits are still being pursued in an area of the Atlantic that is twice the size of California, stretching from Delaware to Florida. With no drilling plans in sight, there is absolutely no reason to put more than 100,000 marine mammals in harm’s way, in fact doing so would be appallingly irresponsible. The noise from seismic airgun blasting is so loud that it can be heard up to 2,500 miles from the source, which is akin to the distance between Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas.”
Fernandina Beach reaction
In announcing the policy reversal at the close of the March 15, 2016 FBCC Regular Meeting, Mayor Johnny Miller, who initially brought this matter to the FBCC’s attention while he served as commissioner, said that with oil drilling completely off the table for the entire East Coast, there is no reason for the government to issue seismic airgun permits. Miller said that initially there had been a coalition of eight governors who had supported offshore Atlantic drilling, but that opposition from coastal communities had caused the Obama administration to side with the grassroots. Miller said, “It’s groundbreaking. If we had had a spill out there it would have been Armageddon for our community. … You want to talk about what happens to tourism in a community with an oil spill on the beaches, that’s it for you.” Miller said he wanted to go on the record with thanks to the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and President Obama “for doing the right thing” as well as the organized lobbying efforts of Oceana.
Miller acknowledged that while seismic airgun use permits are still able to be issued for the Atlantic region between Delaware and Florida, their use seems problematic since there will be no oil drilling permits issued for that area. However, lobbying efforts will continue to ban seismic airgun use along the East Coast.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.