The Obama administration will not allow drilling off the Atlantic coast in its last five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan of the president’s final term.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell tweeted Tuesday that the “Next 5-year offshore proposed plan protects the Atlantic for future generations.”
Her statement came as the the New York Times and Bloomberg reported that the administration will not allow the drilling that it proposed in a preliminary drilling plan last year, including leases off the coast of Virginia. Drilling off the East Coast of the United States has never been done beyond test wells, although the fossil resources are projected to be significant enough to justify opening the area up to drilling on the outer-continental shelf.
Jewell was short on details, and the Interior Department would not confirm the exact approach of the final five-year leasing blueprint. Jewell is slated to issue the final plan at noon on Tuesday.
The announcement came one day after environmentalists sent Obama a clear message that approving any new drilling off the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic would be a mistake. The group 350.org said opening up these regions to drilling would be a major step backward in light of the president’s pledge in Paris to take action on climate change.
The group is leading a national campaign to sway presidential candidates on climate change. But green groups were already hailing the administration’s plan as a victory for climate change.
“The Obama administration today stood up for a brighter, stronger future powered by clean energy — not dangerous oil rigs off our nation’s precious coasts,” said NextGen Climate America chief operating officer Dan Lashof. “This decision is a step forward in the battle to solve the climate crisis and sends a clear signal that our country is breaking with the dirty energy status quo.”
Lashof also framed the decision in light of the Tuesday night’s presidential primary elections.
“It’s critical that our next president continues to stand up to Big Oil and builds on President Obama’s legacy of defending coastal communities and protecting our climate,” he said.
