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Request for Information (RFI) and Comments on the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024

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Last modified
Mar 11, 2024
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closed 3267d ago
Surfrider Foundation filings
4

Activity

Surfrider Foundation filed 4 comments on this docket between Aug 16, 2017 and Sep 12, 2017. 168 other organizations filed here. The comment window closed 3267d ago.

What Surfrider Foundation filed (4)

Sep 12, 2017· Comment Campaign from Surfrider Foundation (2,448 comments)· BOEM-2017-0050-51172

Please accept the attached letter submitted by 2,448 citizens in response to the Department's Request for Information comment opportunity.

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Aug 28, 2017· Comment from Katie Day, Surfrider Foundation· BOEM-2017-0050-49598

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

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Aug 28, 2017· Comment from Matt Walker, Surfrider Foundation, Outer Banks Chapter· BOEM-2017-0050-49505

On behalf of the Outer Banks chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and its 200+ members as well as all 34,000 residents of Dare County I strongly request that the BOEM rescind the proposed lease sale for a variety for a variety of reasons. First, it's a direct threat to robust coastal economies. Despite claims that offshore drilling will bring jobs and revenue to North Carolina, coastal tourism and fishing already generate more jobs and revenue than the rosiest petroleum estimates. According to a 2013 study by North Carolina State University, "Over a seven-year build up period, offshore drilling would generate $181 million in income annually, of which $11 million would be public revenues. In addition, 1,122 jobs would be created. After the seven-year build up period, offshore drilling would generate $1.9 billion in income annually, of which $116 million would be public revenue. This income and revenue generation would occur over a 30-year-period, during which 16,910 jobs would be created." While such estimates may sound impressive, the figures pale to coastal tourism's proven contribution to North Carolina's coffers. According the North Carolina Commerce Department, 2016 visitation to coastal counties alone directly employed nearly twice as many people (30,000 jobs) and generated 50% more money ($3 billion) and more than twice the public revenue with $146.05 million in state taxes and $148.79 million in local taxes. Those numbers don't even factor in coastal home values or construction jobs, teacher salaries, and government services or any of the other secondary revenue streams that rely on a healthy coastline. All of these jobs and revenues would be at risk due to the negative impacts of offshore oil drilling, from degraded water quality to a decimation of the coast in the event of an oil spill. As a result, on the Outer Banks, all of Dare County as well as the Chamber of Commerce and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau are currently opposed to Offshore Drilling. (See attached resolutions and charts.) Second: Offshore drilling is far from safe. BP Horizon was no fluke; it was really the worst example of a longer pattern of problems associated with offshore drilling. From 1995 to 2010, the U.S. Mineral Management Service recorded 183 spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean (including spills of toxic chemicals related to drilling). The U.S. Department of the Interior also estimated that every three to four years, a spill of at least 10,000 barrels is expected to occur. When Hurricane Katrina whipped through the Gulf of Mexico, she destroyed over 100 platforms and caused the largest spill in the U.S. since the Exxon Valdez (until the Deepwater Horizon). Not the most comforting news when you consider North Carolina faces more frequent storms both hurricanes and nor'easters. Third: Oil companies take years to pay back their victims. In the wake of 1989's Valdez accident, Exxon spent 19 years in court battling claims5, ultimately getting their fines reduced from $5 billion to $500 million meaning Alaska's victims waited two decades to receive a paltry $30,000 in damages for suffering the nation's second worst environmental catastrophe. Likewise, BP spent 4.5 years after the Deepwater Horizon fighting claims before finally losing the final appeal. Many victims were forced to take much smaller settlements just to survive. And, as of late 2016, there were still thousands of unpaid claims. (And at least 141,648 denials.) Fourth: There is a clear alternative, as wind energy offers more jobs, revenue and energy without the risk to existing industries. Perhaps perhaps if the potential reserves waiting offshore would make the US energy dependent, one could claim it's a necessary sacrifice for the good of our nation. But, they won't. Government estimates say only 229 days of oil and 562 days of gas lie offshore based on 2030 consumption rates, when fuel would be available to consumers. Meanwhile, a 2015 report by Oceana reveals t…

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Aug 16, 2017· Comment from Melanie Marcelino, Surfrider Foundation Charleston Chapter· BOEM-2017-0050-18895

Dear Department of the Interior, I am writing to urge you to protect Americas oceans from offshore oil and gas drilling. As you know, the president has begun the process of opening up protected areas in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific for oil and gas drilling. By reversing the most recent five-year plan by the Obama administration, the president is carelessly bowing to corporate polluters and forsaking the millions of Americans that will be harmed by this decision. The mission of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is to provide stewardship of our oceans natural resources with consideration of the environmental and economic impacts of development in the Outer Continental Shelf. I believe that exposing our coastal communities to hazardous oil and gas drilling directly runs counter to the BOEMs mission and defies your duty to the American people. Opening up these fragile ecosystems to drilling jeopardizes our coastal economies, marine wildlife, and climate. Local economies reliant on tourism or fishing could face lasting impacts of devastating spills. It is a risk not worth taking. Our oceans should be protected, not polluted. I urge the BOEM to reconsider any efforts to open up our coastal areas to drilling. Respectfully, Melanie Marcelino

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Abstract

Request for Information (RFI) and Comments on the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024

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Co-filers (168)

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Request for Information (RFI) and Comments on the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024 (BOEM) — Surfrider Foundation | OpenPolis