Thursday the Trump administration moved to vastly expand offshore drilling off US coasts. The new five-year plan could allow oil and gas drilling in areas off the east coast from Florida to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades. Supporters say development of those energy resources would boost jobs and the economy. Opponents include Jeannette Gayer, Executive Director of Environment Georgia, who says her organization opposes the plan.
“The south Atlantic is slated to have, basically bidding on our offshore areas in 2020, 2022 and 2024,” Gayer said. “We are opposed to this and we say this is a really risky proposal, oil drilling means oil spills.”
Gayer says allowing drilling would negatively impact the Georgia coast.
“When you think about the Georgia’s coast, you think about tourism, you think about recreation, you think about fishing. None of that goes with all of the piping, and refining and infrastructure that you need to support offshore oil drilling. There is a very good reason that a lot of places along Georgia’s coast have already stood up and said we don’t want this and we hope that that will again.”
Two Republican Governors, Rick Scott of Florida and Larry Hogan of Maryland have pressed Trump to withdraw their states from consideration.
