Our view: Why the offshore drilling decision matters
Opponents
of opening waters off the Carolinas coast to exploration for oil and
natural gas hold signs on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 in Mount Pleasant,
S.C. They were standing outside a motel where the federal Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management held a meeting to take public comment on opening
areas to drilling. The agency was to use the comments in deciding what
should be included in environmental studies of the proposal. Bruce Smith AP Photo
More
than 100 communities along the Atlantic coastline formally objected to
Obama’s decision in January 2015 to open up the East Coast to oil and
gas exploration. Among the first to object was the city of Beaufort, led
by Mayor Billy Keyserling. And while the Pentagon also had objections,
most of the pushback came from local governments standing up to the big
guns of U.S. senators, members of Congress and governors. Not to mention
the deep pockets of Big Oil.
U.S.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel said, “We heard from many corners
that now is not the time to offer oil and gas leasing off the Atlantic
coast. When you factor in conflicts with national defense, economic
activities such as fishing and tourism, and opposition from many local
communities, it simply doesn’t make sense to move forward with lease
sales in the coming five years.”
That statement is a big relief.
Proponents never told us what the drilling could mean to shoreline communities in terms of dirty, onshore industry support.
We
were never told what revenue it would bring to the state. No
revenue-sharing plan with the states was established, so it was
impossible to measure the potential risks against potential rewards. And
with millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in the
2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, no one along the Atlantic Coast was
willing to tolerate the stance of “trust me” coming from Big Oil and
powerful politicians.
The strong-armed federal agenda left the people in the dark on many other matters.
The
worst of it is the environmentally damaging seismic blasting in search
of oil and gas deposits. The testing results would not be released to
the public, so again there would be no way to weigh risks and rewards.
But
we did know that scores of leading marine scientists oppose seismic
testing. So clear is its danger to wildlife that more than 30
congressmen, including Rep. Mark Sanford of this district, demanded
answers from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
And
we know that oil exploration and drilling are threats to the fisheries,
tourism industry and quality of life along the Atlantic coastline.
And
we know that existing studies show that the energy deposits off the
South Carolina shore represent mere days of America’s consumption —
debunking the shallow claim that this exploration would contribute to
lower fuel costs and energy independence.
For many reasons, the change of mind by the Obama administration is reason to celebrate.
But
if dirty industry is kept at bay — as it was in Beaufort County in 1970
when a proposed BASF chemical plant was blocked from the pristine
waters of the Port Royal Sound estuary — the buck stops with us. We, the
people enjoying the Lowcountry, are the heavy industry. It is up to us
to fight more fights like this one. They arise daily, and they don’t
often involve Big Oil. They usually involve the state legislature, or
governments closer to home, accommodating ceaseless development that
threatens natural resources.
Ideally,
we can see in the offshore drilling episode a shaft of hope that enough
pushback can come from the grassroots to actually make a difference.
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