The Obama administration on Tuesday omitted sites along the Atlantic Coast from a list of potential offshore oil and gas leases.
Early last year, the Interior Department's initial plans for lease sales between 2017 and 2022 included a swath of ocean more than 50 miles offshore from Georgia to Virginia.
The drilling leases would have been the nation's first in Atlantic waters, but this week, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said that they would not be offered due to current market dynamics, strong local opposition and conflicts with nearby commercial and military operations.
“We heard from many corners that now is not the time to offer oil and gas leasing off the Atlantic coast,” Jewell said in a statement.
Energy companies long sought to develop in the Atlantic, particularly after a moratorium on drilling in the area expired in 2008. The American Petroleum Institute said that the proposal "wipes out an opportunity to create scores of additional new jobs for Americans along the Atlantic coast."
(AP Photo)“This decision stunts the safe and responsible path to securing the domestic energy supplies future generations of Americans will need," API President and CEO Jack Gerard said in a statement.
The debate over Atlantic drilling also pitted southern coastal lawmakers from both parties that supported drilling against environmental advocates and northeastern Democrats, who suggested that their states would face consequences from potential oil spills hundreds of miles away.
The proposal retained 13 potential lease sites included in the initial draft, including 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and three off the Alaskan coast.
The Interior Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will take additional public comment before finalizing the plans.
Officials said that they would consider additional alternatives for Alaska, including offering no new leases, in light of concern among local communities and a recent environmental commitment with Canadian officials.
“We know the Arctic is a unique place of critical importance to many — including Alaska Natives who rely on the ocean for subsistence,” Jewell said.
