Group fighting offshore oil exploration – Greenville Daily Reflector

An international organization dedicated to restoring the worlds oceans is asking Greenville residents to form an advocacy group to protest seismic testing and oil drilling in the Atlantic.

Randy Sturgill, senior campaign manager with Oceana spoke to more than 20 people who attended a meeting organized by the Cypress Group of the N.C. Sierra Club, which has members from 19 eastern North Carolina counties.

This is a Trojan horse, Sturgill said. I brought you here under the pretext of an oil exploration meeting but what Im really asking for is a call to action.

Oceana and other environmental groups are redoubling efforts to fight oil and natural gas development off the United States Atlantic border, and community advocacy groups are necessary, he said.

Sturgill said advocacy groups are needed to re-engage because President Donald Trump signed an exclusive order in April allowing energy companies to move forward with seismic testing off the United States coast.

The surveys are used to map potential drilling sites for oil and natural gas. Sturgill said the order overturned former President Barack Obamas 2016 decision to restrict testing and drilling.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service is accepting public comments until Friday on proposals to allow companies to incidentally, but not intentionally, harass marine mammals, during the testing process.

Environmentalists have been waiting for Gov. Roy Cooper to address the testing issue. Coopers office announced late Wednesday that he is scheduled to make a statement on offshore drilling this morning at Fort Macon State Park Education and Visitors Centers.

Congressional leaders are responsive to a constituents, and working together individuals can change the tide of policy, Sturgill said.

However, several teenagers representing Greenville-based Save A Sea Turtle said its difficult to know if leaders are hearing their message.

The teens recently met with a representative of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to protest future seismic testing off North Carolinas coast because of its detrimental effect on turtles and other migrating fish and mammals off the coast. They said at Tuesdays meeting that Tillis representative said off-shore drilling is necessary to ensure American energy independence and quickly ended the discussion.

Sturgill spoke at length about how residents of Kure Beach convinced their town board to reject a letter sent by the then-mayor to Washington D.C. supporting drilling in the Atlantic. He did so within consent from the board or community discussion.

When the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management wanted to hold only a single public hearing in Wilmington about plans for developing the Atlantics energy resources, citizen protesters, combined with U.S. Rep. Walter Jones appeals, forced two public hearings, one in Wilmington and one in the Outer Banks.Sturgill said 300 turned out for the Wilmington meeting and about 670 for the Outer Banks event. The groups overwhelmingly opposed development.

Strugill said continuous public opposition played an important role in Obamas decision against explorations.Oil companies are now jockeying to begin seismic testing, also called seismic airgun testing.

The testing involves ships towing multiple seismic devices through the water, discharging them at 10- to 12-second increments. The bouncing sounds, which can be heard up to 2,500 miles away, can supply information on possible oil and gas deposits.

With Trumps new order, an area extending from mid-Florida to New Jersey will be tested, Sturgill said.

Advocates have sought to have a neutral party conduct the testing and share the data with interested oil companies, but the recommendation has been ignored so each interested company can conduct its own research.

The Department of Interior estimates more than 130,000 secure creatures could be harmed by the seismic noise. The testing will drive fish deeper and force fish and mammals off their normal migration routes.

Seismic testing also has questionable accuracy, Sturgill said, with data showing it produces a 40 percent chance of finding oil or gas.

Less disruptive technology is being developed, he said, but the process is slow. Sturgill said environmental advocates would like testing to be delayed until the new technology is ready.

Sturgill said his organization wants to engage more inland advocacy groups to show elected officials and energy development supporters that all North Carolinians want to protect coastal resources.

While no one volunteered to lead the new advocacy group, many attending the event did sign up to receive future information.

David Ames, co-chairman of the Cypress Group of N.C. Sierra Club, said hes unsure if another local advocacy group is needed but looks forward to working with Oceana.

We are interested in offshore drilling, so we thought this would be a natural group to collaborate with, Ames said. The Cypress Group and the entire North Carolina Sierra Club is very much opposed to offshore drilling. Our whole emphasis is getting away from fossil fuels and moving to clean energy.

Contact Ginger Livingston at glivingston@reflector.comor 252-329-9570. Follow her on Twitter @GingerLGDR.

Go here to see the original:

Group fighting offshore oil exploration - Greenville Daily Reflector