Offshore drilling debated at public meeting in Morehead City – WITN – WITN

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WITN) - Drilling off the coast continues to be a hot topic for residents and visitors of the Crystal Coast and a meeting in Morehead City is giving the public a chance to weigh.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality hosted that hearing inside the Crystal Coast Civic Center discussing the potential to lease parts of the coast to oil and gas companies.

Supporters say it would be good for the local economy.

"From your catering, your tugboats, your towboats, your diving and salvage, your welding, your pipe fitting, all of those companies in all of those sectors of our economy would benefit from off shore oil and natural gas exploration," says David McGowan, the executive director of NC Petroleum Council.

Governor Roy Cooper is among those, however, who oppose the proposal over concerns of the environmental impact and the condition of the coast.

It's a concern shared among residents who call the coast home.

"You can take the chance and drill and maybe something doesn't happen, but what if something does happen," asks Paula Kowalski, a New Bern resident. "What if there is a leak or oil is spilling? "

For others, specifically visitors, they question the impact this could have on area tourism.

"You want to stick with what brought you here and build up the tourism area," says Joe Lockwood, a Crystal Coast tourist.

And it's fears like those that are the reason these public hearings are being conducted, to openly discuss whether or not the state should take any further actions on these proposals.

These meetings are not to determine whether or not to allow drilling off the coast, they are only to discuss whether this idea should even be explored.

Environmental surveys and more public forums would need to be held before oil and gas companies could even make proposals, and even then, there would still be plenty of obstacles before drilling became a reality.

The next step in the approval process that would allow for drilling would be environmental impact studies and seismic studies to see what resources are available along the coast.

As of right now, there is no timeline on when those studies could begin.

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Offshore drilling is a highly-debated issue up for discussion in the east Wednesday night.

The State Department of Environmental Quality is hosting a public hearing in Morehead City to get public feedback on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) oil and gas lease program in the Atlantic.

The Executive Director of the N.C. Petroleum Council is expected to speak in favor of offshore drilling.

The open meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City.

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Offshore drilling debated at public meeting in Morehead City - WITN - WITN