Protecting Coastal Communities and Marine Ecosystems

• Facebook
• Twitter

Nearly forty percent of Americanslive in coastal communities and rely on a healthy ocean. Offshore drilling along the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Gulf coasts subjects communities and workers to toxic oil spills and pollution. These communities bear the brunt of climate-related flooding and storms that oil companies are causing thanks to their extraction and pollution. Offshore drilling also poses a massive risk to endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale.

Nearly every Governor, regardless of party affiliation, along the East and West Coast is concerned about expanded offshore oil and gas drilling. Thousands of elected officials along these coasts have formally opposed expansion of offshore drilling. Clean oceans are vital to the fishing and tourism industries. In Alaska, more than 70 coastal Tribeshave called for expanded protections to the North Bering Sea to ensure that the natural resources of the ocean are protected. In short, protecting our oceans from drilling is a popular and common-sense policy.

We teamed up with other environmental groups to send a letter to President Biden's administration, urging him to use his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and permanently withdraw at-risk areas of the ocean - especially the central and western Gulf of Mexico - from fossil fuel drilling. Biden was also pressured by members of Congressto take the same action and protect unleased, at-risk areas of the ocean.

Biden listened.

Biden used his authority under OCSLA to protect the entire US East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, most of the Pacific Coast, and portions of Alaska's Northwest Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas drilling. All in all, Biden protected 625 million acresof US ocean from Big Oil's exploitation.

Most importantly, Biden's designation is Donald Trump-proof.

Thanks to the type of withdrawal that Biden used, this executive action should stand even if Trump tries - as he is likely to - to reverse it. Trump tried to reverse an Obama-era withdrawal during his first term as president, and a court ruledthat the president does not have the authority to revoke prior withdrawals. We know Trump will try to do everything he can to push Big Oil's drill-friendly agenda, but these protections will stand the test of time - and we will be there every step of the way to ensure that remains the case.

These protections are a massive win for coastal communities and marine ecosystems; however, we are disappointed to see that the entire central and western Gulf of Mexico, along with parts of Alaska like Cook Inlet, were not withdrawn from fossil fuel development. The Gulf of Mexico is home to 98% of offshore oil and gas production in US waters, and this region has been treated as a sacrifice zone for Big Oil to wreak havoc and have local communities bear the brunt of their destruction. We will continue to lobby and fight in the court system to protect this region from the dangerous, deadly effects of offshore drilling.