Washington, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR) issued the following statement after the Department of the Interior’s announcement on Atlantic seismic exploration.
“Over 25 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico are currently leased and undeveloped by oil companies-and apparently that’s not enough for DOI. The Atlantic Continental Shelf is not currently available for leasing, but that isn’t stopping them from moving forward with a premature plan to allow seismic exploration in an area we can only speculate will be leasable. The only certainty in this proposal is that seismic exploration will be permitted before we know the full impacts to the marine mammals and fish that coastal economies depend on. Issuing the Environmental Impact Statement now ignores science in order to meet an artificial deadline. DOI should have waited until NOAA finalized their scientific study to determine impacts on our living marine resources. Moving forward, I expect Interior to work closely with NOAA to ensure our oceans are properly protected."
