States Continue to Push Back Against Offshore Drilling

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Deepwater Horizon, the largest accidental oil spill in history. Nine years later, its effects still linger and coastal states continue to push back against expanded offshore drilling.

On March 27, Oregon became the latest state to pass a ban on offshore drilling. Senator Arnie Roblan, Representative David Brock-Smith, and Representative David Gomberg sponsored the bill (SB256). On April 2, Georgia’s House of Representatives also passed a resolution (HR48) in opposition to offshore drilling.

Other notable progress in legislation includes:

• New Hampshire SB76 – The bill passed the Senate and is now being considered by the House.
• New Hampshire HJR2 – This resolution passed the House on March 19 and is awaiting assignment to a Senate Committee.
• North Carolina SB517/H545 – North Carolina introduced bills in both the House and the Senate on April 3.
• South Carolina – On April 17, the South Carolina Senate approved an appropriations measure that would require the state to block new infrastructure to transport or process offshore oil and gas.

For more information on offshore drilling and to keep up to date on legislation, visit ncel.net/offshore-drilling. For an overview of the history and current state of offshore drilling, check out NCEL’s blog post “A History of Offshore Drilling and Where States Are Today”.