For Immediate Release:
Friday, Nov. 30, 2018
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(804) 225-1902 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Today, the Trump Administration approved permits allowing the use of seismic blasting to search for oil in the mid-Atlantic. The permits, issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service, give companies the green light to begin searching for oil off our coast using a practice known to harm important marine life, and comes as more and more coastal communities in Virginia are expressing their opposition to drilling off our coast.
In response to today’s announcement, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement:
“These permits are an unwelcome step toward oil rigs off our beaches. The Trump Administration has refused to listen to his own military, business and civic leaders up and down Virginia’s coast, and the leaders of this Commonwealth, who all oppose drilling off our coast.”
“The oil to be found in the Atlantic, if any, is not worth the immense threats drilling poses to our economy, our marine life, and our way of life in Virginia. We condemn the Trump Administration’s tone-deaf push forward in the search for oil we don’t need and stand with Virginia’s Governor and coastal communities in opposing any and all fossil fuel exploration or extraction off our shores.”
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
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