For Immediate Release:
Monday, Jan. 6, 2025
Media Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
434-989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Today, the Biden Administration announced it would be taking action to permanently protect the East Coast’s Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas exploration, including areas off Virginia’s coast. Exerting authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Biden also moved to protect shelf areas off the West Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.
In response to this ruling Michael Town, Executive Director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement:
“Offshore drilling poses a huge threat to our environment, public health, coastal communities and their economies, fisheries, and vital marine ecosystems. Today’s action from the Biden Administration will help ensure the long-term protection of communities in Virginia that would otherwise be in harm’s way from an incoming Administration that has consistently put polluters’ interests and profits above our wellbeing. Virginia’s energy future is clean, and drilling off our coast has no place in an economy that’s rapidly shifting away from harmful fossil fuels. We applaud this action from President Biden and hope he will do everything in his power to safeguard our environment before the end of his term.”
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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