Cooper's Missed Opportunity
September 5, 2017
Written by David McGowan, executive director of the N.C. Petroleum Council.
The beach has always been a special place for me and my family. As a Wilmington native, I value the beauty of the North Carolina coastline. Still today, I enjoy plying the inland and nearshore waters of New Hanover, Pamlico, Carteret and Hyde counties. The community of this region is like family to me. We all have strong opinions on the subject of offshore energy exploration, and I respect the fundamental right to express them. I urge constructive, thoughtful dialogue over what admittedly is an extremely emotional issue that evokes deep passionate beliefs on each side of this debate.
A few weeks ago, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality hosted a series of hearings to gather comments for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as they develop the oil and natural gas lease plan for 2019-2025. As I attended these hearings, I was struck by the need for fact-based, informed discussions about whether to undertake future development of oil and natural gas off North Carolina’s coast. There is an extremely long, detailed and transparent regulatory process in place with multiple opportunities for public comment before any drilling activity would occur. If North Carolina is included in this draft lease plan, we are still at minimum of eight to ten years from any potential drilling off our cost, but there is a significant amount of due diligence that needs to happen between now and then
To that end, it is unfortunate that Governor Cooper unilaterally made the decision to oppose updated seismic research and potential future access, even before these hearings. In doing so, he passed up a significant opportunity to play a constructive role in the debate if the Trump Administration moves forward with their plans. To ensure North Carolina has a seat at the table to negotiate the best possible terms on potential revenue sharing, economic development and environmental protection measures, the state should remain engaged...
Read entire article at CoastalReview.org.
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