GEORGIA REACTION

The Trump administration’s 10-year extension of a drilling moratorium off Georgia’s coast is considered a win for local environmental groups, but some said they would like to see permanent action.

“By extending the moratorium on drilling in the Southeast Atlantic, the administration has begun to recognize Georgians’ opposition to drilling off our coast and our strong support for preserving our beaches and marine life for generations to come,” said Jennette Gayer, state director of Environment Georgia.

Gayer added that adoption of the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act (H.R. 1941), which passed the U.S. House last September but has yet to pass the Senate, would make those protections permanent.

There was no immediate comment on Trump’s moratorium extension from Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration. The Trump administration’s interest in developing an oil and gas leasing program for the outer continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean was the first time since 1983 that drilling could have affected the Georgia coast, according to the Federal Register.

Though Trump has rolled back a number of regulations designed to protect the environment, offshore drilling seemed to raise concerns among state Republicans in 2018, when then-Gov. Nathan Deal publicly worried about “opening up Georgia’s pristine coastlines,” according to a previous report in the AJC.

Georgia is home to almost one-third of the remaining salt marshes on the East Coast, which are vital to shrimp and fish populations.

Environmental groups expressed concerns that seismic testing for oil and gas and drilling could harm endangered marine life.