A new push for Atlantic drilling

WASHINGTON — Oil lobbyists are making another push to change the mind of Southern politicians lining up to oppose oil drilling off the Atlantic coast.

The American Petroleum Institute has recruited Jim Webb, the former secretary of the Navy and Democratic senator from Virginia, and Jim Nicholson, the former secretary of veterans affairs during the George W. Bush administration, to try to sway some of their former colleagues.

“A lot of people who used to be lined up on this have taken on a more negative attitude, primarily as a result of that big tragic oil spill,” Nicholson said, referring to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Their bipartisan campaign, named Explore Offshore, comes as governors from Virginia to Florida are opposing or expressing concerns about President Donald Trump’s plan to expand drilling off the Atlantic coast. The opponents including the Republican governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster.

Webb and Nicholson are targeting a centrist audience, arguing that advances in technology have made offshore drilling safer and the potential gains outweigh the risks.

“When people come to understand the impact on national security and energy independence,” Webb said, “then they will become much more receptive.”

But many worry not only about the impact of drilling on tourism and the marine environment, but also on the U.S. military, which operates a Navy base in Virginia. Earlier this year, Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis expressing concern that drilling could interfere with naval exercises. Webb, however, said there’s a way to coordinate with the military to avoid interference from oil companies.