Press Releases

LCV Response to Zinke’s Vast Offshore Drilling Expansion

Jan 4, 2018

Alyssa Roberts, 202-454-4573, aroberts@lcv.org

Washington, D.C. – In anticipation of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announcing a draft of the Trump administration’s national offshore drilling plan, the League of Conservation Voters released the following statement from Deputy Legislative Director Alex Taurel:

“The Trump administration’s dramatic expansion of offshore oil drilling is beyond reckless. To make matters worse, this announcement comes on the heels of reports that they’re also moving to gut commonsense offshore drilling safety standards put in place after the Deepwater Horizon tragedy that killed eleven people. Seaside communities, businesses, and elected officials from both parties have consistently opposed risky offshore drilling because of the grave threat it poses to their way of life, our climate, and local economies that rely on tourism and fishing.

“LCV stands with this broad and powerful coalition and we will fight this dangerous proposal every step of the way. Rather than handing over our publicly owned waters to private oil companies as Trump and Zinke are proposing, we ought to accelerate the transition to clean energy to power our economy.”