"Obama Pulls Plans To Allow Oil Drilling Off Southern Atlantic Coast"

"The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is dropping its year-old plan to allow companies to search and drill for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Ocean off of four southeastern states.

Department of Interior Sally Jewell said in a statement that objections from the Pentagon and strong opposition from nearly a hundred coastal communities in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia factored into the decision to not offer leases to companies starting in 2017.

“We heard from many corners that now is not the time to offer oil and gas leasing off the Atlantic coast,” Jewell said. “When you factor in conflicts with national defense, economic activities such as fishing and tourism, and opposition from many local communities, it simply doesn’t make sense to move forward with any lease sales in the coming five years.”"

Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post March 15, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Obama Halts Atlantic Drilling, but Keeps Arctic and Gulf Open for Business" (InsideClimate News)

"Obama Administration Cancels Plan to Allow Oil Drilling Off Southeast U.S. Coast" (New York Times)

"Obama Expected To Severely Limit Oil Drilling In Arctic And Atlantic" (Guardian)

"Obama Bars Atlantic Offshore Oil Drilling in Policy Reversal" (Bloomberg)

"Obama’s Atlantic Oil Drilling Plan Takes Friendly Fire — From The Pentagon" (Washington Post)

"In About-Face, Obama Says No Drilling In Atlantic" (Greenwire)

"Interior Department Announces Next Step in Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Planning Process for 2017-2022" (Interior Dept. Release)