Last year, the Department of the Interior proposed conducting seismic testing off the coast of the Mid and South Atlantic to assess oil and gas resources. The surveys would employ employ loud and damaging technologies, causing major impacts to marine wildlife and the ecosystem. According to the Department’s own estimates, seismic exploration would injure upwards of 130,000 whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals over the next eight years.

Furthermore, offshore drilling is inherently polluting and dangerous, and it will not solve our nation’s energy needs. According to the Department of Energy, fully developing all of our recoverable offshore oil reserves would lower pump prices by only 3 cents. Such a tradeoff is not worth the risk to our coastal economies, including tourism, recreation, and commerical fishing, which generate billions of dollars in annual revenue on the Atlantic coast.

Surfrider is proud to be working with Oceana, NRDC, Clean Ocean Action, Sierra Club and many others to reach the goal of 100,000 signatures! Please sign the petition so we can get this issue on President Obama’s desk!

To sign the petition click here

To read Surfrider’s comment letter click here

To read DOI’s official announcement click here

Hands Across the Sand is an international grassroots event that brings people together to oppose new offshore oil drilling and promote a clean energy future. The Surfrider Foundation is an official sponsor of the event and our participation is a cornerstone of our Not the Answer campaign. Last year we were thrilled to join thousands of participants in making our voices heard.

The premise of the event is simple: on May 18 at 12pm local time people will join hands for 15 minutes on beaches around the world to champion clean energy solutions to our filthy fuels problem. All events are organized locally by volunteers and the event website provides most of the resources that you will need.

So visit the Hands Across the Sand website today and sign up to organize an event at your local beach! www.handsacrossthesand.com/

With Congress considering legislation to expand oil and gas development off our coasts, now is the time to join the grassroots movement to protect our coastlines from risky drilling practices!

To access Surfrider’s Hands Across the Sand Toolkit, please visit Chapternet. For more information or support, please contact Pete Stauffer at (503) 887-0514 or pstauffer at surfrider.org.

See you on the beach on May 18th!

In November 2005, approximately 1.9 million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico when tank barge DBL 152  struck the submerged remains of a pipeline service platform that collapsed a few months earlier during Hurricane Rita. The double-hulled barge was carrying approximately 5 million gallons of slurry oil, a type of oil denser than seawater, which meant as the thick oil poured out of the barge, it sank to the seafloor.  As could be expected, an environmental assessment showed that fish and organisms living on or near the ocean floor (such as worms, clams, and crabs) were injured by the oil that sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. That submerged oil impacted approximately 45,000 acres of ocean floor.  More than 7 years later, no cleanup of this oil resting on the ocean floor has even been attempted. In March 2013, NOAA released the Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan for the DBL 152 incident, which suggests that restoration in the form of mitigation is possible for this oil spill. The plan outlines injuries to natural resources and proposes a restoration project to implement estuarine shoreline protection and salt marsh creation at the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Galveston Bay, Texas.

Oh, and you just may have heard of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 where approximately 210 million gallons of oil were released. Despite a massive cleanup effort by the US Coast Guard and private contractors, millions of gallons of oil remain either unaccounted for or, like the oil from DBL 153, deposited on the ocean floor.  The environmental and human health impacts will likely be felt for many years.

So, how long does it take to clean up an oil spill? Nobody knows.

Hands Across the Sand is an international grassroots event that brings people together to oppose new offshore oil drilling and promote a clean energy future. The Surfrider Foundation is an official sponsor of the event and our participation is a cornerstone of our Not the Answer campaign.

Photo Credit: Volusia/ Flagler Chapter

The premise of the event is very simple: on May 18 at 12pm local time people will join hands for 15 minutes on beaches around the world to champion clean energy solutions to our filthy fuels problem. All events are organized locally by volunteers and the event website provides most of the resources that you will need. 

So visit the Hands Across the Sand website today and sign up to organize an event at your local beach! (Many beaches go quickly, so don’t delay!) www.handsacrossthesand.com/

With Congress considering legislation to expand oil and gas development off our coasts, now is the time to join the grassroots movement to protect our coastlines from risky drilling practices!

For more information on organizing a local event, please contact Pete Stauffer at (503) 887-0514 pstauffer@surfrider.org.
 See you on the beach on May 18th!

Last March, the Department of the Interior announced its proposal to begin seismic testing off the coast of the Mid and South Atlantic to assess potential oil and gas resources. The Administration’s Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program involves seismic airgun testing from Delaware to Florida.

The proposed surveys would employ loud and damaging technologies, causing major impacts to marine wildlife and the ecosystem. According to the Department’s own estimates, seismic exploration would injure upwards of 130,000 whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals over the next eight years. The surveys would also impact millions of other individuals through disrupting mating, feeding, communication, and migration activities. Finally, seismic activities would displace and cause impacts to a wide variety of fish and invertebrate populations.

Furthermore, offshore drilling is inherently polluting and dangerous, and it will not solve our nation’s energy needs. According to the Department of Energy, fully developing all of our recoverable offshore oil reserves would lower pump prices by only 3 cents. Such a tradeoff is not worth the risk to our coastal economies, including tourism, recreation, and commerical fishing, which generate billions of dollars in annual revenue on the Atlantic coast.

The Department of Interior is scheduled to make its final decision in the fall of 2013. Please sign the petition to oppose seismic testing in the Atlantic!

Senators voicing their opposition included Frank Lautenberg (D), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Patrick Leahy (NY), Robert Menendez (NJ), Benjamin Cardin (MD), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Barbara Boxer (CA), Maria Cantwell (WA).

House members opposing included Frank Pallone (NJ), Jim Moran (VA), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Rush Holt (NJ), Louise Slaughter (NY), Alcee Hastings (FL), Charles Rangle (NY), Corrine Brown (FL), Lacy Clay (MI), William Keating (MA), Sam Farr (CA), Zoe Lofgren (CA), Michael Capuano (MA), Paul Tonko (NY), Maxine Waters (CA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Joe Courtney (CT), Mike Honda (CA), Bill Pascrell (NJ), John Tierney (MA), Chellie Pingree (ME), David Price (NC), Jame McGovern (MA), Kathy Castor (FL), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Chaka Fattah (PA), and Albio Sires (NJ).

To read DOI’s official announcement click here

To read Surfrider Foundation’s comment letter click here

To sign the petition to the Secretary of the Interior click here

Under the proposal, the sanctuaries would be enlarged by nearly 2,800 square miles, more than doubling their size. The new boundaries would extend 50 miles north up the coast to include Sonoma County and much of Mendocino County.

The sanctuary expansion would protect the region’s outstanding marine habitats, wildlife, fisheries, and recreational areas from the threat of oil and gas drilling. The designation would not affect fishing, boating, or other existing uses.

The announcement from the Obama Administration follows years of effort by Rep. Lynn Woolsey and other federal leaders to expand the sanctuary boundaries north. Woolsey, who retires from Congress in January, has championed legislation to provide similar protection. However, HR 192, which was supported by Surfrider chapters in the region, failed to pass, despite broad support from stakeholders and community leaders in northern California.

In the coming months, NOAA will lead an administrative process to gather public input on the proposed boundary expansion. Written comments may be submitted by March 1, 2013 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal with Docket Number NOAA-NOS-2012-0228.

In addition, three scoping meetings are planned for the public to learn more about the proposal and submit comments. Public meetings will be held on the following dates, locations, and times:

● Bodega Bay Grange Hall, Bodega Bay, Calif., Jan. 24, 6:00 p.m.
● Point Arena High School, Point Arena, Calif., Feb. 12, 6:00 p.m.
● Gualala Community Center, Gualala, Calif., Feb. 13, 6:00 p.m.

NOAA will then review these comments to determine if an expansion is beneficial, and if so, will prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess expansion alternatives. Once a draft EIS is completed, it will be opened for public comment again before final action is taken.

The Surfrider Foundation strongly supports the the proposal to expand the National Marine Sanctuaries off California and looks forward to participating in the public process to provide comments in the coming months.

In the coming weeks, the Department of Interior will decide whether to proceed with seismic surveys off the Mid- and South Atlantic coasts to assess potential oil and gas resources. The proposed surveys will employ loud and damaging technologies that will cause major impacts to marine wildlife and the ecosystem.

Please ask the Secretary of the Interior to cancel seismic exploration off the Atlantic coast.

Seismic surveys will produce devastating impacts on marine mammals, sea turtles, fishes, and other marine life. According to the Department’s own estimates, seismic exploration will injure upwards of 130,000 whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals over the next eight years. The surveys will also impact millions of other individuals through disrupting mating, feeding, communication, and migration activities. Finally, seismic activities will displace and cause impacts to a wide variety of fish and invertebrate populations.

Furthermore, offshore drilling is inherently polluting and dangerous, and it will not solve our nation’s energy needs. According to the Department of Energy, fully developing all of our recoverable offshore oil reserves would lower pump prices by only 3 cents. Such a tradeoff is not worth the risk to our coastal economies, including tourism, recreation, and commerical fishing, which generate billions of dollars in annual revenue on the Atlantic coast.

Please sign the petition to ask the Department to cancel plans for seismic exploration off the Atlantic coast.

To read Surfrider Foundation’s comment letter click here

To read DOI’s official announcement click here

Representative Lynn Woolsey and Senator Barbara Boxer have asked President Barack Obama to establish a marine monument to protect the northern California coast from offshore drilling. The monument would cover about 2,800 square miles off the Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin coasts, and provide protection for the region’s outstanding habitats, marine life, fisheries, and recreational areas. Woolsey, who retires from Congress in January, has tried for years to pass legislation that would achieve similar protection through expanding the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. However, HR 192, which is supported by Surfrider chapters in the region, has failed to move forward in the House, despite broad support from stakeholders and community leaders in northern California. To read a recent editorial from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in support of the monument designation click here.