North Coast News
Tribal leaders, fishermen and representatives of the tourism industry joined U.S. Sen. Maria Canwell (D-WA) on Sunday in Seattle to “send a clear message to the Trump Administration: the people of Washington state will not stand for oil and gas drilling off their coastline.”
With the backdrop of Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard, the senator and others, including Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman and Makah Tribal Council Chairman Nate Tyler, outlined what they said were “obvious threats to the fishing, shellfish, and tourism industries at the heart of Washington’s economy” posed by oil drilling and exploration off Washington’s coast.
“We are proud to stand with Senator Cantwell and a broad coalition in opposition to the Trump Administration’s efforts to open the West Coast and Alaska to offshore oil and gas development,” Felleman said. “The inherent risks associated with that proposal would jeopardize our fishing and tourism businesses that are directly dependent on the health and sustainable management of the marine environment.”
Following through on an executive order signed by President Trump in April, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released a plan last week that would open up oil and gas leasing along both coasts of the U.S., as well as Alaska and the Arctic Sea. Federal waters off of Washington state had previously been protected from new oil and gas exploration and drilling. The administration also plans to relax safety and environmental protection rules developed to reduce the likelihood and potential impacts of drilling disasters similar to the Deepwater Horizon.
On Tuesday, Cantwell sent a letter to President Trump sharply criticizing the Trump Administration’s decision to ignore years’ of public input and the best available science regarding opening the offshore oil and gas drilling leases.
In a Thursday letter, Senator Cantwell questioned Secretary Zinke’s decision to give a last-minute exemption to Florida while ignoring over 10 other states who followed the proper legal procedures.
She said the action was “wasting taxpayer dollars and possibly violating the requirements of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).”
U.S. Rep Derek Kilmer (D, 6th district) also protested the Zinke decision.
“What’s true for Florida is true for Washington’s coast and every other coastal community,” Kilmer said. “The job of the government is to protect our public lands and pass these national treasures on to our kids, not give them away to the highest bidder, and in the process put our environment, wildlife and economy at risk.”
Kilmer warned about the danger the plan poses to Washington’s fisheries, shellfish growers, tourism and jobs, and he called for expanding renewable energy.
