Interior takes key step on Atlantic drilling

The Obama administration is setting the stage for possible oil and gas development in the Atlantic.

The Interior Department on Thursday released an environmental impact review that lays out safeguards for contractors that conduct seismic surveys to test Atlantic waters for potential energy sources.

{mosads}If the process continues without delay, the release of the environmental review would set Interior on a five-year planning process that would open up the Atlantic to development for 2017 and 2022. 

“With this underway the secretary of Interior will be able to make a judgment about when to schedule any potential lease sales,” for oil and gas or renewable energy companies, an Interior official said Thursday.

The new report doesn’t authorize any seismic testing but does highlight potential significant effects from the testing on whales, dolphins and other marine life.

The seismic tests are conducted to determine where development is safe for three industries regulated by the Interior Department: oil and gas, renewable energy and marine minerals. Seismic surveys can include air gun blasts to map the ocean floor.

Geological contractors must submit applications for permits to conduct tests. There are currently nine contractors who have submitted applications to Interior on behalf of companies for air gun testing, the department said, which are likely for oil and gas development.

Possible precautions mentioned in the review include closing access to the migratory routes of the endangered North Atlantic right whale and pushing for use of passive acoustic monitoring systems — on top of human observers, which help identify mammals in the vicinity when air gun surveys are underway. 

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell met with the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition for the first time on Monday to discuss the environmental impact review and the potential for future development in the Atlantic.

Republican Govs. Pat McCrory (N.C.), Phil Bryant (Miss.), Robert Bentley (Ala.) and Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe (Va.) attended the meeting. McAuliffe told reporters he would join the all-Republican coalition — making him the first Democratic governor to do so.

“We are not here to get in the way of energy development; we are here to get things right,” Jewell told the governors of the forthcoming environmental analysis, according to a source close to the meeting.

That’s a comment that might not sit well with environmentalists, who are already fired up about the latest step forward.

“Opening the door to drilling off the Atlantic coast is a poor decision. The government’s own assessment has shown that seismic testing will injure or kill thousands of animals. And the risks will only grow if drilling moves forward, threatening coastal economies, sensitive shorelines, and our climate,” said Athan Manuel, of the Sierra Club.