Permitting Reform Bill Serves as Trojan Horse for Environmental Destruction  - Oceana USA

Permitting Reform Bill Serves as Trojan Horse for Environmental Destruction 

Press Release Date: September 3, 2024

Location: Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Cory Gunkel | email: cgunkel@oceana.org | tel: Cory Gunkel

Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced legislation in July that would drastically increase offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters. Called the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the bill (S. 4753) would force the Department of the Interior to auction at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases every year from 2025-2029. The legislation has moved through the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and could advance to the floor for a Senate vote when Congress returns from August recess.  

A new poll released by Oceana in July 2024 revealed that two-thirds of American voters (64%) support their elected officials protecting U.S. coastlines from new offshore drilling, with similar support among registered voters in coastal states (66%). The poll also found this support grew among youth voters 18 to 29 years of age (70%).   

In response to the legislation, Oceana Campaign Director Joseph Gordon released the following statement:   

“Senator Manchin’s so-called permitting reform bill is a Trojan horse of climate destruction hiding in plain sight. This toxic legislation undermines our climate goals by requiring millions of acres of ruinous offshore drilling tied with renewable energy development. We should not force our coastal communities to drown in oil to move our nation toward a clean energy future. 

The United States can’t afford to take one step forward and two steps back in a climate crisis. If we continue to allow offshore drilling, it is not a matter of if, but when, devastating oil spills will happen. We urge Congress to reject this poisonous bill and pass legislation that fully advances a clean energy future without fossil fuel giveaways; protects coastal communities; and makes dirty oil and gas a relic of the past.”    

Background    

A 2021 analysis by Oceana found that protecting all unleased federal waters from offshore drilling in the United States could prevent over 19 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is the equivalent of taking every car in the nation off the road for 15 years. Ending new leasing could also prevent more than $720 billion in damage to people, property, and the environment. The oil industry currently holds more than 2,000 leases, according to a 2023 Oceana report, with 75% of that ocean acreage currently unused.   

For more information about Oceana’s campaign to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling in the United States, please click here.