BALTIMORE, MD (October 6, 2022) – Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh today led a coalition of 9 other attorneys general in submitting comments to the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding the agency’s offshore oil and gas leasing Proposed Program for 2023-2028. The comments praise BOEM’s formal abandonment of the Trump Administration’s plans to open the waters off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts to new drilling, as well as BOEM’s decision to scale back leasing elsewhere on the Outer Continental Shelf. The comments also urge BOEM to minimize any oil and gas lease sales it conducts in order to satisfy certain statutory preconditions for offshore wind leasing.
“The previous administration’s reckless nationwide plan would have exposed the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts to offshore oil drilling and put beaches, wetlands, and natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay at extreme risk. BOEM’s proposed leasing program dramatically reduces the scale of that disastrous program and takes the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts off the table,” said Attorney General Frosh. “Transitioning to renewable energy sources is crucial, and we strongly urge BOEM to minimize the extent and impact of any oil and gas leasing it allows.”
BOEM’s Proposed Program includes a schedule of eleven offshore oil and gas lease sales to take place during the 2023-2028 period. The Draft Proposed Program issued by the Trump Administration included a schedule of 47 offshore oil and gas lease sales to take place during the 2019-2024 period, including five lease sales off the Atlantic Coast and seven off the Pacific Coast.
In addition to Maryland, the comments were also supported by attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.
BOEM issued its 2023-2028 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program in July 2022, acting pursuant to the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. After receiving comments, BOEM is expected to issue a proposed final version for congressional review and potential approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
In March 2018, Attorney General Frosh led a coalition of attorneys general in opposing BOEM’s Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Plan. If approved, the plan would have opened the waters off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts to new oil and gas leasing for the first time in decades.
“The previous administration’s reckless nationwide plan would have exposed the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts to offshore oil drilling and put beaches, wetlands, and natural resources like the Chesapeake Bay at extreme risk. BOEM’s proposed leasing program dramatically reduces the scale of that disastrous program and takes the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts off the table,” said Attorney General Frosh. “Transitioning to renewable energy sources is crucial, and we strongly urge BOEM to minimize the extent and impact of any oil and gas leasing it allows.”
BOEM’s Proposed Program includes a schedule of eleven offshore oil and gas lease sales to take place during the 2023-2028 period. The Draft Proposed Program issued by the Trump Administration included a schedule of 47 offshore oil and gas lease sales to take place during the 2019-2024 period, including five lease sales off the Atlantic Coast and seven off the Pacific Coast.
In addition to Maryland, the comments were also supported by attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.
BOEM issued its 2023-2028 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program in July 2022, acting pursuant to the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. After receiving comments, BOEM is expected to issue a proposed final version for congressional review and potential approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
In March 2018, Attorney General Frosh led a coalition of attorneys general in opposing BOEM’s Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Plan. If approved, the plan would have opened the waters off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts to new oil and gas leasing for the first time in decades.