Oppose Oil Drilling on the Gullah/Geechee Coast! Help protect the Sea Islands!

Gullah/Geechee Nation ♦ March 24, 2015 ♦ 11 Comments

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) hosted a public meeting in Jacksonville, FL on February 19, 2015 to encourage and facilitate public input on the potential environmental impacts of the Draft Proposed Program, which is the second step in development of the United State’s 2017-2022 Oil and Gas Leasing Five-Year Program.  This oil and gas leasing program is driving oil companies to push to use seismic guns to test for oil on the east coast and then to begin oil drilling,

Fortunately, the entire state of Florida has been removed from this draft proposal due to the public outcry which lead to numerous towns putting forth resolutions in opposition to this.   This now leaves Georgia and the Carolinas as potential areas where oil drilling could take place.  Allowing this would not only drive away sea life as seismic guns are used, but can also potentially bring about oil contamination of waters along the Gullah/Geechee Nation‘s coast which is a critical cultural landscape and national heritage area.  To that end, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, the Gullah/Geechee Sustainability Think Tank, and the Gullah/Geechee Nation‘s leaders are calling on all citizens of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and our supporters worldwide to write in to oppose oil drilling and seismic gun testing along the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia!

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) opposes oil drilling on the east coast especially within the Gullah/Geechee Nation!

In response to requests from citizens, organizations and elected officials in Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) added three public Scoping meetings for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) BOEM is preparing in support of the OCS oil and gas leasing program for 2017-2022. As part of its environmental analysis, BOEM is asking all stakeholders to help identify areas or issues of concern for evaluation. The final scoping meeting for this stage of the process will take place Tuesday, March 24, 2015 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the 
Hyatt Regency Savannah
2 West Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401.

This meeting, like the ones previously scheduled, will feature information stations hosted by BOEM experts who will be available to discuss environmental issues with the public. Information gathered during these meetings will help BOEM determine which environmental issues to analyze further in the PEIS being prepared for the 2017-2022 oil and gas leasing program. In addition to information stations, attendees will be able to provide hand-written or electronic comments on-site and any other information they feel can assist BOEM in developing the PEIS.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting has three other options for participating and submitting Scoping comments, starting with the BOEM PEIS website: www.boemoceaninfo.com. This site includes a web-based mapping tool that allows the user to visualize the program areas and resource information, and create maps identifying specific areas or resources of concern. The maps and comments may be submitted through Regulations.gov (www.boemoceaninfo.com connects to Regulations.gov), by traditional mail or by hand delivery. The deadline for providing Scoping comments is March 30, 2015.

Stop oil drilling on the Gullah/Geechee coast!  Help protect the Sea Islands!