Valerie Volcovici, Nichola Groom report for Reuters
The U.S. Interior Department is still processing permit applications for companies to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic – a precursor to drilling – despite shelving its plan to vastly expand offshore drilling, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
Atlantic coastal state lawmakers, businesses and conservation groups are adamant that Interior should not allow seismic testing – a process that often uses powerful air guns to map resources below the ocean floor – arguing the surveys hurt marine life, such as the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Newly confirmed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said last week the agency’s five-year plan for oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) would be sidelined indefinitely after a March court ruling blocked drilling in the Arctic and part of the Atlantic Ocean.
But Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is responsible for managing energy development on the OCS, continues to review the applications of a half-dozen seismic testing companies awaiting permits to test for oil and gas drilling potential on the Atlantic Ocean floor.
“BOEM is continuing to process the permit applications for conducting seismic surveys in the Atlantic, consistent with applicable law,” BOEM spokeswoman Tracey Moriarty said in an emailed statement on Monday.
